To think if you can only have telephone GP appointments, they shouldn’t call three times in the space of a minute before crossing you off the list?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Had a telephone consultation booked with a GP, had to wait over a week for the appointment. They never give you an exact time, so I was just told it would be after 4pm. Normally they ring once, if there’s no answer ring the next person on the list and then try you again, but not today!

I’ve been by my phone the whole time except for a roughly 90-second window when I was in the bathroom. Of course it had to be then that Dr rang me three times in the space of a minute. I rang back literally a minute later and was told the Dr has taken me off the list and I now have to wait another 8 days for another telephone appointment.

AIBU to think that’s a bit unreasonable?

Thank you @OctupusObsidian I have had a rash over the swollen area etc so I need to get it seen. It feels about the size or a large grape or cherry tomato so it might be a cyst.

This type of system must be beloved by lazy GPs- most seen to be sitting behind locked doors, refusing to see anyone, and now using this system for their almost impossible to get phone appointments.

And GPs will never get back to normal now this attitude has taken hold.

@Frezia

I wonder if we have the same GP. It happened to me too, it's infuriating. Three calls literally a minute apart each. When I submitted the consultation form the response was "we'll get back to you in the next 48 hours". I can't be glued to my phone every minute for two days. When I called back 10 minutes later the receptionist was really pissy with me as well, how dare I be unavailable for 3 minutes. There's no need for that.

Unfortunately, the GP has 30/40 patients to ring xndvthey don't have time to keep trying you

@BashfulClam
I'm sure you'll be fine, but please keep us posted!

I hate to say it folks, but GPs have been the lame ducks of Covid.

It honestly works well for me. They always say it'll be after 12noon so I just makes sure I have my mobile with me, on vibrate & turned up loud too, even in the loo or taking out the rubbish. If I'm doing something or with someone I excuse myself & apologise saying it's the only Dr appt I could get & everyone's been absolutely fine with it.

I feel bad for you, OP. Of course only giving you one minute of opportunity to pick up is ridiculous. They should have tried a few minutes later or after calling another patient. Sounds very much like an easy excuse for them not having to do the call!

So sorry to hear of all these people having problems. Our surgery never has this, so it doesn't have to be like that

It is frustrating. I have a problem at the moment that isn't an emergency, but painful and annoying. I've had it quite a few times before because of a condition I have that makes it common. I usually self-manage but it's been pretty bad this time and over the counter meds weren't helping. I didn't want to waste an appointment on it, so I used the new 'ask a doctor' feature on their website for non-urgent issues, explained the problem and asked for a prescription for the medication I've had before.

I got a response back saying I'd need to book a telephone appointment for the next day. Phoned reception and waited an hour in the queue starting at number 38. Was told no phone appointments for weeks. I asked what I should do then, and was put down for a triage phone call.

I missed the first call as I had the audacity to pop to the toilet, so had to phone the surgery and queue for another hour. They put me down for the next day triage list and was told not to miss the call next time. Okay, no toilet visits for me for an entire day.

Spoke to a paramedic who does the triaging, and she said she'd prescribe me two things to help.

Waited five days, no prescription appeared. Put a message through again to ask them to check on it - got a response back to say I was given advice to use over-the-counter items, and if that wasn't working to book a phone appointment.

I've given up! The issue hasn't gone away and I'm still suffering, but there we are.

I’ve once had a call back at 9pm! From a withheld number too. It’s a miracle I answered it.

I don’t understand why they can’t give a time.
Surely it’s like booking an appointment to go in to the surgery?
My GP practice is the same - my job involves having appointments with individuals but I have had to book a GP appointment for myself next week- no time given - and hope that it doesn’t clash with one of my own work appointments 🙄

@eatsleepread

I phoned the GP enquiry line this morning for some blood test results, which would have arrived a couple of days ago. I was told to phone back between 2 and 5, as that's when the staff have access to blood test results. I mean really, WTF? The whole system needs an overhaul so that there is at least a modicum of convenience to patients' lives.

I used to work in a surgery. Blood results have always been given out in the afternoon to allow them to be logged on the system and also because the morning tend to be very busy, as that's when most people ring for appointments. The afternoons are generally quieter on the phones and fewer surgeries straight after lunch.

DS had a telephone appointment last week; he was at school when the GP rang his mobile and didn’t answer, so they rang the landline, then said they would try his mobile again in a few minutes. I had to quickly ring the school office and ask them to put a note on the system for his teacher telling him to make sure he answered his phone!
One good thing to come out of all this is our new ‘online services’ - 3/4 times now I have been able to message the surgery (once with a photo attached for an infected ingrown toenail) and they have messaged back either the same or next day to answer my query/email my sick note/ prescribe antibiotics sent directly to the pharmacy. No spending ages trying to get through, or hang around waiting for them to see me/call back. It’s brilliant!

Well I’ve had to call the surgery again because I’ve had bleeding and cramping since last night and my EPU will only see me if I’m referred by a GP. Rang them as early as I could, I’ve been put down for an “urgent” appointment and will get a call “hopefully this morning” from the same GP who rang three times in two minutes before removing me from the patient list. Now I’m too paranoid to even go to the loo in case it happens again. “Hopefully this morning”??? Is that really the best they can do?

Mine won't give a time, and inevitably call at school pickup time. Even if I can answer the call it is hard to concentrate on the conversation while picking up my child.

