GP telephone appointments

[Aquarius1234]

AIBU to dislike them.
I got the wrong amount of tablets after having a 7 minute call with GP to explain what I needed.
I now need to arrange another telephone appointment to ask for more ...
I don't think it would have happened face to face.
Not that I particularly like face to face. But I think its easier to get a clearer picture.

Sometimes the problem involves showing the GP something (say a lump or rash) which can't be done on the phone so yanbu

I hate them because more often than not they're all that's available, and I have to have a personal conversation with my GP when I'm at work...which is not easy when you work with the public!

My manager offers to cover me but the GP never rings on time, so my manager is sometimes busy by the time I get the call.

At our surgery, I don’t like that there is a window for phone appointments which could be all morning or all afternoon. Very difficult to fit round work. However my GP didn’t listen to me and made a massive mistake with a prescription in a f2f appointment but a different GP was excellent on the phone. Luck of the draw I guess

They can be useful in fairness but it is so annoying if the practice insists on a phone appointment before a face to face appointment.

Once I knew I had an ear infection that my ear drum had burst but they insisted on a phone appointment! Which lasted all of 2 minutes and arranging a face to face appointment a few hours later.

This.

Also that ours play this ‘hilarious’ game that, when they do phone randomly within the massively long window, they let the phone ring three times max, and if you can’t pick up within that timeframe mark you down as a ‘no show. 😡

Then you’re meant to run the gauntlet of the e-consult (if you can manage to compete it in the hours they leave it open for) or the dragon receptionists to beg for another appointment.

I’ve now taken to writing in caps on the E-consult when I beg for an appointment: PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOU MAY NEED TO ALLOW MORE THAN THREE RINGS OF MY PHONE FOR ME TO ANSWER. I ASSURE YOU I WILL BE WAITING TO TAKE THE CALL.

The thought of having to call the surgery again this week at 8am... grrrrrr

E Consult is rubbish if you just want a standard telephone appointment. I don't want to fill in a long questionnaire.
Why can't it just be like self checkouts. I Want to pick a slot in a few days time!!

People will die because of telephone appointments.

Last year I broke my toe. Went to A and E, referred to small injury unit. Issued with a chunky sandal and instructed to wear it for 6-8 weeks. After 2 it was dangerously loose as swelling had gone down. Small injury unit said see doc. Filled in online appt req form. Doc said go back to small injuries unit. Phoned doc, had to really insist I needed to be seen. Advice was given on how to bandage and to ditch the dangerous sandal.

Asthma check ups are now on phone with a pharmacist. I asked about seeing someone and was told they don’t have a qualified asthma nurse. 😔

Indeed. I always get the impression the GP s are totally uninterested. Very robotic and reading a script. So it doesn't matter what I start saying. I get no advise or important information back.
Better to just have the quickest 1 minute call.

It's for their convenience, not that of the patient. So you have to wait on standby for the morning, regardless of what you go for a living and then try to explain symptoms eloquently over the phone. It's a really poor way to provide a service

I don’t mind phone calls but have issues with the vagueness of the time of the call. I work full time in a hospital so no, I can’t be free to take a call any time from 9am to 4pm! My recent gp appointment was a request to text a photo of a swelling/rash which my gp replied to in a “no reply to” text with advice as to what I should do. The advice was what I’d been doing for 4 days with no relief hence the need for a gp appointment. I called back the receptionist in tears saying I knew it wasn’t her fault but I was infuriated and not being heard. Gp did call me back eventually but sounded really pissed off.

Absolutely more often than not, by the time you get the call, you are frustrated and irked. So it's all kinda awkward.
Then re explaining stuff tedious.

I have to say my gp is very good. I rang this afternoon and asked for an appointment tomorrow morning and was given one with no fuss at all!

Why do you need another appointment just to get more tablets? What are the tablets?

@Wolvesart not trying to race you to the bottom but dd3’s asthma check was a text with a link to a survey type form for me to complete. I heard back 3 months later with a text from the nurse saying “that sounds like she’s doing great”… it took me some time to figure out what the reply was to as I didn’t instantly remember 3 months ago what I’d put in the form. Very weird and rather pointless. I have asthma so managing DD’s asthma is fine but many families don’t have as much knowledge. I think it’s dangerous.

I wish the receptionists didn't exisist anymore.

Ahh, that was what our gp surgery did for the 2021 asthma check ups. Now it’s the questionnaire the day before the chat 😂

I explained I had been advised to take 4 a week.
But was given 8 tablets. Should have been 32.
It wasn't a repeat. So I can't just get more via my phone app.

No gp would hand out/prescribe tablets as infinitem without the occasional appointment

My GP surgery now has a total triage system where you submit a form with your symptoms, a doctors triages it and you get offered an appointment ranging from on the day for something urgent to up to 2 weeks time.

You can request face to face or telephone, usually they decide depending on the issue.

I like this new system, saves hanging on the phone for hours! Personally I like telephone appointments, I don't ever want to actually go in unless absolutely necessary! Too busy with life, kids etc

Depends on the service.

My surgery is excellent - you fill out an online triage form, Dr calls and triages you properly - sometimes it can be solved then which they’ll do, if you need a blood test or similar they arrange that, and if they need to see you they’ll see you same day.

The online and telephone system has never prevented me from seeing a doctor. I’m a big fan.

They are terrible - apart from anything else someone’s physical appearance and manner are surely important in diagnosis and appropriate intervention.

I don't understand why phone appointments can't work approximately like face-to-face appointments did, in that patients should be assigned a time. Of course, the time for face-to-face was always approximate (typically at mine they were 20-40 mins late), so the timing would not be exact and unlike face-to-face, they might call early (which was not an option previously if the patient wasn't there). But they could easily operate a system where you get assigned an approximate time with a warning that actually it might be an hour either way.

There is absolutely no excuse for the practice of 'oh, the GP will call you at some point today'. I always ask, after which they might begrudgingly tell me that it will be the afternoon, but as the practice closes at 18:00, that's a massive time slot. If you're on the list, there must be some sort of order and not just GPs picking names out of a hat to call.

If you ring and explain the issue to the receptionist, the ones you wish didn't exist, then they would be able to request another prescription for you though?