To think that if I can work..

[ButtonRose]

Surrounded by the British public every day and "be safe", there is simply no reason why I have to have a telephone appointment before I can see a real human being for heath care?

At my dr’s the receptionist notes down what time you won’t be available to take a phone call.

it still comes down to those that are falling through the cracks this is true. Perhaps they need the receptionist to be able to make a call then that they need to be seen rather than called.

I left the UK early in the year and returned home to Ireland, where we have some crazy restrictions , yet I can see my gp face to face , often within a few days. No big battle to get one either unlike when I was in the UK.

GP services in Ireland are infinitely better than in the UK, but of course you have to pay for them unless you have a medical card. But at least you can see one.

This again. Every day.

This again. Every day.

And it should be. Every day. Until patients can see a GP again.

At my surgery there is still the 8:30 scrum, but it’s for phone appointments!

I don’t mind a phone appointment first as long as they arrange a time I can do. If I’m in a court hearing (which I usually am) I can’t answer during the day. I did tell my surgery this and asked for after 4:30pm, but came out of court to a voicemail saying they’d try once more, and another voicemail saying they’d tried twice and please ring the surgery if I still required an appointment.

Perhaps they need the receptionist to be able to make a call then that they need to be seen rather than called

This would help, but we've all read about or come across guard dog receptionists that seem to consider it their duty to keep patients away from GPs.

There should be some system where you are asked if you could do a phone appointment (many, many people) or if it needs to be f2f. And HCPs need to trust the vast majority of the public not to abuse it. The issue is that currently we've had this foisted on us with no consultation, and we've all accepted it for the greater good, but now it's time to take a breath and decide where to go from here so that as many people as possible are safe, happy and able to get the sort of appointment they need in a timely manner.

I suspect a lot of patients would abuse choice and would insist on being seen face to face just because that's what they want.

Maybe a change of system when people can actually go to the doctor they need without having to have x consultations would help GPs to not be overly busy... I still after all that time living here do not for the love of god understand why I can't just book to gynae straight away. It's not like women would start flocking there for shit and giggles... Just saying (as usually)

I called at 9am, gp phoned me at 10.30am, decided she wanted to see me at 11am and I had a blood test then a call the next day with results and tablets within 24 hours. Just let them triage you and you’ll get a face to face

And it doesn't occur to you that you might have been extremely lucky, and it might not be like that for everyone?

@ButtonRose

I called at 9am, gp phoned me at 10.30am, decided she wanted to see me at 11am and I had a blood test then a call the next day with results and tablets within 24 hours. Just let them triage you and you’ll get a face to face

And it doesn't occur to you that you might have been extremely lucky, and it might not be like that for everyone?

You don't even know yet that you won't get a timely face to face appointment once you been spoken with on the phone.

Have you read other people's posts on here? It's not everyone's experience. I'm glad it has been the experience of some, but there should be recognition that it doesn't apply to everyone. You should care about that.

@MyMushroomsInATimeSlip

Depends if you want to risk that human being getting covid and then being unable to provide your health care

Well by refusing to see people face-to-face they're unable to provide proper healthcare already.

@ButtonRose but this is the general approach - phone triage with face to face appointments when needed. I work in healthcare but only know my own county but from what I’ve heard the approach is similar. My friend, a gp, has seen an increase in calls compared to 2019 of 14% and the 3 gps can’t cope. A lot is mental health/loneliness or complex but non urgent things they could deal with at home or with pharmacy advice, just needing reassurance.

I love phone appointments - so much easier than missing hours of work!

The original post you quoted wasn't mine.

You were initially objecting to having a telephone triage.

Some people have had positive service and there are positives to be gained from the telephone triage system but some people don't want to acknowledge that. For some face to face on demand is the desired service and it might not always be the most effective way of doing things.

Dd had a phone appointment today, first thing this morning followed by a face to face with the doctor and blood tests with the HCA this afternoon. Our doctors surgery appears to be operating more efficiently with telephone triage in place.

If our doctor's surgery is anything to go by, if after the telephone consultation, they decide you need to be seen in person, then that appointment would be more or less the next day. I think that the triage system isn't about covid anymore, they just think it's more efficient.

@Mistymountain

If our doctor's surgery is anything to go by, if after the telephone consultation, they decide you need to be seen in person, then that appointment would be more or less the next day. I think that the triage system isn't about covid anymore, they just think it's more efficient.

It may very well be more efficient. I suspect those needing face to face appointments might be getting them more quickly without slots being blocked by people who don't need them.

@ButtonRose

Surrounded by the British public every day and "be safe", there is simply no reason why I have to have a telephone appointment before I can see a real human being for heath care?

Except a heath care setting wouldn't be fully of reasonably heathy people. Instead it woul be full of poorly people with lower immune systems during their illness

It’s not just the appointment time that needs considering. I am a healthcare professional. I am seeing patients. We need extra time to put on PPE, wash hands, clean the area, etc. We also have rules about how much time there needs to be between patients in the same room. So we’ll see a patient then do a couple of calls and then see another patient. Covid has completely changed how we work, and sometimes phone calls are adequate. I used to hate calling patients rather than seeing them but even I can see the benefits.

I suspect a lot of patients would abuse choice and would insist on being seen face to face just because that's what they want.

But then we have threads like these where people for whom it's working fall over themselves to tell us how great the phone system is. So why would they then want to abuse choice?

Lots of people say it's better for them, and I completely understand why that is, but that doesn't mean others find it that effective.

Either it works for most so they wouldn't abuse a choice, or it doesn't work for most.. in which case it needs to looked at again.

I suspect that in some cases there are not enough gps for the practice size and workload. Govt have ignored a recruitment and retention crisis in gp. Patients should have the experience of same day face to face appointments if they need it - not have to wait 2 weeks. Some people have this experience - which is what it should be like everywhere - but unfortunately it’s a postcode lottery. My relatives live in a growing town (with large new development) - with 1 gp surgery which struggled to retain gps - they retired, went on sick leave - was in special measures. Improving now, but it took health authorities a long time.

I don’t think the use of telephone appointments is the cause of inadequate service. I think it’s the understaffing.

If a gp caught Covid from a patient then they could potentially infect lots of the staff and the whole surgery would have to close down! That would effect the whole area and nursing homes etc, it's not just about your safety and the gp's safety - their main aim at the moment is staying open

My GP surgery is still doing telephone triage but they’re so helpful and efficient - you always get through and get on the list for that morning/afternoon, the doctor calls back pretty soon after (within about two hours) and then if you need a face to face they always say come straight in IME, even if it’s closing time on a Friday evening, they’ll stay til they’ve seen you. The reception staff are so lovely as well and don’t do any gatekeeping. It makes me wonder why if they can do it all surgeries can’t do it.