Gp- appointments via online triage?

[Flyhigher]

Hi,
Does anyone know how this works?

You clearly work in an office and think that everyone is the same as you. I could have my phone in the workplace as I didn't work directly with food but I knew that many others couldn't

@HelloHappyCampers
Funny I've worked in retail head office ( many years ago) and since then in education. University.

And it's not really all that acceptable. In schools no chance. The docs ring when they want and you could be in the middle of a lesson.

Even at uni. If you are teaching or presenting at a meeting. There's just no way.

Also if you are a nurse. No way.

Interesting that in your fields it's more acceptable.

Where does it say I think everyone is the same as me. I feel like you have a deep rooted issue here about something that I've triggered. 🤔 if you're not happy with your non phone based career you can change. I dont see how any of that makes me privileged.

You've worked in mostly finance based areas.
So you meet with other co workers. In education you give a lesson it's like a performance. And the kids would just mess about and it disrupts the lesson.

This is what I mean though ' not that acceptable ' isn't the same as not at all allowed under any circumstances. I remember waiting to receive a call once about my dying grandma who i was extremely close to. I got the call at work - get to the hospital and I did go straight away and got to be there when she died. Imagine missing that? I wouldn't care what my profession is- there is 99% of the time an exception that can be made. Maybe I'm just a nice boss.

I can't either be ause I'm a driver.would end up losing my licence if I was on the phone. And no speakerphone doesn't work for me as I can't hear well enough with background noise. And what if youare working at a till in supermarket? You can't just leave customer and shut till to take call. Or a surgeon in middle of operation. Teacher in middle of a class Many many jobs You can't just take calls

Absolutely fantastic for us. Fill the form in when it opens at 8 and normally offered a same day appointment or telephone call or advice by 8.30. Great improvement on the 1hr 45 minute waits and number 80 in the phone queue. It has been a massive success (according to our local community Facebook group) for anyone technically literate.

It is however, massively unpopular with a lot of elderly people. Many people at our church (elderly congregation) really hate it and can't use it. The nature of e-consult at our local surgeries is that it opens at 8 and generally closes about 10. It is difficult to demonstrate how to use it as it's often closed by coffee morning time. Also many of them are on old smart phones and tablets that too slow (or clogged with 3000 puzzle app) to effectively use the app. All the Drs in our town use e-consult now. There are quite a few elderly who really need to see a Dr to manage complex conditions but can't use the system, one lady has not had a repeat prescription since before Xmas as you now need to use the app to order it And she doesn't know how to. Not helped by the phone lines now not opening until 8.30 and only staffed by 1 receptionist. The phone queue has gone down to around 40people but the wait is now over 2 hours and most appointments are gone by 8.30 as the e-consult opens at 8.

For a driver either pull over or use ear phones to answer the call or the call would go through Bluetooth to the vehicle and have that turned up loud.

For a surgeon/nurse etc they probably wouldn't need their gp much so 😆 kind of irrelevant.

Teacher and person on a till - I'd still answer the phone and explain why to management and to the people in front of me. Most classes have TAs now who could cover for 2 mins. I just don't accept people that say I can't answer the phone ever at work. It's rare.

Pull over onto the motorway hard shoulder. I'm sure that's not allowed except for emergency. And if you have passengers in car do you really want your medical business broadcast over Bluetooth ( if your car even has it) Why on earth wouldn't a nurse or surgeon need to speak to a Gp. They not immune from illness
Likely to be sacked if answer phone working on till with customers there. Usually rules about that kind of thing.

TAs in classrooms? Even at secondary school? Where the kids are forbidden from using phones H mm. Imagine a class full of teenagers causing errors hell over that.

I just don't accept people that say I can't answer the phone ever at work. It's rare.
It's not rare, you've just been very lucky and wrapped up in your own little world. Even if a till worker could walk away from a customer mid transaction (sackable offence), there's not a lot of privacy for them in the middle of a shop.

For a surgeon/nurse etc they probably wouldn't need their gp much so 😆 kind of irrelevant.
Wow.

My GP surgery kicks you off the phone queue once capacity has been reached with a recorded voice telling you to try again tomorrow. Same for econsult. It has happened where online opens at 8am, and closes at 8.05am due to reaching maximum limit. It's just luck if you get through.

