GP practice "not offering appointments"

[Darkestseasonofall]

This is a new low. Just called to make an appointment to be told they aren't doing any for the foreseeable future.
If it's an emergency you can call on the day and try to get a telephone consultation, but that's it.
I can see a huge rise in people attending ED in appropriately or just becoming very ill with avoidable things.
This isn't NHS bashing, I'm a nurse, but I can't understand how primary care can just opt out of 90% of their contract.
AIBU to think this is just silly?

www.gponline.com/gp-services-outsourced-overseas-licensing-changes-explored-gmc/article/1520747

dontdisturbmenow - it’s pretty hard to talk to a GP when I either can’t get through to reception or when I do, a GP never phones me back.

EPU where I live is not a self-referral service. “This is not a self-referral clinic, this is via your GP.”

This has become an us versus them topic both online and in reality.

I certainly noticed a few years ago that the narrative at my GPs surgery moved from patient centric to GP centric, possibly as a drive to attract new GPs?

Over the years this appears to have become entrenched to the point patients feel as if they are treated as an inconvenience whilst GPs feel they are embattled.

Both sides now need reconciliation.

Our GP you submit a email and it’s responded to fairly swiftly. A f2f is only if it’s needed.
Been like it since March.
The only issue I think is if your not online :/ but I guess they must have something in place?

Our GP doesn't give sick notes nor does it provide letters for patients wanting to apply for PIP. This started way before covid. Now they've just thrown the shutters up and people have no other option but to go to A&E if they're in need of seeing urgently. Which is surely the opposite of what people should be doing, but many are left with no other choice!

Care during pregnancy is particularly shoddy as it's all being done over the phone. What about checking blood pressure? Testing urine sample for sugars? Potential problems aren't being properly checked for and this is bound to lead to complications for some that could have been avoided if spotted sooner.

@Cumbersome we actively welcome patient feedback at our practice.

I wouldn't call it contempt, but I'm certainly eye rolling at some of the suggestions on here from people who don't have the first idea about general practice.

I find myself “eye rolling” at the mental image of the modern GP. Dr Finlay it ain’t.

Practices are trying desperately to limit the face to face contact where at all possible, to help prevent the spread of CV19. You can imagine the disruption if a clinician gets it.
What a decent practice should be doing is putting absolutely EVERY medical query/appointment request on some sort of triage list.
The GP will then look at it the same day and ask admin staff to arrange to have them bring a sample in for testing, a phone slot or a face to face appointment with a clinician (whether that be an ANP, a GP or a phlebotomist to have bloods done) and an indication of when they should be seen, same day, week etc.
Receptionists are not allowed to book straight into face to face appointments without the go-ahead from a clinician.
I'm sorry you've been unable to obtain any contact for something routine but still concerning. Everything should go on the doctor's list simply because what could be an "I don't want to bother the doctor but it's just that....." could turn out to be something more worrying and admin staff are in no position to make that judgement or turn people away.
By the same token, unfortunately they are asked to obtain a much information from the patient as possible to help the clinicians.
It's a shit situation and some practices have risen to the challenge really well, while others are struggling. The doctors aren't keen, as they didn't train to be call centre staff, but there are some aspects (simple UTIs, obvious skin issues where the patient can send in a photo for example) where the new system works really well.
Call them back and ask them to request that the doctor triage your appointment request. Make a list of your symptoms and concerns and ask how they are handling the investigation and treatment of these. Perhaps worth backing up with a letter if no joy.

I've gone to leave half way through a GP appointment before. Stating that she shouldn't worry, she's being very dismissive and I'll just go then shall I?
I had to do that just to get a basic examination for something I was concerned about.
I'm sick of being treated like a dense inconvenience. Absolutely sick of it.
That was before covid when you could actually get a fucking appointment.

Eme, I agree. IN a sense the whole save the NHS thing became NHS centric - that as long as we had totally empty Nightingale hospitals even if other NHS was not provided that was a win as if we had a new God called NHS which must be protected and yet the result of the protection is there is no NHS care for many. That leads the many to think 20% of our income tax bills go to something that does not help most of us so why not just abolish it or let those who want NHS care pay for it or opt into it and the rest have 20% reduction in income tax bills.

it’s pretty hard to talk to a GP when I either can’t get through to reception or when I do, a GP never phones me back
Then that is indeed the issue with your practice, but not seeing your GP face to face for your condition is not what led to your needing treatment in hospital.

I'm sick of being treated like a dense inconvenience. Absolutely sick of it.

Sounds like we have the same GP!

dontdisturbmenow - I didn’t say I needed to physically see a GP but a phone call returned would be nice!

@Sirzy

Could she not have come out of school for the telephone appointment just like she would have had to do for a face to face one?

I realised that it said specific time but meant timeframe....basically a whole afternoon and as I also said...there is no mobile coverage at the school (very useful for other issues,)

They relented at gave her the time for 5pm

@WhiteWidow001

I'm at the end of my tether with this too. My daughter has been unwell for nearly three months with (almost) daily vomiting and constant pain. She's not been to school apart from the odd day this academic year and when she does go in she gets sent home.

I called the doctor about it in August. We had two phone appointments first but they wouldn't do a face-to face. In September we went to A&E for a different but thought-to-be-related issue, where she was examined and admitted to hospital for a couple of days. The paediatrician said she probably had gastritis which could lead to a stomach ulcer if not treated, and she needed to see her GP straight away for tests. He said the tests had to be done via the GP rather than through the hospital.

That was over a month ago. Since then we've had more phone appointments where the GP has seemed surprised she is still unwell and said it couldn't be gastritis as she was too young. We had to wait three weeks for an appointment to have bloods taken. The week before last she started throwing up blood. I called back in and basically begged for a GP to see us. They sounded a bit panicked at that point and said we could go in that day and would probably have to go back into hospital. When we got there we were STILL not seen by a GP, but allocated to a paramedic who did all the basic checks then said he couldn't diagnose anything as he wasn't a GP. Then he said the tests had come back but were contaminated so they'd have to take more bloods and samples.

So my 13 year old has been throwing up daily, now throwing up blood, is in constant pain and can't go to school, looks like a zombie and is half the size she used to be, and despite repeated asking and being seen in A&E who told us to see a GP..... we can't se a GP.

I've already decided that if the test results aren't back by Monday I'm going to borrow some money and book to see someone privately. I'm so worried about her, watching her basically diminishing in front of me and knowing (hoping) this could be really treatable if only someone would actually properly see her.

As an update the local private GPs don't have any appointments this week (seems they're busy - can't think why).

YET AGAIN they're sending my daughter for repeat tests (this will be the fourth set). No explanation again, no one seems to know why, just that the GP has again ordered them to be redone again. We can't find out, obviously, because we still haven't spoken to an actual GP. A paramedic is apparently calling us tomorrow to tell us to do a repeat test.

She was sick twice yesterday, has been in terrible pain and is still off school. FFS.

@WhiteWidow001
If my child was vomiting up blood I would go back to A&E and tell them you've been unable to see a GP.

My GP surgery is the same, triage by the nurse then he/she will decide if it's something that she can give advice on or point you in the direction of the most appropriate community professional ie pharmacist, to deal with. Otherwise they will schedule you in for an appointment with the GP/Nurse Practitioner.

How nice to receive triage from a nurse rather than a receptionist with no medical qualifications as happens at our GP practice, and probably many more.