How important do you think it is to be on time for a GP appt

[Ireolu]

Just that really.

Do you think it is important to turn up on time or early for a GP appt? Do you think you shd still be seen when you are 10 mins or more late for a 10 minute appt.

This is just for adults over 18 not for children. TIA for thoughts.

Absolutely essential to be on time. But I don't know the best approach to help vulnerable people who struggle to arrive on time.

It depends - if I'm in the surgery building queuing to check in 10 minutes before the appointment and am not checked in on time I'd be miffed to be turned away because 10 minutes extra should be more than enough.

I don't think I have ever been late.

I have however had to sit up to an hour past my appointment time before because people take ages and/or show up late and demand to be seen. They are cracking down on this now.

My GP is VERY clear that you are booking 10 minute of time, if you need longer you need a special appointment. If you are 10 minute late you have FULLY missed your slot, why should the next person have to give up there for you?

I wouldn't expect to be seen if I'd missed my slot, but I'd also expect to be sat there waiting for up to an hour to see the doctor.

I do think it's a bit of a cheek that I have to be on time to wait around for absolutely ages.

It is better to be half hour early than 5 mins late for any appointment
factor in possible problems ie roadworks and leave enough time to get there , it aint rocket science just poor planning / time keeping

No one thinks this is weird. This is what everyone does

I've always been early/on time.

There have been times when I've waited ages to be seen but I've never really thought that, is it 10 minutes, someone will correct if it's wrong, is an adequate time for everyone's appointment.
There could be times a quick wee sample needs dipping or someone really needs a Dr's ear for longer.
I do know that you can book a double appointment but in cases of an on the day emergency one they may not be available.

It's NEVER okay to be late for an appointment if you can help it. It's rude and disrespectful.

I am renown for being late but for the GP and dentist I am always, at least, 10 minutes early.

After trying for 3 days to get an appointment, I'm not going to be late.

I totally understand the inconvenience of running 45 minutes late (it’s inconvenient to me too, I’d love to finish work on time) and would always apologise… but what do you think we should do? In a fairly standard clinic I might see a couple of depressed patients where I need to carefully assess suicide risk as well as finding out what’s going on in a sympathetic way - one of them maybe might need referring to the crisis team which is another phone call. Then someone might have chest pain and need an ECG and / or 999 ambulance sorting, another patient might have several complex symptoms, another patient might need palliative care discussing and the option of a do not attempt resuscitation form etc etc. Not much of it easily fits into 10 minutes. It would be great if everyone had a double appointment but we don’t have the resources for that either. So I agree it would be good if we weren’t 45 minutes late… but how?

@ChiefWiggumsBoy you would think so but people don't
My mum, my colleagues, friends
They're all "it's a 10 min drive" and don't allow any time for delays or parking and then wonder why they're late when it's actually 15 mins drive on a good day and the hospital carpark is hell on earth

My mum contemplated we could drive from Lancaster to the Trafford centre and it would "only be around 20 mins"
Dad "are you flying there?"

I'm always early for them, but try not to be too early, just a few minutes usually, as I never, ever get seen on time. I'm really surprised at the poster who, as a GP, would tell someone they've missed their appointment for anything more than a minute or two. I understand it if peopl waltz in quite late, expecting to be seen, and not really bothered about it, fair enough. But someone who's phoned ahead, apologised prefusely, but had an emergency, or genuine problem with travel? Seems a bit tight. We all know the NHS is struggling, but so is the single mum of three trying to balance this with a job, school runs, and getting the appointment in the first place, which probably took weeks to get, that if she's more than 2 minutes late has 'missed' her 10 minute allocated appointment slot? NHS is often touted as if it's a charity - it's not, working people are paying for this care in their taxes. Whilst I understand the strain, I have a problem with patients being seen as a bit of a drain on the system. Yes that person's appointment may well take the full ten minutes allotted (or even longer), but likewise they may be in and out in 5 minutes or less - I know I have.

I have b12 injections regularly which is issued by a nurse. The amount of times I've turned up ready, for the first appointment of the day, and they've kept me waiting - up to 25 minutes past appointment times at times, once was 40 minutes.

