..to be blamed for missing a telephone appointment with a GP?

[Sandflea9900]

Bit of background to my situation. My job involves a LOT of overseas business travel, to the point where I’m away every week except two between now and Christmas. I have three medications on repeat prescription, one of which is for my heart which stops me having angina and a heart attack.

I normally request my repeat prescriptions online on the weekend and have the, delivered by Pharmacy2U so they arrive by the following weekend. Last weekend I forgot as I was travelling abroad on the weekend for work. I remember on Thursday when I got home, log in online and find that I am blocked from reordering as I need an annual medication review. I phone the surgery and am amazed to be told that a GP will ring me between 10am and midday today (Sunday) to do the review. Since there is mobile reception at my home, I explicitly asked that they call me on my home landline, which the receptionist agrees to.

This (Sunday) morning I am horrified to see two missed calls from a local number I don’t recognise on my mobile, 10 minutes before the start of the two hour window for the call. I immediately phone back, to be told that they didn’t get the message about the phone line and that it’s my fault for missing the call. The receptionist (it is a different surgery doing the Sunday calls, not my own) says I have been removed from the call list as a result and she cannot reinstate me on the list, and can suggest nothing else.

I am now in the situation where I will run out of medication by the end of next week, but I fly abroad on business at 8am tomorrow, so I can’t phone my own GP surgery or make any alternative arrangements. Whilst I’m back on Thursday evening, I’m then abroad for the next five weeks. I’m panicking as I don’t have enough medication and seemingly no way to get any more. I’m struggling to see how this was my fault. Help!

This is an extremely silly response.

OP gets paid in UK, and pays taxes in UK.

That entitles her to NHS service.

She simply travels a lot for work (presumably sales).

Doesn't change her residency or tax status.

bellac exactly

they didn't leave a voicemail either, I got a text a few hours later berating me for missing an appointment. I think at 5pm a mass message goes out to people who "missed" appointments.

I have complained twice this summer - addressed to the practice manager - and no reply.

When I spoke to my doctor he said "but it's such a good system - you get to message on the day and you know you'll get a call, it makes appointments redundant".

The mind boggles.

I think everyone will end up having to go private, or go untreated. Sorry OP, I think especially in your case, private is the only way.

Yeah, no voicemail left for me either.

OP, now I think about it, I think the number for the missed call was one I didn't recognise, so I had no reason to think it was a doctor!

It may be that private is the only way forward for me now 😕

When I spoke to my doctor he said "but it's such a good system - you get to message on the day and you know you'll get a call, it makes appointments redundant

And there it is! They want to do phone calls (i refuse to call them appointments because they arent) so they dont have to give a time.

My surgery used to give a rough time for phone appts but they won't even do that now.

ironically I was priorotised because of 1) nervous breakdown 2) feeling worse three weeks later but imagine waiting all day for a call.

Some time ago, I ordered my repeat prescription for blood pressure tablets from the pharmacy. But GP would not sign off the prescription because I was due a review. No phone call, no notification, only found out when I went to collect said prescription - on the way to the airport. Pharmacist said that it was very likely these tablets would be available over the counter in Singapore, where we were headed to. Only they weren't, they were prescription only there too. So we paid for a private GP appointment and prescription in Singapore. Nowadays I don't leave it late to reorder.....

I never said that OP wouldn't be entitled to NHS care.

Just that if you say to the NHS repeatedly that you can't make appointments because you're abroad, they will ask awkward questions, which OP may find even more annoying.

Thanks for this, @bellac11 - that's really useful to know.

Slightly off topic but a bit concerning that your annual review for a heart condition can be done over the phone! At ours you need annual blood tests, cholesterol etc, Blood Pressure, stroke risk calculated, general MOT, followed up a week later when blood results received to discuss and renew medications.
Emergency meds may only give you a weeks worth to ensure you attend a review.

DP and I are in our sixties and he has meds which he can’t live without - around 26 meds taken daily, for among other things, serious heart and vascular issues. Everything was fine up until Covid - med reviews were done over the phone on the landline and there wasn’t a problem. Now, however, it seems that the surgery isn’t capable of recording anything other than a mobile phone on their systems. We have a landline and mobiles aren’t used unless we’re out in the car - which isn’t often as DP is housebound and I have mobility issues.

I’ve asked repeatedly that they use the landline as the first option as mobiles are off most of the time, but it seems that once they have your mobile number that’s it. Twice I’ve had to request emergency prescriptions from the pharmacy because the surgery haven’t been able to contact us via mobile, even though they have our landline on file, and on one occasion I was refused and had to turn nasty and practically camp out in the surgery to get a prescription, without which DP would have needed hospitalisation within a couple of days.

We’ve also had a couple of hospital appointments cancelled because they’ve sent reminders to his mobile phone and because he hasn’t responded with a code, they’ve assumed he won’t be attending. When did it become necessary for everyone to have a mobile phone permanently on alert ?

DP is in heart failure and has type two diabetes. Since Covid, reviews for both conditions are always done on a phone call and blood tests ordered separately. He’s recently become housebound - on record with his GP - and yet I’ve still had to fight to make them understand that if he needs blood or any other tests, they have to come to him. Beginning to think we’re just seen as a nuisance if we can’t attend the surgery like everyone else.

I often wonder how people who genuinely can't answer their phone all day manage.

We go without health care.

It’s not that sort of heart condition. To be honest, at all my previous reviews they’ve been far more interested about me being on the pill. That requires a blood pressure reading so shouldn’t really be done over the phone but a phone appointment is usually all I can get. It’s a good job that DH has a blood pressure monitor so I can do my own readings, but the receptionist doesn’t know that when she insist on a telephone appointment.

my emergency prescription was for a month’s worth, which has at least bought me some time to sort things out with the surgery.

They can ask, but I’m in the UK for a majority of the year comfortably so I don’t expect a problem.

You don't need private insurance for a private GP appointment. If you ever need it again just Google most offer a pay as you go service same day.

I would hand deliver a complaint that they rang before your 2 hour slot. In it I would detail when you are next available for a phone appointment for your review and ask that they confirm the 2 hour slot before had AND stick to it.

Complain.