Refused doctors appointment - so annoyed

[hopelessmeringue]

bit of a rant here but I could bloody scream.

The doctors surgery was closed most of last week and the previous week and were only seeing emergency appointments due to sickness. I phoned on Wednesday and Thursday at 8.30 and all the appointments were gone. Asked if I could book in advance but no that’s not possible, it’s only on the day and there’s no advance booking. Phoned on friday and there were appointments but the receptionist said she will pass along my information to the doctor and they will just send a prescription to the chemist. I said I really would prefer to have an appointment instead, and that I don’t mind if it’s with the paramedic, nurse, doctor etc but they said no that’s not possible because it’s a problem I’ve had for years so they can treat me without seeing or speaking to me. It’s a pre existing condition that has been at bay for the last few years and now is starting again, so I would like an appointment rather than just a prescription of something I had 3 years ago. She completely refused to make me an appointment and said the doctor will send a prescription straight to the pharmacy. Unfortunately with Christmas etc, I won’t actually get the prescription now until it reopens after Christmas as the pharmacy don’t even have it yet and it usually takes 2-3 days for them to receive it from the doctor, then 3-4 days for them to make and check it. I asked if I could collect a paper copy for the chemist myself but that’s not possible either. Eventually she just hung up and I tried to phone back to speak to someone else and couldn’t get through. I tried to phone again today to check it’s gone to the chemist and also to ask again to see someone but still haven’t got through.

AIBU to be frustrated by this? I’ve taken the last week off work to try and get an appointment and I don’t have any more leave now until April. I genuinely have no idea what to do! I know I’ll get the prescription at the chemist after Christmas but it’s a condition that hasn’t always been easy to control and I wanted to actually speak to someone about it as it’s been at bay for a few years and now it’s starting again. And if it doesn’t work and i do end up needing an appointment it’s going to be a nightmare getting it off work- I’ll have to start the calling on the day thing all over again and it could take days to actually get through and get one.

I could bloody scream

@hopelessmeringue im sorry for ranting on your rant and sorry I don’t have any actual helpful advice! It didn’t come across as blaming the doctor at all, and I suspect the receptionist is probably saying exactly what the GPs have told her to say - they are having to gatekeep so much and I’m sure will get it wrong sometimes - ideally the practice should give them sufficient training and protocols etc. Thank you for being so understanding at least, hopefully next week will be better for both of us!

In that case you should have phoned 111 or gone to A+E

You have to ring the GPs and they will fill the form out for you. They then telephone saying to collect the prescription or give a time for a phone consult. I think it's only a matter of time until there is a lawsuit against them for negligence.

I’m assuming you didn’t end up in hospital though?

*The receptionist fills out the form not the GPs

I agree. If the NHS is contracting the GP's services, they should have some say in how they are run.

It seems madness to not have advance appointments for chronic conditions or e.g. issues like infertility, which aren't emergencies but still require an initial consult. Pointless to have to ring up for a same day appointment for these.

I don't understand also why it takes the pharmacy so long to make up the prescription. I believe you OP but it seems ludicrous.

I find emailing more useful at times, explaining that your condition has flared up and you would like to avoid a trip to hospital. You would like an appointment because you haven't seen the GP for X amount of time so would like a review.

When I’ve had similar issues I’ve emailed the practice manager with a complaint (email on the practice website) and it normally gets sorted. Shame I have to do this ! I had to do it once my my 4 year old had a mole that changed rapidly / suspiciously. And when I had severe bacterial tonsillitis. 😞

“ there were appointments but the receptionist would not give one”

There are limited appointments and these will have been saved for people who were struggling to breath, had infections that were becoming septic and babies who were so ill they were no longer feeding. Elderly people who’s infections had caused delirium, people who had fallen and sustained head injuries, abdominal pain that had them curled up and struggling to walk. Chest pain that could have been a heart attack. . “
These are the kind of things that make it through to me as a clinician and even to see all those on the day we have no lunch, stay late and juggle lists that are not safe.
A&E has collapsed ( 26 hour wait yesterday) so we are now the front line emergency service.
so yes, I understand you want to see a clinician but at the moment if you are unlikely to immediately die from your condition we simply have no capacity. Trust me, we hate this as much as you. This is not what we signed up for either.

I don't really have any advice other than to register with a new surgery because that service sounds appalling.

I feel your pain though, and I can totally understand you taking time off work just to book an appointment. I had to do the same recently, I took a day off as you can only book appointments at 0830 and that's when I usually start work. I ended up actually phoning in at 0840 on my day off and all the appointments were gone by then, after being on hold for 20 minutes, so it was a waste of a day off. Luckily I just asked for an advanced appointment instead, and got one for a few weeks time as it was better than nothing. It's a shame your surgery wouldn't let you you do that.

What a shitty thing to say. GP surgeries are on their knees, as are pharmacies. It’s been exacerbated by the current scarlet fever / sepsis outbreak in young children. Front line surgery staff have to put up with being shouted at, callers demanding a non existent appointment for a broken toe nail and social media keyboard warriors slagging them off for doing their job.
Shame on you.

