To be utterly fed up at the Doctors Surgery System?

[PinkFishies]

I’ve been trying to get in touch with my GP (NHS in England) due to having abnormal bleeding for a week now.

(I suspect I have Endo or PCOS or some other condition relating to gynea, but that’s another story)

We can’t book appointments in advance, we have to call the surgery on the day when phone lines open at 8:30am.

I work 8-4 Monday to Friday on a busy reception so it’s almost impossible to be free. Luckily today the reception was covered so I took myself to a quiet room to begin calling at 8:30.

I rang 131 times. I was met with the engaged tone every time. On my 132nd attempt after 40 minutes of trying I was put into a call queue. After 10/15 minutes of waiting the receptionist answered and told me “Unfortunately all slots are now fully booked. You will have to try again tomorrow morning”.

I just burst into tears. My issue isn’t something I can go to a walk in centre for. Or ring 111. I wouldn’t dare go to A&E but I can imagine a lot of people will do for certain things because seeing a GP is near impossible.

There is no point changing surgeries. All our surgeries in the local area sit under the same umbrella and all have the same system.

The system is utterly broken. I can’t see it getting any better. Nobody has the answers. Don’t have the money to go private. I really wish I did.

That’s different to the post I was quoting which was simple ringworm.

Mine does have a small consulting room but there's often no women working and I'm not whipping my trousers down for some bloke I've never seen before!

I tried this after seeing the message yesterday.
Response received later that afternoon to tell me to call the surgery to make an appointment.
Called this morning but couldn't get through for well over half an hour. Surgery was closed this afternoon when I tried and no option to leave a message or make an appointment until it opens again on Monday morning. Had to give up due to work

So sadly this option doesn't work for our surgery.

Yep it's shit.

And even when you do get through at ours, you'd think it was their personal mission in life to prevent anyone ever getting a call. It's always the same "have you been to the pharmacy". The pharmacy nearby is sick of them too.

Considering there is Strep warnings, our surgery sent a text saying there's loads of coughs so don't call, go to pharmacy instead as they're busy. Utterly dangerous.

They also managed to break data protection rules as every single patient in the books, got a text from a private company asking us to take our blood pressure. Got it 3 times a day for a week.

They then text to say it was an error and was only meant to be sent to 1 patient. They moaned that people panicked and called the surgery! Someone had to advise them to refer themselves to the ICO.

I'm also in Sheffield. We don't have that level of service at our surgery sadly.

Phone at 8:30, hang on for ages to join a queue. Appointments for same day available if you're quick enough, otherwise call back tomorrow . The telephone appointment system doesn't seem to be happening at the moment. When it did we weren't given a time. For a non urgent appointments you will have a lengthy wait.

The patient access app only allows you to do repeat prescriptions.

Briefly pre covid we could book non urgent appointments on the app but that has now stopped. You could never book ones with the nurses through it.

The online nhs form recommended early results in an email telling you to call the surgery to book an appointment, so no better that way.

Can't book appointments in person post covid, has to be done via online.

No e-appointments and no online/messaging service with gps re medical appointments, like dd gets at her surgery elsewhere.

Surgery is now closed for for appointments at least 2 afternoons a week.

@Abraxan so weird. My surgery has started opening at 7:30 3 days a week and until 7:30pm 2 days a week. You can phone them all day exceot lunchtime, email with queries or walk in and book an appointment.

Why can some do it, and some can’t? It’s outrageous.

I've had a similar problem. After not going to the Drs for about a decade,I've had some worrying symptoms and rang up to make an appointment. I managed to get a phone appointment in 11 days time. Dr rings on the Friday night as anticipated,yes,you need some blood tests and to be seen and examined within 7 to 10 days. I ring on Monday,no notes yet so can't book a blood test, however someone does ring me back and the first appointment for bloods is another 10 days,so I book it and ask what I do about being examined.

Apparently I need to ring again to book an appointment for that. Two days running,no appointments available,third day,they can book me a phone appointment for two weeks time. I explain that the Dr has said that I need to be physically seen,and I'm booked in for 3 weeks time. By then it will be a month since the first phone call that I made to them. I keep hearing adverts saying that your NHS wants to see you. No. No they don't.

When I went for my blood test,the nurse said that I'd not had a blood pressure check,so she'd book me in for one next Tuesday. I pointed out that I'd had one when I'd had my COVID jab,but there's nothing on my notes about it. I have no problems with my blood pressure so it seems bonkers that they want to check me out for something that I have no issues with,but the thing that I'm really worried about is being dragged out and not resolved.

So glad we don't have this phone nonsense. You go on the website or app, fill in the form, they phone you back that day.

I've managed to get an appointment!! Snapped up one with my fav female GP in 2 weeks time - literally exactly what I wanted!

The only time I manage to get a GP appointment is when 111 told me to, or paramedics have sent a referral.

