To think it’s disgusting you just can’t get a gps appointment these days

[Perimeopausepip]

Been in the phone since 8 am trying to get an appointment
first 10/15 mins I couldn’t even get in the queue the phone would just say unable to connect you please try later …. Wtf

then 15 mins later was able to get in the queue
15 person in the queue
so 30 mins wait then to be told no there no appointments at all
all I can get is a phone call from there partnership
in the evening

when I said I really want a face to face with any dr as my face is swollen
just got told sorry no we don’t have any … and that if I get a phone call this evening and then they want to see me they will book it then ….

its just so fuckign shit

I have been trying to book my smear test for about 2 weeks, I tried in person and they had shut, I assume because of not enough staff maybe? No explanation given on the note on the door.
I've given up trying to get an appointment to discuss potential peri menopause and the symptoms I'm having, a telephone consultation would be fine to explain and then go from there but I can't get one of those, and even if I do, as they don't give times it makes it very awkward because I can't always answer my phone at work even though I'd be allowed to if it was for something like that I may well be dealing with a customer at the time and I can just imagine the fall out if I excused myself to answer the phone! I also can't afford time off to just sit and look at my phone for hours.
Our surgery is notorious for being unable to get an appointment, but the only other nearby surgery isn't accepting patients either, so I'm stuck.
All that said, I don't blame the actual people because I think they're doing their best in all honesty, and me kicking off isn't going to suddenly make it better, more likely worse because it will just be one more reason that someone may want to get out of the job making everything a bit worse.
I think where expectations are concerned, we do have the right to expect a better service, however also the responsibility to understand that at the moment, it's just not possible because there aren't enough resources.
I do blame the government for the fact there aren't enough resources, but this is where we are and it's not going to be a quick fix by any means - and that's only if and when a decision is made to actually try and fix it - and there doesn't seem to be the will to do that.

I agree I've just come back from a walk in clinic with my mum as she hasn't been able to see her GP face to face for weeks and is really unwell!!

Huh, her face is swollen for no apparent reason, why would you not want to see a GP. Or should she just rock up to A&E which is already under pressure because of situations like this.

We get a phone consult and then face to face if warranted, but we're rural so am usually called before lunch then seen in afternoon if needed.

My old place was e consult then phone or video call dependant on the issue then face to face if required.

I feel that the current system is missing some awful diagnosing of things with long term implications if not treated.

Huh, her face is swollen for no apparent reason, why would you not want to see a GP. Or should she just rock up to A&E which is already under pressure because of situations like this.

No. Now it's:
Don't go
protect the nhs
die at home

At least that's how some people sound

Yet will be first ones up in arms when they end up with an issue that needs treatment, or a family member dies due to not being diagnoses correctly.

I know this isn't quite what you were asking but my DH had one side of his face swollen after his last Covid jab. It remained that way, slightly worse on one side than the other and then returned to normal after a few days. He saw the GP who said it was just a side effect of the vaccination.

It's awful, medical science may be advancing but clearly the pay & conditions for those working in medicine are not enough to keep them there.
This will only feed into and exacerbate the problem of of shortages in the general workforce, people need to be healthy, they need access to medical care if they are to go to work.
It just feels as if we are sliding down the ranks and soon will be a third world country ☹️

Where is the swelling for you to be so sure it isn't your teeth? I ask as I woke up one morning with fairly minor swelling, but little movement to one side of my face. Saw the gp at a walk in (it was in the pre covid olden days...) who sent me to the TIA clinic. Saw the consultant there who ummed and ahhed for a bit (so no definite "no that is not a TIA" from them), then sent me away to get my teeth checked just to rule out tooth issues.
Turned out it was an infection in my jaw bone itself - sorted by the dentist.

Can you do an e-consult form on your surgery's website?

Or email photos of your face prior to the appointment so they can see what your swollen face looks like?

Mine will often text asking for photos prior to a phone appointment if having read the reason for the appointment there's something that needs to be seen.

And don't vote Conservative next time if you want this to improve.

GP surgeries are seeing more patients than ever, and this is how they are doing it.

You can have more appointments but some of them are by phone or e-consult , or fewer appointments but they're face to face.

That's the choice until we get a government in that doesn't want you to have to pay for your healthcare.

Missing the point entirely.
Our nearest walk in clinic is a 30 min car ride- at least. Same for a and e.
GP is in our village. We live in a nightly populated place in the SE so if it’s like that for us, what’s it like for more remote parts of the country? That kind of the whole bloody point isn’t it? Many people can’t drive to begin with, let alone driving that far to a new town / place if they are feeling ill and quite frankly they shouldn’t bloody have to! There is a local GP. It’s one of the reasons I chose to live where I do! It was all absolutely fine 5-10 years ago and had been for years so it can be done.

