GP surgery appointments

[Peanut61]

AIBU to not understand why my GP insists on phone appointments.

I am getting so frustrated. I have a couple of issues today and need to see the GP. One of the issues involved a poorly child. And the other needs looking at in person as it’s a physical thing that has potential to turn bad, spoken to pharmacy and first treatment has failed.

call up at 8 on dot, sit in queue for ages. Explain myself in great detail to a non medical receptionist. They only do phone appointments first. So now at some point this afternoon a medical person will call.

im sorry but in my opinion this is a waste of time. They can’t examine a child with fever of unknown origin on phone. They can’t look at my physical issue either. Phone is great for some things but to have that blanket rule is such a waste in my opinion.

is it like this everywhere? Why are GPs insisting on phone appointments first? Does it really save time/money?

surely I’m my case, I’m wasting time and potentially the dr will miss things that could turn bad.

eg if I had a breast lump or a mole that was dodgy or potential tic bite. Would a phone appointment really help?

I should add my surgery is on special measures as it’s so poor! I am looking to change but do are lots. There’s very few doctors there now so it’s even harder to get an appointment.

I can get f2f with GP. We can request if we want phone or f2f.

This is for both same day and routine. Small ill dc would be seen f2f and squeezed in on day of contacting them.

It's very frustrating.

But I guess it's for a similar reason that you'll see triage first when you go to a&e, who can assess the best course of action going forward. In the long run, and looking at the whole department's caseload as a whole, it is the most effective way to manage priorities.

mine are excellent, phone or f2f
and i am sure the medical receptionists have a crib sheet/training to guide them

Agree OP, I don't mind for myself so much, but it's a pain with DC as you ring at 0800 then wait ages for the phone callback. Then they inevitably decide DC does need to be seen face to face, so end up squeezing them in late afternoon, then if there's any thing they aren't sure about suddenly you find yourselves sent up to paediatrics in rush hour, a couple of hours for tests at paeds then chucked out of there at 10 o'clock at night!

(this has happened to me more than once)

Mine are run off their feet and you wait a fortnight even for a phone appointment BUT if it’s something that clearly needs to be seen or palpated (delightful word) IME they will get you in on the day.

The issue with mine is that they shut off the online booking system ‘because of covid’ and haven’t reinstated. There must be a good reason, but I don’t know what it is.

YANBU!
The new GP system seems to follow absolutely no logic. For some things the phone call is helpful, if you don’t need to be seen they can just send the prescription straight through to a pharmacy. Sorted.
They insisted on a phone call recently for an asthma appointment for a toddler! Utterly stupid, they were obviously only going to ask to be seen but wouldn’t make an appointment.
Instead I have to wait by my phone all day in work waiting for a phone call from the doctor and if you miss it tough luck.
If they do call and you manage to speak to them it’s ‘well I would really need to see them, I can’t diagnose much over the phone’ well obviously! So then they make an appointment which has to be on that day, if I want the next day I will have to call up at 8am again, so I’m in a mad rush trying to get out of work at the last minute, pick DC up from nursery and get to the doctors with no notice.

Currently waiting from a call back from a nurse regarding my poorly 2 year old! Temp spiking 40 without regular calpol/nurophen.
Took 30 mins on hold to get through, receptionist lovely, but I also think she needs to be seen in person!
I understand it's a triage system, I'm no doctor but she clearly has tonsillitis and a raging temp!
Hoping she a prescribing nurse and I won't then have to wait longer for a GP to call again!!

Ours defaults to phone appointments but if it's something that clearly can't be done on the phone they do face to face.

You can send photos in on your phone. I had to do it with a rash. I'd rather have a phone appointment where I can. They fit two extra slots in an hour at our GP's by doing that.

Mine offer both, I think telephone can be great depending on what you need it for. I've been given prescriptions or referrals from a telephone appointment and it's saved me having to take half a day off work for it as I don't work near home.

I work as a receptionist in my local surgery. We are offering both In Person and telephone appointments as it means we can offer more help I imagine.
We have 44,000 patients but honestly if I speak to maybe 70 people per day I only turn away maybe 8 which normally call in the last hour or so I can normally for everyone else in somewhere.

In all honesty I do really feel for those people will real issues either ongoing or new because the amount of people that call for absolute drivel that we have to offer an appointment out to is remarkable. It is getting better we are making people do self care at the pharmacy and trying to weed out other stuff that has to now be online such as referral / ongoing fit notes.

Mental health appointments take up such an incredible amount of what we have to offer there sometimes just isn't anything I have found and saw a pattern with.

We really aren't nosey (most of us!) we just need some information as what you have may need a GP / ACP /ANP / FCP/PA etc fancy terms for different levels of nurses and clinicians not everyone is trainees for the same issues and it spends how long you of has said issues.

