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.

The whole if they need to see you..
Like it's an inconvenience to see patients face to face.
Very inpersonal via the phone.
Face to face is going out your way and waiting in the room.... But the doctor will then get a better picture of who you are. And maybe pick up on other things.
Telephone Appointments are completely different as imo they are on average 2 minutes long.
I think even if it's so minor face to face are always longer and better communication.

Because they can't always get a phone line out if there's lots of calls coming in or going at at the same time, or they might be called to deal with an emergency. If you have a face to face appointment, you are there and can be advised of any delays but people waiting for phone calls can't be advised in the same way so are given a window of time instead. There's pros and cons to each way.

I had a cyst on my labia, our GP uses an econstult system, so I filled it in and they rang me and asked me to email over a picture, erm no thanks.
The GP wrote me a script for antibiotics that did nothing, then a second course which also did nothing, I ended up needing it drained, but it took 4 appointments to get there, total waste of time. If she’d seen me in the 1st place I’m sure I would have been treated quicker.

At our docs, If you have received treatment for an injury from another section of NHS ie a&e , they refuse to see you and insist you go back to where you had treatment!

8 weeks worth of medication is quite a lot, particularly if not on repeat - perhaps the GP wanted to review you in a couple weeks before issuing further supply?

She only just spoke to the GP.

OK, I’m assuming the GP hasn’t said you need to be reviewed in 2 weeks? And you’re certain the tablets were meant to be taken for longer than 2 weeks? If that is the case, then it sounds like a mistake on the part of the GP. You just need to ask reception to pass on the message to the GP that you think you should have been given more tablets. No need to speak to the GP again.

That’s how we do it anyway, and I’ve been a GP for 25+ years.

I had a telephone appointment with my GP last week for a script repeat. The call lasted around 30 seconds. Doc was very rushed, said, 'yep, I'll send it, see you later'. In clinic, he's very chatty and listens well. I think phone appointments, not being face to face, give them the chance to 'catch up' time.

Doc also dispensed script incorrectly. If I'd been in clinic I would have checked & had it fixed but having to call back etc. is a pain. What he dispensed was the usual norm, but NOT how I normally had it prescribed. Mine was in much larger amounts and was around 70% cheaper.

I'll have to go back for another script quicker now, and the meds are a lot more expensive so I've had to find an alternative over the counter at the pharmacy.

So phone consults can work, but only if the doctor isn't rushing.

No they didn't mention review in 2 weeks.
More likely in 6/ 8 weeks. They specifically said they'd give me enough for 2 months. But it's not suppose to be just 1 tablet a week. It's only 5mg ones.
I hadn't spoken to this GP before. Job share.

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.

That's my logic too someone must put that list into an order of priority. I wouldn't even mind if they'd sent a text once they've sorted the list giving a rought guide to expect call 2-3pm. Then when your may be number 3, expect call in around 15mins.

Last year I ended up having a GP call in the breakfast cereal aisle. I'm glad it wasn't anything overly personal but really people can't stay in all day. And not everyone can just abandon their work for 10min to take a private call, I'm thinking someone like a checkout operator or a teacher.

Personally, my first preference is always a phone appointment! I can usually get an appointment for the same morning before my working hours without the faff of having to get a bus to travel to the surgery. I also find as someone with a higher BMI that the doctor will focus on the issue I’m describing rather than it turn into a conversation about my weight regardless of the issue as often is the case in a face to face appointment. I get that there are some cases where an in-person appointment is preferable/necessary but I really like the convenience of being able to speak with someone without leaving the house.

I agree. My mum is a teacher and can't just walk out of her class to take a phone call. And even when she explains this and says can she please be put at the bottom of the list, so she's called last, so that it hopefully comes after school finishes, they say no. She's not asking for a specific time, or to be first, she's asking to be at the back to the queue. But no, this is not possible apparently.
I know for some things they might want to call earlier just in case they want to see you that day, but with my mum it happens with things where she knows they won't want to see her.

That said, for me personally phone call appointments are convenient. But I have a job where I can pick up the phone whenever and can always find somewhere for a private call.

But they shouldn't be the default. I imagine they're hard for a lot of people who can't just pick up the phone and talk freely. There's loads of jobs that would apply to, plus teenage students. They can't walk out of class on the phone, and during break I doubt they want to be having a private medical conversation in the playground.

Absolutely agree. Spent an hour on the phone last week trying to get an appointment to look at some possible changes to skin/moles only to be given a telephone appointment, where someone who identified herself only as a ‘clinician’ told me (at 7pm) that I needed a face to face appointment (no shit) and that I would have to go through the same rigmarole the next day as she couldn’t give me a routine appointment. Alas I work full time and have children/school run so have not yet had chance to spend another morning on the phone to try to get this elusive face to face appointment. When I explained this would be tricky, she told me to ‘prioritise my health’ ….

