Is this my GP surgery being ridiculous or are all of them operating this way?

[bookstearocknroll]

I got a text to say I should go for my flu appointment at 10.15am last Saturday.

I drove to the doctors and found a queue snaking around the carpark with at least 40-50 people in it who, judging from the conversations around me, had all been given the same appointment time.

It was freezing, raining and there's no shelter or seating in the car park.

I'm disabled so can't stand for long and I imagine the entire queue was full of similarly vulnerable people, given it was for the flu jab. In the end, I had to give up and go home before I got anywhere near the front of the queue because I was so exhausted.

I'm incredibly frustrated as a result and wondering if this is standard protocol now or whether this is just my doctors' surgery making odd decisions. Due to a few issues recently, I'm already considering changing surgeries but wanted to see if I was being unreasonable to feel even more like I should, or whether this is another example of the new normal I should suck up and try to understand.

For further background on how they've been operating since covid broke out, they've had the waiting rooms closed since March and for ordinary appointments, you have to report to reception, which is now an office window facing the car park manned by just one person. Every time I've been since March (I'm disabled and have prem babies so have been a few times), I've turned up on time and been made to wait in the car park to be called in, no matter what the weather is. There are no seats or shelter and frequently a little crowd of patients, many probably quite vulnerable. Doctors frequently run late - I've been left to shiver outside the back door waiting to be let in for up to half an hour after my appointment time, even with baby in tow.

Ours were essentially operating a flu shot clinic - the time they gave was the start of the clinic, you queue and then get it done. Sounds like yours may have been doing similar?

Sounds a bit like my surgery. We have to ring the intercom for reception then wait outside until the doctor comes down to collect us. It does have a bit of shelter from the elements but nowhere to sit. The last time I was there to see the midwife the other week she was running late so I was leaving against the wall for 15 minutes

Our surgery, in the Midlands, is working very efficiently. They’ve been opening on Saturdays and Sundays since mid-September for flu injections.

My appointment was at 2.12pm, there was a receptionist on the car park ticking your name off the list as you arrived and there was just one person in front of me. Two nurses were working and when I was called in there was someone inside the doorway directing you to the nurse you were booked in with and once it was very quickly done you were directed to leave by a different door.
I was back home at 2.15pm and live a 2 minute walk away from the surgery.

My mother books hers at Boots every year now. They give a specific appointment time per person and you don't have to stand around for ages waiting.

Our surgery had 3 min appointment slots. One in, one out. Worked seamlessly with no one waiting around, people were called as soon as they walked in the door, didn’t even get their bum in a socially distanced seat -probably because they clean them after each person so grabbing people before they sit down saves them the bother.

I had an invitation by text. Booked an appointment quickly (8.24am). Only me and one woman other in the waiting room. Nurse did jab and I mentioned I was overdue for a diabetic review so she took bloods, BP and weighed me. Got a text asking me to book a face to face GP appt to discuss results (could they have come back that quickly?). All booked in for a fortnight. Was pretty impressed as I thought you couldn't get near the place and that there were problems with blood tests.

The same one lady was in the waiting room when I came out, along with just a couple of others.

All very calm.

Not sure about flu jabs, but at my drs we ring in the bell and advise we are there and you wait in your car and they come out and get you

Our local highschool is being used literally as a drive through if you can drive. Stick your arm out the window and done

Just book your flu jab through Tesco. If you usually get it free on the NHS, you can do so at Tesco. I booked for my family, mine was free, paid for the rest.

Yours sounds similar to ours. Very similar. We had the car park nonsense yesterday with MIL. Loads of people all bundled together outside waiting at the same time

Waiting rooms have been semi closed since March. They make you stand outside until 5 mins before your appointment, at which stage they will let you in to sit n the huge waiting room for 5 mins before you are called. Hwever, they are being VERY strict with people who are late. There is usually a surgery just behind MILs house, but it seems a kind of 'half surgery' (closed totally on wednesday, run by the same people but only ever one GP per day there) which she uses. This has been closed since March also. So she has to get a taxi to the one next to our house, which is maybe 10 mins in a taxi. Last appointment she had, taxi came a little late, and surgery would not see her as she turned up 2 mins late. So, now she books so she gets there 15 mins early. And instead has to stand outside in the cold for 10 minutes, before being allowed to sit for 5 in the waiting room. She has multiple disabilities, and cannot stand for long periods of time, else she has issues for days afterwards with extra pain/cramp.

Seems ridiculous. We have been going along to meet her when she has to go (twice a week, average) and waiting with her, but its more for company than anything else, as we don't drive so cannot let her sit in car, its just the thought of her making herself purposely early as they refuse to be flexible by even 2 minutes if late..and no, apparently absolutely NO exceptions can be made to the 5 min in waiting area rule either

Not last appointment she had, one of the appointments, a couple of weeks back. Has had 4 since then.

I took my DD into our surgery and was allowed into the waiting room, I’d probably try and contact the practice manager to discuss

Saw on FB a local surgery announcing that they were doing their flu jabs in a local church car park doing it by drive in. You could drive in one way and out another way. For those who were on foot they were doing it in the church hall. It worked well by all accounts.

"For those who were on foot they were doing it in the church hall"

A doctors surgery is easier to clean than a church hall. I don't see how that makes sense tbh. Are the hand washing facilities up to scratch etc, did they take portable fridges?

Our surgery was doing 5 minute appointment slots, with the sensible option of households going in together.

Ow my that sounds awful. My drs have just got a little intercom so you have to say why you are there, they buzz you in to the waiting area where you have to sanitize your hands then sign in on the touch screen iPads then wait in a comfy chair. Yours sounds horrible. You should change who your are with.

We have a gazebo in the corner of the car park and a clear sign that if it's bad weather or you cannot stand inline, return to your car and put your hazard lights on, surgery staff will come to you.
Surgery have also employed a couple of staff who loiter at doors controlling access, taking temperatures, checking people in on the touchscreens. Very few seats in the waiting room and when the dr/nurse comes to get you for your appointment they wipe the seat as soon as you stand up. It's working very well.

I had my flu jab last week, my appointment time was 10.12. They were being done in a village hall rather than the surgery, it was actually very efficient.

My parents were given a one hour window of time to arrive for the shot. It was conducted in a school hall and there were 4 nurses stations set up with a roped queuing area. Whole process took 2 minutes.

They did the same at my surgery except they gave a time slot and said we could attend from 9am until 11am on a Saturday morning. They asked that we queued in the car park and then would have the injection in the doorway and leave through a different door. I didn’t fancy that so I paid to have one done at work.

A doctors surgery is easier to clean than a church hall. I don't see how that makes sense tbh.
Plenty of blood donation sessions take place in church halls, which is probably more of a risk than a single flu jab, so I am sure they can manage.

I've been to my GP twice since March and had plenty of telephone appointments. The waiting room is open with some seats sectioned off so people distance. My other time was for a flu jab. They had a one way system on place and I did have to wait outside for 5 mins. But I should have been told this but wasn't. As a queue was in place to distance people and it was a kind of clinic withe loads of flu jabs being done.

I've also taken my 84 year old grandma to the GP. The waiting room was open there too. Again with seating cordened off for distancing.

So in answer to your question no I don't think all surgeries are doing this. Not very accessible for Ill, old and disabled people.