Surgeons, nurses and other healthcare workers are humans with normal human bodies too, you know. They still get sick, they still get worrying symptoms that they need to contact their GPs about.

And they’re in a position where the nature of their job means that most of them can’t carry their mobile phones around all day waiting for their GP to call them back, and if they’re in the middle of treating a patient when the GP calls then they can’t just drop that to answer their phone.

@HelloHappyCampers you are a nice boss. But also in education it's not really ok to take a doctors call. An emergency yes. But a doctors call is seen as you can do that in your own time.
It's because it can come up at any time? You really take a doctors call about your ailments with students listening in. Must be the same for nurses too.

Genuinely though how do you do it 'in your own time' when the doctors are only open and making call backs etc the same time you're at work. Must be awful.

@HelloHappyCampers. Only primary have TA's. Ane even then kids will overhear you in the corridor or going to the loo. Secondary have to TA's neither do uni.
Lots of professions don't allow it. Health professionals need doctors just like everyone else.

Haha, your living in a different world, we have like 4 TA's for the whole high school. That's 1000 students where do you think having an extra person in a classroom is normal? There is no way in a practical teaching subject where you leave the room to answer a personal call and could you imagine a class full of kids hearing why you are speaking to a GP it would be all over the school by break.

I think it's a fairly new thing that doctor call backs are such a thing and perhaps some workplaces will move towards that. I'd be very understanding if someone left a meeting to deal with a doctor call - less so if it was a hair appointment or similar.
DH is not allowed carry a phone with him at work for safety reasons, but he is allowed if he tells his boss he's waiting for a doctor.
I am still surprised though that you couldn't think of people who can't take calls at work, there are literally hundreds of professions where this is not possible.

@HelloHappyCampers. Youve only worked in finance sectors. And you are a good boss.
I'd say of 100 people working maybe only 50% can take gp calls at any random time at work.
Scheduled lunch time calls are more likely to be acceptable. But an untimed call randomly in the day is not going to happen.
Sectors it won't work
Education - nursery upwards
Catering
Health
Manufacturing
Transport
And many others.
Beauty.
Any service job basically
Maybe finance are more flexible because they make so much money!! And don't have people to look after face to face.

Our surgery only offer this. The first time I used it I was really feeling ill and struggling to complete the form so phoned the surgery and the receptionist talked me through it. So far it has worked really well for us

@HelloHappyCampers. That's the point. People miss appointments now. And can't see gp's.

My doc does do telephone appointments till 6 or 7.

It's not ideal at all. What about people that work nights. Or unsociable shifts.

You make appointments for two weeks ahead to see them in person. Which is stressful.

The point really is most people can't take calls for gp appointments at work. Or would want to.

If it's lunch that's ok. But docs can't cram it all in over lunch.

We have this system and I love it. The only people in my surgery that complain are the type that want to see a doctor for things they can self treat/ see a pharmacist for. I appreciate it'll be different for other surgeries though. Personally I think it's an amazing system

I've worked in 3 Universities. I wouldn't have said there was an issue in any of them, if you needed to take a personal call. If I was in a class, or meeting, and it was urgent, I would maybe say at the beginning (even just to the Chair of the meeting) that I may need to step out for an urgent call from the Dr. If I was the Chair, I'd set someone else up to take over for 5 mins. Go find a quiet space/room/cupboard, and take the call. Go back to what you were doing. Bob's your uncle.....

We aren’t allowed phones in classrooms or any areas with children in school. That’s all staff. There is nowhere private to take calls either. My GP knows this and always accommodates appointments or calls outside of school hours

@HollaHolla. Well in my university. No one takes time out of meetings for Doctors's calls. I have never been in a meeting where someone has done that. The more I think about it the more unreasonable it seems.

I used ours this week for the first time as I haven’t needed an appointment for a few years. It was excellent - I sent a description of symptoms and the issue at 9:30 then had a text at 10:00 to say they’d made me an appointment at 10:45. No ringing as soon as they opened and getting stuck in the queue, this was so much better.

Think it might be time to challenge that approach. Everyone needs to call the GP, the dentist, the bank, sometimes. Sometimes we need a call back in the day.
I wonder if it’s ever been addressed with your Manager? Bet they’d be ok with it, unless it was happening all the time….