I really hope you get seen and I'm not discrediting you at all just giving some insight to what I see daily :)

My GP has got much better but during the pandemic and immediately afterwards it was getting silly. I would have to email the GP and say this is why I need to see you, I don’t want to waste a phone appt to tell you that and they would put a note on the system to say I was “allowed” an in person appt. But obviously that doesn’t help with urgent cases. Common sense needs to be followed.

Oh and at the moment any respiratory issues unless very ongoing has to be a telephone a call firstly but once you have had that they will book you in person normally if you are struggling

I suspect you just have a crap GP practice. I work in primary care and it's really not like that locally.

My mum rang for an appointment on Tuesday last week, saw GP F2F on the Friday. Hospital appointment on Tuesday and phone call from GP on Wednesday to sort her medication.

She also has a 4 week review with the practice nurse to make sure she's happy with everything.

I've worked with GP's for 30 years and there have always been shit ones but people won't change practice to a better one

Ours have started F2F appointments again but trying to get through at 8am is a nightmare. I think for some things, phone appointments are ideal but for the majority of cases, a GP needs to see you in person.

My surgery is telephone only too and either morning or afternoon, no time given. I hate it. I'm a GP and went back to F2F last November. Much safer and quicker.

Our surgery has put out a message to say they are very short of doctors this week - covid is still doing the rounds. Those who are positive but not too unwell can do telephone appointments, and of course the fewer face-to-face appointments, the less risk of another doctor encountering covid. Some things can be dealt with remarkably easily over the phone, sometimes with the aid of a photograph. On a couple of occasions the doctor has wanted me/dd to go in so they could look properly, and it's been easier to sort a time for that because the phone appointments are more flexible.

With your examples:
Breast lump - whatever they think it is, the next step is probably referral to the breast clinic. Even if they're pretty sure it's something benign, they will send you, so seeing it will make practically no difference.
Suspect mole - I had one, they looked at a photo, didn't think it was a worry, but asked me to pop in for a couple of minutes so they could confirm.

In my area there is no option to change practice. You will only be in catchment for one practice.
All the practices are bursting at the seams due to significant house building which has doubled the population in 20 years (may be less) and no more GPs surgeries have opened. There are a number of people even without a GP as surgeries have refused to take on more. What are these people supposed to do?

Mine did the telephone triage followed by F2F if necessary during height of covid but stopped about a year ago. They now offer you a choice between telephone or F2F for both urgent or routine appointments which is perfect. I’ve even gone in F2F for a mental health problem (as it was quite severe) but then have had all follow ups over the phone which saves us all time. I’m always told I can come in F2F if I prefer.

My GP surgery are fab and I’m so glad we now have the option as it works really well for staff and patients.

There are a number of people even without a GP as surgeries have refused to take on more. What are these people supposed to do?

Yeah it's the same here. We had to get the health board to 'force' us onto the list of a GP surgery who'd already turned us away when we attempted to register in the normal way.

Our GP surgery is awful and getting appointment is like looking for a unicorn.
Ive been on hold for 2 hours before and told they cant book appointments in advance so have to call back the next day. Same thing happens again.
They only seem to offer phone appointments as well which are useless if you need to be examined.

I do think the more worrying this is the e-consult system.
We are directed to completing an online form now which is fine for anything basic like a repeat prescription etc.
But Ive filled these forms out for new conditions and just been prescribed medication without being seen. Same for DH where he had a skin problem. He uploaded a photo, was prescribed cream for it which made it worse and the same process has happened 3 times now.
Hes asked for a face to face appointment and been refused.

They also seem happy to prescribe for a baby over the phone which i feel is disgusting given they dont even know her weight for medication. Its borderline dangerous.

Its about time they reverted back to normal. All other industries have.

I do think telephone is fine for most things but I’ve had to write in advance to get the follow f2f without a telephone appt first

• 2x post 28week antenatal appts (for some reason in my area 2 are done by GPs)
• Pertussis jab
• Stitches on my arm to be removed by practise nurse

The receptionist was insisting a phone appt first to tell a GP why an appt was needed. 🙄 luckily my GP is now basically back to pre covid service.

Yes - and what are the GPs supposed to do? It’s impossible to recruit GPs (where we are anyway), my town has gone from 4 surgeries to 3 in the last 4 years so you can imagine the strain on the surviving surgeries, the houses keep on getting built & our population (in general) needs more & more healthcare.

We start phoning at 8.00, the phone starts to ring and then we get the message 'the waiting list is full' and then we get cut off!
I've done an e-consult with a photo and found that quite difficult but did get a phone call.
I'm horrified about what has just happened to a friend. She had dreadful stomach pains, went to A&E but after hours in agony was sent home with laxatives. To cut an awful story short, she ended up with three blockages being removed from her bowel and is in a dreadful state.

My GP always sees children in person (in my experience) and I was seen yesterday for an exacerbation of my asthma. I have also had telephone appointments regarding an ongoing back issue.

I do think it is surgery-dependent