Jesus - our expectations have been too high?
What if your face has suddenly swollen up for no apparent reason it’s to much to ask to phone to see a doctor.
It’s Extreme mis management of this countries training and resources and infrastructure.
Bloody hell. Stop the world, I want to get off.

It's not the world.

It's this country.

Specifically this country after 13 years of being run into the ground and asset stripped.

Don't Vote Conservative kids.

We used to be able to expect an ambulance if we needed one.

Now hundreds of us are dying every week unnecessarily because we can't expect healthcare in a timely manner while the Tories have our NHS in a chokehold.

Same with mine. If they need to see you, they offer a same day F2F appointment, or early next day if your tel appt/e-consult is late in the day. If there are times when you know you won't be available, they'll avoid calling at those times.

I can see that using phone appts to triage patients can be difficult for those in jobs that make it difficult to take calls during working hours, but it really works well for me. I can get on with my job until they ring, don't have to schlep across town through traffic, struggle to park, or panic when the 1 hour's parking I've paid for is about to expire and the doctor is running late.

It's disgusting that we have such a shortage of GPs, but I blame the govt for capping doctor training places and making it difficult for EU doctors to work here. In my trust area, some small GP practices have had to close entirely because they haven't been able to recruit replacements for retiring GPs.

People actually voted for this shit.

Now that is unreasonable. At my surgery, you can get a call in a one-hour window or later in the aftenoon if you have work commitments.

They have an arrangement with an agency to do late in the day telephone consults too. On a day when I was training all day, I'd arranged an appt for after 4.30 and an agency doctor called me at gone 8pm.

In a job like teaching though, it must have been difficult to get an appointment at a time you could make even before the current crisis. Our surgery used to close at 6pm, and the late appointments were always hard to get.

I agree, @Soothsayer1 - it IS starting to feel like a third world country. :-(
I'm getting fed up with everyone on about voting Tory. Like Labour is going to be any different.. if there's no money, there's no money, & that's it.

People go on about the Tories because of the decline that has happened on their watch (possibly deliberately to bring in privatisation by the back door). Labour might have at least maintained the challenged system rather than driven it into the ground.
I can’t believe, however, that there is simply no money as so many other countries are managing it better. Surely a different approach could be found.

Exactly this.. more money is going to have to be found for the defence budget, it sounds like the Americans and getting a little pissed that they are having to pay for ours and most of NATO defence at the expense of their own universal healthcare.

People want money for NHS, welfare , free this and free that but we are now looking at the reality of paying for it all or accept fewer services.

This. Ok so your face is swollen - you’re getting a same day call and can send a photo. I don’t understand why that isn’t enough. If you had other symptoms eg high temperature, an infected cut or shortness of breath that could mean an allergy etc then I would go to minor injuries.

Yes, it's awful. It's the fault of the Tories, not GPs though.

And if it is dental, a GP won't be able to do anything.

You don't think it's infected, you think it might be autoimmune (so likely chronic) yet the appointment NEEDS to be today? Hmmm.

There's money.

It's just being funnelled away from our public services and into the hands of the governments mates and donors.

There's always money for tax cuts and massive infrastructure projects that cost the country millions/billions over their supposed budget but still don't do what they said they would.

Like produce electric car batteries or link
The north with London.

I mean there's less money cos of Brexit costing our country billions in lost investment and trade...

But of course there's money.

There's always money for a tax cut for bankers isn't there?

I’m sick of it too. Often, when I phone my GP surgery, a recorded message tells me that they’re accepting emergencies only. I thought that was what A&E was for, so WTF is my GP actually doing? I put up with this level of service during Covid, but this isn’t acceptable as a long-term plan. TBH, I think we should be on the streets protesting. It’s abysmal.

GP surgeries generally are seeing more patients than before the pandemic.

Generally speaking.

I don't know about your particular one obviously.

They're overloaded.

There hasn't been the investment in keeping supply up with demand.

There aren't enough doctors for a start.

Leaving the work force plan to the market then cutting us off from the massive labour force market over the channel is part of why this is happening.

The Tories wanting the NHS to fail is the rest of it.

Fully agree.It’s an absolute disgrace. This country has fallen apart. I cannot speak to my GP for an appointment, noone answers the phone. Every day I get a voice response saying all available slots have been booked. I have bee trying for months. I teach fulltime and have limited time to try. I will probably drop dead of a heart attack soon because noone will see me about my heart concern. It isn’t classed as an emergency. I would need to phone in sick to work and plead for am emergency slot to get seen. It has been like this for nearly 3 years now.

My mother’s GP refused to see her and told her that the pain in her chest was a pulled muscle. For months. He refused to see her. It was lung cancer and by the time it was diagnosed it was too late to do anything and she died. The same doctor also misdiagnosed my Dad several years ago. He also died of something that would have been very treatable had the doctor taken him seriously and not told him that it was all in his mind.