‘Call at 8am for a GP appointment’

[purplepufferfish]

I work for the NHS and personally understand the stress that the service is under. I get it. But does this frustrate anyone else?

Call for a GP appointment. Get told that the nearest one is two weeks away and to call back the next day at 8am for a same day appointment.

Call back at 8am the next day, as is everyone else of course.

Finally get through at 10am to be told that the next appointment is two weeks away and to call back at 8am for a same day appointment!

Again I know that this is no one’s fault and I genuinely blame no one for this.

Am I being unreasonable for being frustrated?

@2Rebecca

Letters in Scotland are sent by the health board not GP surgeries. Routine screening is only just restarting but surgeries are limited by the number of patients they can accommodate in the waiting room with social distancing. Many surgeries are also doing Covid imms at the moment. In Scotland we still have severe restrictions

Thanks

It’s terrible though isn’t it.

So no idea when I’ll get smear test ...

One of my DC just had a letter regarding a hospital treatment they were supposed to get , it has been postponed indefinitely.
It was a standard NHS letter stating that due to the pandemic there are no waiting list dates / targets and if we want to have DC removed from list completely then let them know - so it’s basically wait and see ...

Changing surgeries isn't that easy, is it?

I am registered at one by where I work rather than live. You can change to any GP you like, doesn't have to be in a catchment.

The only thing you can do online at my surgery is request a repeat prescription.

My GP does this but you can also do an econsult form which is great and you get a back same day

I think registering where you work rather than live is only available in certain parts of the UK. I don't think it's available in Scotland. Online appointments are only some surgeries, others are concerned it will mean internet savvy younger people book all the appointments leaving none for the elderly or those without internet skills and with poor literacy.

@2Rebecca

I think registering where you work rather than live is only available in certain parts of the UK. I don't think it's available in Scotland. Online appointments are only some surgeries, others are concerned it will mean internet savvy younger people book all the appointments leaving none for the elderly or those without internet skills and with poor literacy.

I’m in Scotland and when I moved house from one town to the next I had to change surgeries. Pretty sure you have to be registered in the local authority town you stay in up here ?

Our surgery has a website ... all it has on it is the address , the names of the doctors and the phone number.

@RubyWooRed not in England.

You can register with any GP practice within reason and as long as you agree they won't do home visits for you they should accept you.

In reality it means that if you move a few miles out of the area the practice covers you don't need to change GP.

However most people use moving, even just down the road, as an excuse to see if they can find a better GP practice as many practices make it difficult for you to change due to GP shortages.

@wusbanker

Changing surgeries isn't that easy, is it?

I am registered at one by where I work rather than live. You can change to any GP you like, doesn't have to be in a catchment.

You definitely can't do this in Wales.

If you have internet access try registering for patient access (you’ll need a form from your surgery). Once registered you can book appointments online and many surgeries are releasing same day appointments online from 7am.

@Wusbanker. GP surgeries in our area are strictly controlled by catchment areas as are many areas of the UK. We moved house three miles from our previous address and had to change surgeries as we were just outside the boundar,

What frustrates me is that very often it isn't the GP I need to see, but have to go through the GP for a referral, which then takes weeks to happen, then I have to go back to the GP for results etc, but it takes weeks again for these to arrive at the surgery despite the fact it's all electronic so you'd think it's just a matter of a mouse click and you're done! I've had some things move a lot quicker thanks (!) to Covid and the GP doing virtual consults with a follow up calls that usually happen on the day. Surely there's a better system though than having to see a GP just to be passed on to the next stage?

It is frustrating.You have to be a bit persistant.My father had a stroke..and i needed to get his medication..i was told..in no uncertain terms that because HE should have got it..He would have to wait..I informed the Mini Hitler at the surgery..that i would be there in 30 mins..Also reminded her his memory was bad.The medication was ready...Just be determined.q

Took me 3 days of calling at 8am to finally get a 2 minute phone consultation a couple of weeks ago! The receptionist advised I could head to the local urgent care centre, in a town that has one of the highest covid-19 rates in the country! All I wanted was antibiotics for my 4 year olds impetigo, why would that be urgent, let alone urgent enough to sit for a few hours in a covid hotspot?

I'm due my cervical screening. I've tried calling for three days, spend five minutes listening to recorded messages telling me info about covid etc. to then get number options, I press the right one and then it just says 'sorry we're busy right now, call back later' and it hangs up. I'm so frustrated with it as I keep having to leave my desk and work to go try and make a call. They, quite rightly, encourage us to go and get it done, yet you can't even get through to someone to book it!

I'm feeling really bored now. I don't like watching TV at the best of times but I feel I could through something at it right now. Even hobbies I usually love doing like reading or knitting are becoming tedious. I hope once we're out and about again I can find a love for them again.

I actually did an online questionnaire last night for an issue, and a nurse called me back at about 9.30am this morning, and I got a prescription sent to my nearest pharmacy ten minutes later. I genuinely can’t fault anything about it.

They also have a queue system if you call. I can normally get an appointment within 3 days if I’m not fussy about timings.

The GP service in my area is ridiculous. It was only around a month ago my sister found a lump in her breast and being swollen in other areas. She rang the GP at 8am the next morning to be flat out refused an appointment because they was booked up for the rest of the week (it was a Wednesday) and even when she asked to speak to a doctor just for advice, the receptionist just kept saying no and didn’t even ask what was wrong with her. In the end I had to drive her to get medical assistance in a different area. The service is shocking.

YANBU it is a complete waste of everyone's time. Some practices now make you fill in an on-line form and they triage that way, often doing internet appointments. Waiting 2 weeks if you have symptoms is simply ridiculous.

We have to play the 8:30am 'lotto' for our surgery for a same day appointment, fortunately it doesn't happen often. Our surgery has a different welcome message on the phone line for open/closed times so I put the phone on speaker and can tell whether I'm too early - hit the redial - or good timing - redial if busy or sit and wait if I get through.

I'm really annoyed that our GP surgery stopped their online appointment system when Covid hit last year, and they haven't re-enabled it. When you ask, they say they are physically seeing as few patients as possible and doing most by phone; so they don't want people to book their own appointments, they want their receptionists to tell what kind of appointment should be offered.

My man rang 57 times on monday, tuesday over 40, Wednesday same again thursday same again. Still no appointment. Ridiculous in the extreme

Same here. Drives me nuts. As a teacher I can’t call at 8am anyway because I’m AT WORK. They refuse to accept this, it honestly feels like they’d be happier if all the patients disappeared. A vet will see a dog with a sore foot in double quick time. I know this is about market vs public service but WTF?

Took me 3 days of calling at 8am to finally get a 2 minute phone consultation a couple of weeks ago! The receptionist advised I could head to the local urgent care centre, in a town that has one of the highest covid-19 rates in the country! All I wanted was antibiotics for my 4 year olds impetigo, why would that be urgent, let alone urgent enough to sit for a few hours in a covid hotspot?
Why didn't you just but her some brulidine cream over the counter for her save her suffering for 3 days. That doesn't make sense
A phone call or trip to the pharmacy would have sorted that out in minutes.

Yup - our GP is the same. I’m supposed to be doing that whilst driving daughter to school at same time. Utterly ridiculous and thus I’ve not been to GP in over two years.

We all get frustrated. You just have to start ringing at, say, 7.55 and keep trying to call until the phone lines open, so you're one of the ones that gets a slot.

My GP also has the option to call at 1.30, you could see if your surgery has that too so you have another chance.

But if you start calling before lines open in the morning you should be ok.