I'm a GP and would always try a few times but spread out. I like the phone appointment system but totally understand that phones are a bit unreliable and if you receive a call from someone else at the same time there's not a lot you can do about it. So I usually call as close to the appointment time as I can then if I don't get through try after my next person and then don't take that person off my list until I've tried about 3 times with space in between and leaving a message saying 'sorry to have missed you, I'll try again in 15mins or so' I've never had to cross someone off my list yet doing this so working well for me.
A person upthread said something about GPS being lame in the pandemic but we have been working harder than ever before and remember, we are delivering the vaccination programme too without being allowed to drop any core services. Most GP partners are not being paid anything to work all the extra shifts. We also have an increased work load from secondary care who are asking us to do more bloods/ review results and see some of their patients. Most GPs are working 12+ hour days. The reason the access is bad is because we're overwhelmed, not because we're doing nothing.
Hope you get sorted soon OP x

I have actually had some really good medical treatment throughout covid, as have some of my family and friends.

I really don't mind the telephone appointments. I'd be happy for them to remain an option.

BUT only if I can have a timed appointment, with some choice, or at least an hours time slot.

Not everyone calling a Gp is ill enough to be at home all day and not everyone can have their phone with them at work. And everyone needs to be able to nip to the loo or grab a shower at some point.

It’s shit, so badly thought out. I missed mine because the receptionist said the GP would call within an hour window and they didn’t and I then had to attend a work Teams meeting and missed the call. I called back and now I have to wait a week.

Seriously if there’s any GPs on here sort this out.

I've got an idea. An online system where you can view where you are in the queue and how many calls the dr has to make before it gets to you and it updates the time you will be called every time the dr puts the phone down. A bit like the parcel tracking app but for phone calls. You don't see anyone else's name except yours.

I had a palavar where the dr left a message saying he would call back so I didn't call to let them know I still wanted an appointment and wasn't called back. So I called the surgery who said I needed to call back immediately after I'd noticed I'd missed it and I couldn't have the call that day because I hadn't called back. Despite the fact the voice mail said the dr would try me again!!

@Cwassonk

I've got an idea. An online system where you can view where you are in the queue and how many calls the dr has to make before it gets to you and it updates the time you will be called every time the dr puts the phone down. A bit like the parcel tracking app but for phone calls. You don't see anyone else's name except yours.

I had a palavar where the dr left a message saying he would call back so I didn't call to let them know I still wanted an appointment and wasn't called back. So I called the surgery who said I needed to call back immediately after I'd noticed I'd missed it and I couldn't have the call that day because I hadn't called back. Despite the fact the voice mail said the dr would try me again!!

I don't think that would help those of us who can't have their phone out at work though.

I teach so not allowed my phone in the classroom when teaching. I need an actual time or time slot, one I have so say in.

God I hate the telephone system. You'd think GPs would realise that there are a whole mass of people who cannot just answer their phone randomly during the day. I'm a teacher but there are also supermarket staff, paramedics, lorry drivers and countless others. It's not like a GP could answer their phone if they were in a consultation so surely they realise that some people need a specific time.

Yes I should have been clearer. Technically everyone would have an appointment time, like face to face, but also like face to face it would allow for the fact these things never run to time. So you would pick a slot but know how likely it was to be at that time precisely.

You'd think GPs would realise that there are a whole mass of people who cannot just answer their phone randomly during the day. I'm a teacher but there are also supermarket staff, paramedics, lorry drivers and countless others.

I know, like we are just sat by the phone awaiting their call. In my case they gave an hour window and didn’t call, then called outside that window when I was on an important work call! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Our surgery has been a bit of a nightmare for this too.

I like the e-consult thing as it is a marked improvement on having to ring 658 times on the dot of 8:30am. I would then get an email with a 2 hour window to expect a call back.

Lately, Doctors phoning back is a bit hit and miss though. Last time I filled in the e-consult, I simply got a message to say someone would call me within 48 hours.

I dutifully carried my phone everywhere I went, only for them to call the next day, during the 2 minutes I was on the phone to someone else. I called straight back but was told I’d have to start the process again as I’d missed my appointment as they’d called twice but I didn’t answer.

Wasn’t impressed.

Oh Redglitter I wish our system was like yours (make an actual telephone appointment).

I'm quite happy with telephone appointments most of the time but my difficulty is trying to have a personal conversation with two disabled DC in earshot. I can arrange to be somewhere private for a hour or so when I have a rough idea but not when the call is scheduled 'anytime between 8am and 6pm'!

Still preferable to what my poor mum is trying to deal with. Sent a letter telling her to ring to speak to a GP re test results. You have to ring at 8am which she has tried to, then put in a queue (36th) yesterday, waiting over an hour, then get cut off, start again, back in queue, get through finally after another half an hour to be told no appointments left and no way of making an appointment for the following day/week even if it isn't a specific time. Absolutely ridiculous system.

I completely understand the age old problem of people not turning up for appointments but this new alternative is, in many cases, very detrimental to patients that aren't time wasters.

It’s really bad practice. I missed an emergency appointment because I was vomiting, they didn’t ring back and when I rang the GP surgery after my missed call they had no more appointments that day! I ended up at out of hours. I work in healthcare and do telephone appointments. If I don’t get through I leave a voicemail with a time I’ll ring back at and try again (usually within the hour).