OP I really feel for you. I hope you’ve got hold of your medication by now and it’s making a difference.

Your experience makes me realise how good our surgery and pharmacy actually are. I have severe asthma and needed back-up rescue antibiotics to take on holiday recently. It took me two days to speak to a doctor, which isn’t ideal, but once I’d spoken to her I had my medication within two hours. Clearly our surgery and pharmacy are a lot better aligned than many others!! 😳

I recently enquired about private GP's locally to me and they still aren't seeing patients in person due to Covid. I laughed so much!

£100 for an appointment with an idiot....

I can believe the 200+ calls but - last time I needed to call for an appointment I made 146 redials before I got into a queue of 32 people, needless to say I didn't get an appointment and ended up in A and E.

Our doctors are the same. You could ring only on the day for an appointment. The call queue could be 20, when you finally get through the appointments have all gone. If you were lucky, you could get a telephone appointment.

Now, unless it’s an emergency, you can’t call.

@hopelessmeringue argh I feel your pain. I’ve got the same situation - chronic condition at bay for two years now creeping back and the original medicine I have isn’t cutting it anymore. I definitely understand about wanting an appointment. Just because you have a pre existing condition and have been prescribed medicine in the past doesn’t make you less important when it comes to getting to speak with a doctor. I really hope you get your appointment soon.

I think this is absolutely true. So we'll send up spending absolutely fortunes for private services that are supposed to be better because, you know, the private sector always so much better. Look at our train services, constantly cancelled, regularly on strike, cost several times more than similar public services on the continent that work much more efficiently. Fabulous, can't wait to have the same for our medical services.

Thanks all of you who keep voting Tory. Thanks a million. It'll be too late by the time anyone else gets in because it takes decades to redress the balance. But at least Boris is getting fortunes for his speeches and JRM is able to make millions in his company now based outside the UK, probably out of betting against the UK economy.

@NannyR ditto. Sometimes you ring and get a busy tone, sometimes you get put in a queue.

My record in the queue was 1h46mins, I was second in the queue and then abruptly cut off. I rejoined to wait another 1h15mins.

This was in response to a text message saying to call the surgery urgently following a blood test 🫤

Mine has a queue but you have to get in it first which takes many redials. Just says the queue is full and cuts you off. The pharmacy is on site and you literally say your name as it gets sent through, can pick up immediately so that's good. I hope you got meds at least op.

This is one of the problems with the GP surgeries, that they're all essentially private practices contracted to the NHS, so can run things how they like. Imo it should be a condition of their contact that they use e-consult, and use it properly, so patients can contact a clinician via email, and get non-urgent appointments when necessary. All this spending hours on the phone trying to get through mallarky is so archaic. I can understand that their phone lines get extremely busy, they have too many calls to manage.
But when technology exists that makes phoning unnecessary, I don't understand why they aren't all obliged to use it.

This ^

This, except write. They’ll fend off a phone call.
Write your complaint and say you want a response within 7 days, or you want the practice manager to meet with you within x days.
Other European countries aren’t having this — I’ve friends in 3 EU countries and they get GP appointments almost immediately.

You took a week off work just to try and get a doctors appointment? Prescriptions usually go through to chemists in under an hour now and I don’t know what you mean by them taking 3-4 days to check it and make it up.
NHS is undoubtedly shit but your story doesn’t make sense

This may not make sense to you, but it will be a familiar scenario to many people who are forced to accept this kind of reality from their GP. Thank your lucky stars you're not one of them.

My own GP practice has now started to only authorise repeat prescriptions for 6 months. So every 6 months I have to spend days trying to get through and beg for them to authorise the medication I need for life. Like the OP I don't have the kind of job where I can drop everything to take or make a phone call and I often end up without vital medication for a few days. Especially as, once authorised, the prescription usually takes a few days to get to the pharmacy. And yes I know they have the technology to send it through immediately, but they have to get it second checked by one of the doctors.

There are limited appointments and these will have been saved for people who were struggling to breath, had infections that were becoming septic and babies who were so ill they were no longer feeding. Elderly people who’s infections had caused delirium, people who had fallen and sustained head injuries, abdominal pain that had them curled up and struggling to walk. Chest pain that could have been a heart attack. . “
These are the kind of things that make it through to me as a clinician and even to see all those on the day we have no lunch, stay late and juggle lists that are not safe.
A&E has collapsed ( 26 hour wait yesterday) so we are now the front line emergency service.
so yes, I understand you want to see a clinician but at the moment if you are unlikely to immediately die from your condition we simply have no capacity. Trust me, we hate this as much as you. This is not what we signed up for either.

I absolutely believe and empathise with this .But e consult as opposed to endless phoning would surely make the situation slightly more manageable for the patients .

Whilst I understand your frustration, why has there been the need to take a week off work, to try and get an appointment, it seems a little over the top.

other European countries pay more, and individuals also contribute more personally, for healthcare

Op could spend £100 to speak to a private GP - it would be cheaper than a co payment in some countries and probably cheaper than the required tax increase to reach European funding levels