Yes I understand clerical work needs to be done, but then why schedule me for the first appointment? The prep of the injection and actually performing it takes approximately 1 minute, 1 min 30 seconds at absolute max. Notes on file and issuing the date that I need to book the next appt nearer the time, another minute or two.

I could totally understand if they were seeing someone before me as an emergency, but they have never, ever been on time for this injection appointment once, in several years. Sometimes I don't think surgeries understand that with their struggles, people also are trying to manage life, work etc. I've been bollocked by work for being far later than advised, due to a seemingly pointless 40 minute wait before.

Always on time even though it’s frustrating that I’m always waiting 20 mins minimum past my app

Would you turn up for a flight late and expect to get on? No? Then don't be late for a doctors appointment either.

Yes the surgery is often running late but that's because 111 has scheduled a load of telephone appointments right at opening time and they have to do those before they see any actual appointments.

I'm always on time at the absolute latest and aim to be there 5-10 minutes early. As a PP says, you don't know if there will be a queue for the check-in screen.

Incidentally, our check-in screen tells you how late they're currently running so at least you know that too.

Missing a flight usually doesn't come with a risk to your life. Missing a doctors appointment can.

Being late causes massive issues for the GP practice but by refusing to see anyone who is late you risk fully removing access to health care from vulnerable ND people which could easily result in their deaths.

I am stunned by the amount of casual ableism on this thread.

One time the Dr moaned at me for late for my appointment, I replied that I had arrived early but the person ahead of me in the queue had kept the receptionist talking for about 15 minutes so I had been unable to check in

We have been with the same private dentist for over 30 years. We go at least twice a year. Hand on heart, he has never ever once seen us on time, even if we have the first appointment of the day. It is a running joke in our family. 😂He’s a great dentist though and I hate being late for anything.

So I agree it would be good if we weren’t 45 minutes late… but how?

Obviously delays are unavoidable when there's a clinical emergency etc.

But maybe the impact that waiting has on patients, eg from being in trouble at work, being unable to fulfill caring responsibilities, missing picking the kids up from school etc could be balanced by surgeries, when a patient arrives late, not bollocking them/refusing to treat them/putting shitty passagg posters up all over the place about how them being stuck waiting for the bus for half an hour is single handedly bankrupting the NHS, and instead just seeing the next patient in line, and trying to fit the latecomer in at some other slot. I don't get why doctors feel the need to punish people, like they're teenagers who missed morning registration.

I would question a surgery prioritising the 111 referrals over the booked appointments. 111 has already triaged those patients & deemed their symptoms non urgent. At our surgery, they are fitted in throughout the day.

It's absolutely vital that you are on time or every appointment becomes later - the knock on affect of that is huge.

If you arrive after your appointment time has ended you should not be seen.
ie. If your appointment is 14.00-14.10 and you arrive 14.11 then you have to make another appointment the next day or 'sit and wait' until there is a space to see you.

I am always early for a doctor's appointment. If I make a doctor's appointment, I very much need it, and will not do anything to jeopardise it.

My doctor back in NZ, she always ran late. I knew that was because she provided very good, very thorough, very caring care. She always apologised. I always said I knew she'd give me exactly the same level of care, so I didn't begrudge her giving it to others.

Sometimes people and their issues don't fit into a ten minute slot. Sometimes there's emergencies. Just like at our work, if there's an emergency, that is going to be prioritised. Just as how our other clients, if they had an emergency, they'd want that to be prioritised.

It is harder when it negatively impacts, because of kids that need collecting, work that gets mardy, but these things happen. We always offer the option of rebooking for another day.

And we get impacted as well, often going home late, because we've run late.

I'm usually early but they're always running late. It never works the other way round though.

No, if I knew I was going to be late I'd call in advance to let them know and hope they could still squeeze me in or swap two appointments around if the next person arrives early for example. Me, DH and my sibling all work for GP practices ourselves (the latter two both clinical staff) so we understand the pressures for time. My DH almost never gets home on time or gets a lunch break. He absolutely doesn't have time to fit a patient in who turns up more than 10 mins late with no advance warning, he has to collect DS up from nursery. Healthcare workers are humans with family commitments of their own, they can't sit in the practice all evening.

Does that apply to the GP or HCP too?