I can never hear what is said, particularly if the GP or nurse has a strong accent, I struggle to hear on mobiles at the best of times for some reason, I also cant rely on being able to pick up my phone at any old time over a large window, I work in a front line role where Im often in meetings with other agencies and professionals, police meetings, sometimes in court (either in person or online) and I cant just stop those to pick up the phone and likes others say, its one chance or you're out!

You should have the choice. For some people getting to the doctor is not easy, for others it's better.

Telephone consults are downright dangerous. I was badly misdiagnosed during one. I had a lump on my hand and was told that it was a ganglion cyst (I'd sent a photo), when it was actually an aneurysm. An a&e doctor noticed it while I was accompanying someone a few weeks later and told me to book an urgent gp appointment to get referred. The gp was very resistant but did refer me to the vascular team who had me in to repair it within a week. They told me that had it been left it could have burst and been extremely dangerous. If I hadn't gone up to a&e with my aunt I'd have been walking around with a time bomb.

I needed a GP appointment for the first time in years on Friday.

8am... start ringing surgery
8.07... make it into the phone queue. Apparently I'm 28th and it will take 32 minutes.
9.10... finally speak to a person. All appointments gone. Is it urgent (nope I've spent an hour on the phone as I've nothing better to do). Yes I'm covered in a rash! Referred to district GP instead
9.20... telephone triage to Central GP. Conclusion yes you do need an urgent appointment.
12.30... see doctor. Need 4 different medications (one prescription, 3 OTC)

It would be a lot more efficient having an online triage system or phone triage system rather than 90 minutes on the phone!

I imagine not many run of the mill tablets have the dosage to take just four a week. The GP probably needs a review before prescribing more if they are going to continue.

I’ve had both negative and positive experiences.
The worse was my university student DD being diagnosed with asthma (never any mention of it before this) on the phone and given an inhaler. She actually had a chest infection, the inhaler caused a really high heart rate. She ended up in A&E and was given IV antibiotics and then two different courses to take at home - could have been prevented if she had actually been seen.

My GP offers Asthma reviews over the phone now. I declined, what's the point? They used to test your breathing and things. Some things really need to be face to face.

DD got prescribed some strong painkillers and when we went to the pharmacy the prescription had a similar but different name on it for another girl with the same birth date as he had misheard me when I confirmed her name. What was worse was the pharmacist gave me the prescription with all their details on so a massive GDPR fail there

I used to use them a lot pre-Covid for things that just needed a doctor's opinion on but didn't need a full appointment at the surgery - I'd ring up and request a phone one. Then the surgery went to telephone only and we'll see you in person if you're dying - and they've never gone back from that. They're currently second bottom in the County for the percentage of face to face ones they're returned to - and they won't even give you an AM/PM slot - it can be any time at all - I've literally had a call at 8:30 at night.

Moved surgery and yes, this one is a nightmare for not answering the phone - but if you go down and queue at opening time and there's a clinical need I've always been able to be seen same day. They offer telephone appointments as an option but not forcing it on people - and for stuff like the one I have booked today, where it's a quick "OK how's that dose working for your symptoms" review call - it's a good solution but it's not this one size fits all panacea it was peddled as being during the pandemic.

So this recently happened to me. I didn't need to see a GP, I rang reception who gave me an email address for the prescription team and they issued a new prescription the very same day.
I work clinically and prior to pandemic our service was 100% in person. We fought for years to have remote appointment capability bot received a lot of pushback from higher management. During the lockdown, we transitioned all of our services to remote appointments and now we are able to see a large cohort of patients who are housebound and bedbound or simply more significantly affected by the chronic illness which would prevent them from travelling to access our services in the past (we do still offer face to face but uptake is minimal). While I appreciate that some conditions absolutely need to be seen in person, I think all options are valid and have their place. If nothing else, phone appointments probably cut down significantly on no-shows.

I love telephone appointments. Pre covid I often said’I don’t think this needs a f2f appointment’ but it was difficult to get a phone appointment.
Since covid I haven’t seen my GP but have had a few phone appointments following on from an E-consult which were perfect for the problem. The one time I did an E-consult for knee pain I had a text back within an hour saying yes you need a f2f I’ve booked you an appointment with the physio-exactly what I needed.
That said, it probably helps that I do telephone triage for a living so know how it works and what can be assessed over the phone and what definitely needs a f2f.