One illness/condition per phone call to the Surgery..to the surgery o

[dottypotter]

Phoned the doctors surgery this morning.The receptionist asked what was wrong and I mentioned two things.

She said only one per call. So I choose the main one I felt was more urgent.
After further questioning she told me I could ring the chemist as they could treat it.
I rang the chemist, they called me back later in the morning, with some questions and then told me I could pop down and pick up a prescription which I did.
Other problems been shelved for now.
In the past you would have just gone to the doctor and mentioned the other thing while you were there.
Now it seems you cant?
What do you think?
Has it happened to you?
Sorry Pharmarcy not Chemist.

My GP practice always ask if there is anything else after they have dealt with your issue. No limit on number of issues. My GP also texted me results of recent blood test.

Mine was like that pre covid - I hope you remain lucky.

@Newbutoldfather I have seen you post the 30% before. Where does this stat come from? Because when I google it says 7% of people said they had had at least 1 consultation with a private GP in two years. Far smaller numbers than your stat.

Always be the way ..one appointment one problem which is daft as often things are linked...

@Geripremi they are a good practice, they will not change.
I had a GP 25 years ago though who did this one thing per appointment. So it is not a new thing. It depends on your GP.

@Geripremi I have gone in with 4 separate issues. The GP is always fine with it.

It's totally bonkers. As any good doctors knows, people often only mention the thing that's really on their mind as they're leaving, and questions need to be asked to coax out intertwining symptoms and join dots.

That said, once you have an appointment you can say whatever you like. So just get in there however you can, make a clear list of everything you want to raise and don't leave until they've heard you out.

And ask around and register with a good GP. My experience is so different to a friend with a GP just a few streets over. When people ask in local facebook page about GPs, mine is always recommended. Do your research, do not just register with anyone.

Two issues and two symptoms are not the same thing though. You just get an appointment for X but whilst in discussion with GP you mention, or they ask, other troubling symptoms Y and Z. I just don't understand how you would only talk about, for example, a tummy ache, but would not then also discuss reflux, coughing, burning, lack of appetite etc etc. Your GP's can't honestly only ask about one symptom, without probing further, I just don't believe it.

They really can.

I took my son in with several different symptoms which I think might be linked and indicate an underlying condition.

one of these is stomach pain- I explained all the symptoms and the family history which indicates some conditions, and she said- “so he has a stomach ache”. I said yes, but also xyz… she felt his stomach, said she couldn’t feel anything and that was that. She literally just pretended I hadn’t mentioned anything else! It was genuinely the most bizarre ‘conversation’ I’ve ever had.

@Theminer change GP.

They are ok in other ways- I don’t struggle to get an in person appointment, either emergency or scheduled for example. They are good with routine stuff, and the receptionists are helpful.

Its just anything out of the ordinary seems to baffle them.

Luckily I can afford to take my son to a private paediatric rheumatologist to have proper investigations.

I am bewildered you would rather use a private Dr rather than just change GP. Up to you though.

I have a friend who was only allowed to make an appointment to discuss one symptom at a time - itchy skin without a rash, lump on neck, fatigue and cough. This turned out to be lymphoma too - textbook symptoms but obvs the average non medical person doesn’t know this or that they can be related. Only picked up after months of symptoms when sent for. Chest xray due to the cough ongoing. They also had to chase the xray asdoctors forgot to refer it first time! Once diagnosed they were admitted to hospital in less than 48hrs for emergency treatment and not allowed home for a week as was in danger of strangulation from one of the tumours. This could have been caught months earlier if allowed to discuss all symptoms at once or a doctor had bothered to read their file from previous visits and put 2 & 2 together and it wouldn’t have got so critical. Luckily the chemo worked bit was touch & go for a while. This policy is why serious health conditions are missed and then need extra NHS care to sort out (best case scenario) which then just adds to the NHS backlog. It doesn’t save time, just causes more stress to patients and their loved ones.

@Chocolation whether you use a NHS or private GP you have to research who you register with. There are good and bad GPs.

You're right of course, but the patient doesn't know what symptoms are likely to be linked to one issue and therefore permissable to mention. They'd be relying on the GP which isn't really fair as the diagnostic process relies on the patient reporting what they're aware of as well as the doctor putting feelers out in different directions. It's not fair to doctors either.

A rheumatologist and a gp are more or less totally different things?

I could have my son wait while I change gp, then wait to get an appointment, then hope that the new gp will do a referral to a rheumatologist, then wait months for an appointment… or since I’m in the privileged position of being able to pay, I can take him to a specialist in the conditions my family suffers from next week.

@Theminer you said you used a private rheumatologist because your GP is terrible at recognising unusual conditions. But also say you won't change your GP. That is up to you.
My DH used to work with lots of GPs and there could be massive differences between practices. People will research a private Dr before paying, but too many people I find do not research the best NHS GP in their area.
We have to take some responsibility as well.

How is me researching and paying for the best specialist I can not taking responsibility?

My GP is generally perfectly serviceable… with the number of people who can’t even get seen at practices all over the country I’m not keen to move when I know that if my son wakes up crying with an earache they will see him that day, and if I think I need to adjust one of my many medications I can ring the gp I’ve seen for more than a decade and she will know what I’m on about.

I’m not going to stamp my feet and move surgery’s just because I have a difference of opinion with one gp.

@herewegoagainy and actually it’s ridiculous to accuse people of not taking responsibility (for what anyway?) if they don’t shop around GPs. They are a public service- people have a right to expect equal quality of care whichever one they use.

Also, not everyone has multiple gp practices in their area.

Sympathies OP. I managed to see an actual gp because I had some signs indicating potential cancer. Turned out it wasn't, thankfully, after further test, and I've no complaints about how that was handled. The doctor said "do you want to ask me anything?" I said " can I ask you about something else?". She said " No, I haven't got time" and reeled off her workload.

Funnily enough, the same doctor has been seen on a TV series about the practice lavishing time and attention on each patient. I've no doubt she is overworked but it doesn't make me want to 'bother' them with anything less than life threatening these days ( in which case it's A&E anyway).

Apparently now if you want to discuss more than one issue you need to make a double appointment which are pretty impossible to get and probably even less likely if you can only mention one thing to the receptionist. I get that GP's are on a 5 minute time limit but I am sure serious issues must be missed because a patient assumes some other issue they are having is unrelated to another when it may actually be an important symptom that would help the GP better help the patient.

Generally the pharmacy first imitative is positive in my experience and I've used it a few times now but on another occasion I happened to know that the pharmacist would not proscribe the medication I required for oral thrush as another medication I use is contraindicated but the GP's receptionist insisted I go to the pharmacy first. So I did, the Pharmacist then had to call the GP surgery, speak to a GP who then had to make time to see me there and then to give me the correct prescription. No doubt if I ever get oral thrush again I will have to go through the who palaver again!

https://x.com/archivetvmus71/status/1757449558508937664?s=20

As people can't even get a single appointment, I doubt they can get a double appointment!

And clearly if you go and say "I am experiencing night sweats, losing weight and am very tired" the doctor will consider all symptoms.

I always assumed the one issue per appointment was "I have heavy periods" and "I have a weird lesion on my arm" which are much less likely to be linked. Though I still don't know why you can't mention both. A GP only spends 30 secs per symptom anyway, so plenty of time left in a 7 minute slot.

I can get a GP appointment fairly easily and can talk about more than 1 issue. But they do ask if you have more than 1 major issue to book a double appointment. That is simply to give the time needed.
And if you need an examination one issue can take a while to deal with.