GP appt saga

[Paininthebutth0le]

Just went into my GP as I have been sent an auto appt for something and I can't attend on that day. I was in the reception which was empty with 3 staff members behind the window... I explained my situation and was told I am unable to reschedule in person and I need to call them instead!

None of them were on the phone, it was empty. I just said ok, went out to my car and called from there getting the lady who had spoken to me 60 seconds prior. Have all GP surgeries fully gone mad or is it just mine?

This. 😂

When I phone up all the say is 'GO THROUGH PATCHES'

I had a similar issue with a school today. Was told they couldn't do anything unless I emailed in. So I literally stood in reception and emailed them.

@2dogsandabudgie 9 Drs , 6 ucp's , then obviously nurses , hca's , we also have physios , social prescriber , counsellor , it's also a training practice so we will have junior doctors that stay for a year . None of the drs do a 5 day week . Its hard to say how many appointments on a daily basis , this afternoon probably 50 appointments not including nurses .

Yes. It's keeping people outside the surgery since Covid. Also has helped with stopping people go for issues that can be dealt with elsewhere often.best wishes for feeling soon too, tho

I have indeed stood in reception and phoned them whilst looking them in the eye because 'you have to telephone' - wouldn't work these days as it takes them 45 minutes to answer the phone.
They sent a letter to me before Christmas to say I needed a smear test - no appointments available for one.
The most frustrating though was when I was registering my newborn baby and took the forms in:
Receptionist: we only do new registrations on Tuesdays
Me: (it was Monday) that's ok it doesn't need to be done today
Receptionist: it's Tuesday
Me: yes I know
Receptionist: we only do new registrations on Mondays can you bring the form in tomorrow?
Me: erm no, I've got a newborn, can you not just put it in your tray until tomorrow?
Receptionist: hmmmmmmm

• I slid the form over to her and said 'pretend I posted it'

Madness

@toastedcrumpetsrock what if you were going on holiday the next day (on the Tuesday) its ridiculous

That's so insanely unhelpful!
Imagine not being bothered to put a bit of paper in a tray that you'd rather make someone with a newborn come out two days in a row...
Sheesh.

Poor DH had an injured toe. It got infected. He called the doctor but the receptionist refused to let him have an appointment and told him to go to the pharmacy. So off he went to the pharmacy who told him it was infected and he needed to have a doctors appointment to get antibiotics. Eventually he got an appointment with the GP who said it was infected and gave him antibiotics.
No one thought to tell DH that he shouldn’t take his statins while on the antibiotics. He was really ill with it, called 111 who took 8 hours to get back to him (overnight).

I know that GPs are on their knees but it is just farcical.

I am also interested to know why go surgeries are empty. I rarely go but have been in 3 times recently either for or to attempt to make an appointment. Twice I was the only person there and once there was 3 of us. What happened to the days that you had to stand because all the chairs were taken?

I think it depends where you live. We used to live right on the outskirts of a city (southampton, not london!) and our surgery catered to such a wide range. I'd phone up at 8 in the morning, phone wouldn't even connect. You'd get a busy dial tone for at least a hour. Just keep hanging up and trying again until you got in the queue. Then no apps available. Book in for 2 weeks time. We had to rely on 111 and they'd find us somewhere further away with out of hours. I live in a little village in South wales now and I always manage a same day appointment. It's mad how different it is. I phoned up first thing on Thurs, got through straight away. Phone appointment booked. Dr rang me back after 10 mins! Was fully prepared to just have phone app but she asked me see me within the hour. Our pharmacies here are wank though lol.

It's because of phone and video consults. Mum's 80+ friend was asked to do a video consult and had to battle for face to face.

Mum's given up trying.

I know one GP who is now the only GP of 4 in her practice who will do face to face on all working days. Now most of the patients ask for her. She is taking on some extra work and then retiring early. I think we will see a lot of good GPs leave, for many reasons.

Another surgery that she knows of has been fined for lack of face to face appts, so apparently that can happen.