Like many other surgeries, mine is one where you have to call at 8am, even if you feel you can wait 2 weeks anyway.
No idea about the e-consult things. I don't think mine does it.

Hanging on waiting for the surgery to answer while on a PAYG phone means its no longer free at the point of access.

Sadly it's not an equal service across the country, not even within the same towns and cities.

There should ideally, be an consistent service which all patients across the country can access, be it online booking systems, e-consilt systems, etc.

It shouldn't be down to luck.

My dd has a surgery in her university town and it is light years ahead if what is offered at our local surgery here,

Yep same here. Cannot get an appointment even though they text me to say I need to make one. Absolute joke. Waiting for over an hour on the phone then I had to hang up as I just couldn't wait any longer. When I did eventually get through they fobbed me off saying they would call me back with an appt... WTF... system is very broken since Covid I find. Before I might have had a 2 week wait for an appt but at least I got an appointment and a face to face one at that.
I would advise everyone to complain to their practice mnager and MP. Although no one is listening at least it will be officially documented.

Our online e consult has been closed for weeks it's ridiculous. Once upon a time you could call or pop into the surgery and book an appointment. Those days are long gone sadly.

Whatever system is used if the demand is

100 and the space is 50, there will always be people who do without.

Please complain to your MP about GP availability.

My GP surgery is exactly the same. I called one morning last week (nasty virus, morphing into a chest infection). After getting an engaged tone for over half an hour, l eventually got through. 'You are twenty sixth in the queue.'
Every time l go to the surgery (l see the nurse regularly for bloods) there's one receptionist to deal with both the queue and the phones. And barely anyone in the waiting room.
Also, they seem incapable of understanding (this has been going on for months) that there is no point them texting links to my phone for me to complete and send back. For blood pressure readings, fit notes, etc. I've told them time and again that my phone is old and cannot support these links. I've even tried while l've been sitting in the surgery with the doctor, given her my phone, and let her try. It doesn't work.
Today they sent my new fit note to my phone. Via a link. I'd just been to the surgery half an hour before. So l had to spend another twenty minutes on the phone to get through to reception to ask for it via email.
I rang the surgery on Boxing Day as l was at the end of a course of antibiotics and clearly needed a further course. There was no emergency number, just a message saying when they'd be open again (today). I ended up going via 111 online. A doctor called me back within a couple of hours, and sent a prescription to the nearest supermarket pharmacy.

To answer the question “how can some do it and some not?”

GPs should have about 1600 patients for full time job. Some GPs have 2000, some 3000 or more. Vast majority of GPs are not allowed to stop accepting new patients, even if they self declare a “crisis” situation. Many have difficulty recruiting (very few available for number of jobs advertised) - no one answers job adverts! If there are 2 jobs and 1 GP. The surgery they go to will be able to offer more appointments. The one they didn’t opt for will not.

GPs can start earlier and stay later but can never achieve 2 x full time amount of work.

Sympathies, it's the same in lots of places now.
Can you use your NHS app to send the surgery a message?
Can you use NHS111 online (I'm not sure if that sends the info to your GP or not)?
Also, complain to your MP about the lack of access... we all need to be complaining to highlight the lack of access to primary healthcare

I did write to my MP, the “honourable” Ed Miliband the day after starting this thread.

I received a reply last week, that basically outlined that it was the fault of the tories for the lack of GPs (which I don’t disagree with), what the 10 year plan was to recruit more GPs and a leaflet on how to complain to your practice.

It was as useful as a chocolate fire guard. Wish I hadn’t bothered.

I was on hold for 45mins last week trying to get an appointment for DS. In the end, I hung up and went physically to the GP surgery. The receptionist booked him in for 3rd Jan. I’ve seen other people coming in and doing the same whilst I’ve been in the waiting room so thought I’d give it a go. It worked surprisingly well - albeit clearly nobody should have to do that to get an appointment.

@PinkFishies it might feel pointless but at least its officially recorded. I wrote to my MP - B Jo - will be interesting to see what he comes back with, not holding my breath tho.

Yes I have done this and find they do reply. You can ask for your named GP and address it to them

I have also emailed the surgery and asked them to pass on messages to the GP which has also worked

its awful - every appointment is spaced out you e consult with your problems - the surgery ring back the next day to say the gp will ring you in a few days time nearly a week - he rings and then says come down another week - and x ray will then take another 2 weeks - and then another 2 weeks for the results. they are reluctant to refer quickly and this takes another 4 weeks with treatment possibly starting months away.

why we are putting up with this is ridiculous - before covid we might have had to wait a day or so for the gp but now it is stretched for weeks.

are gp's being told by the hospitals to stretch appointments out.

lh

do you want to discuss your health issues with the surgery in front of colleagues at work or in public places. it
is all wrong but we continue to put up with it.

lh

I got an appointment the other day (felt like I’d won the lottery!) and there were only 2 other patients waiting in the surgery. Pre covid the surgery would be rammed. What is going on?