Interesting. I hadnt thought of video and phone appointments. I honestly assumed there was only one/no doctor working. I remember when the doctors names would be displayed around the reception area showing which doctors were working that day/which nurses but that has disappeared too. I also can’t get a smear test because they dont have a nurse to do it but they are trying to get one.

Doesn't stop them though does it. I had a telephone appointment with the hearing loss clinic a couple of months ago. It went about as well as you'd expect. Utter, utter crap.

Mine was held hostage because I needed a medication review before they could give me it, but they didn't have any appointments! 🫣

I'm under regular care for two conditions and haven't seen a doctor in person since Jan 2020,

(when I warned about a very odd strain of pneumonia going around....I have lung scarring from previous pneumonia. And I was declared asthmatic for a long time, but no longer....think it was the pneumonia damage).

One of mum's neighbours ended up with a brain tumour being detected late because he couldn't get a face to face during lockdown. It's amazing he's still around; his family didn't think he'd make it. he was in private rehab for months after it was removed.

His case is exactly why my GP friend wanted to see people in person even in lockdown. I wish I could join her surgery.

Of course one of the first systems for this online crap was Babylon, who were advised by, and paid out to, Dominic Cummings.

Face to face appointments won't be coming back for most. It will be video call first.

This never dates It's the perfect parody of medical matters (with education a close second at times).

This is literally why I got my prescription on 22nd December.

I rang up and said to a very lovely receptionist that I would be stuck for ages if they didn't grant it, and that there were no appointments for medication review.

Our system closed to everything non-urgent for Nov and Dec. The urgent appointments online thing was open from 6am and she told me the urgent appts are gone by 6.30.

she left me on hold while she went and talked to a doctor. I think she probably went at it in a very determined way, but I deliberately called the Friday before Christmas to force a decision that was likely to go my way.

It's sad but as I'm a regular, I knew that was a good strategy. Really lucky we had great receptionists there.

@MadeOfAllWork can i be cheeky and ask what the antibiotics/statins combined did? My step dad has been really ill since being given strong antibiotics and he's on statins.

My DH had some abnormal blood results. These were recorded on his online records along with “bloods to be retested in eight weeks”. Whoever saw the results couldn’t have read them properly as they had written “normal results, no further action”. My DH spotted the anomaly and called the surgery to highlight this discrepancy. After being 18th in the call queue, the receptionist told him to call back at 8am next day to get an appointment. He tried calling and was in a long queue. Eventually he got through to be told all the appointments had gone and to call next day at 8am.

The other week I went to the gp reception to fill in a form. I ask the receptionist about a query I put through online the previous week. She couldn't find it and said you'll need to speak to a gp. She said there's a telephone appt on Wednesday (this was Monday). I said that's great and she booked it whilst I was standing there. Come Wednesday I had been waiting all afternoon for a phone call. I was told they would call between 3 -6pm. They didn't call so I called reception. Apparently there was no appt booked in the first place!

I've changed doctors and have to say my new ones are incredible
Actually being treated properly for hashimotos, had around 25 blood tests as the doctor wanted to see my normal, referred for something that should have been done 8 years ago
Can ring at 9/10am and get a same day appointment. If they don't have any then you can ring again at 6pm and get an evening one. Also weekend appointments

It's like night and day with my previous doctors

Should say don't ask about the blood clinic though
I need bloods every 12 weeks. I take annual leave for the day to get them done
Turned up as they opened and it was already a 2.5hr queue. One person taking bloods
Took my ticket and left and said I would come back apparently not allowed but I went for breakfast----
Every blood clinic is the same, every day and by 8.30am they're closed as too many people waiting

Kidney failure.

Your dad needs to stop taking the statins until he can talk to a clinician.
If necessary ring 111 and they'll get one to phone him.

Of course. He had dreadful stomach cramps, wind and I think diarrhoea.
But, he can’t have penicillin so this is the alternative antibiotic.