more a wwyd. No GP appointments

[Cheshiresquirrelsss]

I rarely see the GP so haven't had this issue but I need an appointment and need (don't wanna go into details) signing off. There are no appointments available to book online, when you ring the surgery they cannot book me in as there is nothing for 3 weeks and they cannot book one in further (so they say and I need a GP sooner anyways). There is no e- consult. The only chance is ringing bang on at 8 am but I cannot make a phone call at 8 due to circumstances and by the time I can call at 8:30, all appointments have gone.

I never had that problem. Any idea?

Mine is like that. And the phone lines were quiet so I stood I reception in front and called them on the phone.

Multiple people have explained that you can sign yourself off for a week.

As a PP has said, phone 111 and they may be able to allocate a GP appointment to you.

I feel your pain. It's extremely frustrating and irritating.
I have my own patients. My surgery starts at 8am also. I have a several occasions had no choice but to put my phone on speaker phone during my own consultation awaiting an answer.
"Your call is important to us. You are tenth in the queue".
Invariably when you get to top of queue their system is down or there are no appointments left so you are told to try again tomorrow.
I resorted to paying for a private gp.

Exactly the same here. My friend was having bloods done with the phlebotomist, on the way out she went to the reception desk to ask for a dr’s appointment re a mole she had that she thought had changed….she was told she had to go home and phone for an appointment! She went round to the car park and phoned from there…..no e-consult available either. Another friend was told she also had to phone for an appointment ‘due to patient confidentiality’ as she turned around to see a completely empty waiting room…I hope you get sorted out OP.

If you self certify for the first seven days getting to work late won’t matter as you will be off sick already by the time you need to phone. Ditto checking your diary (for work related stuff anyway). Also to be honest whatever is in your diary would probably need rearranging as ime getting a gp appt isn’t like picking a day to go to the hairdressers, I just take what I’m given.

the school run is obviously an issue but I think the suggestion of leaving a bit earlier and finding a point en route to pull over is a good one. I know you said your son can be noisy but could you be outside the car once they answer the phone so you can hear them?

At my doctors you ring at 8 to get a standard appointment for 3 weeks later or you go on triage a nurse rings you back and if you need to be seen that day they will get you in.

I had a traumatic experience which work gave a week paid off but I needed longer. I rang doctors requested a same day appointment. I got a phone call later that day, I explained what had happened and I got a sick note for 6 weeks. I didn't have to go in and they emailed it to me.

Phone in sick. As you are at home ring your doctors and say you need a same day appointment. If they are gone they should still triage you. Explain what's wrong and what you need. They may deal with it over the phone.

Have you phoned and asked for a telephone consultation? Our appointments are gone at 8am but you can ask to be called back by the GP. Anyway you can self cert for the first week, which will give you time to call the surgery. Yes we shouldn't have to take our children to school late, but needs must.

Get someone else to ring

You'll likely be on hold anyway and does it matter what time they appointment is ? You don't need to check your diary if you're off sick?

yes, it matters. I haven't signed off myself yet and both of my children have complex needs, I do the school runs, currently 2-3 appointments per week as one is very unwell. There is no need for such snotty replies. Some people's lives are just a bit more complicated than found to work and coming back home.

Our surgery does a ring back option. I do that. It says that appointments can't be booked in the surgery only through ringing. They then triage, and usually, I'm seen the same day. Is that an option at your surgery?
Last time, she suggested self cert and then contact if I needed a cert afterwards.

As I said multiple times, they do not have appointments you can pre-book at all. All booked out. Only option is to try to get an emergency appointment - and you can only do that by ringing at sharp 8 am and hope you aren't too far back in the queue before the are gone.

I will check the self cert option out today. But I still need to drive DC to school around 8 am and would still struggle to ring. Maybe I should just leave it and carry on as things are. I have an awful lot on my plate and I am not coping, and I just don't have the energy to battle the GP for a bloody appointment. There must be other people like nurses, or bus drivers etc who cannot ring at 8 am either. it's ridiculous.

Me personally, I'd take the dc into scho late. One day won't hurt and their school should be understanding.

@Cheshiresquirrelsss yes it is bloody ridiculous !

How dispiriting all of this is these days.

I would self certify for next 7 days maybe that’ll give you a tiny break whilst you figure out what to do next with regard to your stress.

Hi OP, there is a lot of I can't, I shouldn't'. But ultimately this is for your well being. You are allowed, we are giving you permission to stop being so unbelievably hard on yourself.

The system is what it is, right? At the moment you can't change that and you need an appointment. There are things you can do to help yourself and you need to speak to the GP.

Your options are to go into work and school late. Get your appointment. Or take a day off sick and then see your GP. It's a relatively simple answer. Be kind to yourself.

It is a shit system but it's time to put yourself first and look after your health. Phone in sick and self certify then take the time to get a GP appointment. If you don't and you carry on as you are you risk everything collapsing, including all the stuff you're trying to support with your children.

As it's stress you're suffering from does your GP have a mental health nurse? In my surgery, where you have to state the problem you have when you phone, you would be triaged to a 20 minute appointment with the MH nurse. She has the ability to sign off sick and refer to other MH services, recommend medication which she will have the GP prescribe.

Could you ask if this is an option at your practice?

I would tell work/school and explain you need to be late one day. And go in person.

Complain to the practice manager. Point out that the current system prevents access to GP services for people who have children and need to do the school run, primarily women.

It's just another example of how systems are put in place without any thought into how they might impact on women. This shit needs to be challenged every time and shouldn't be accepted.

My surgery has an online request system. They open it at 8 but then close the system when they have “too many” requests. Typically around noon I think. And if there isn’t someone there to handle your request, they just bloody close it.

When I was in a similar position to you, this worked: I wrote my request in a letter and hand addressed the sealed envelope to the doctor in my shakiest old lady handwriting. Dropped it blithely at reception as though I were doing a favour for a neighbour.

I will check the self cert option out today. But I still need to drive DC to school around 8 am and would still struggle to ring

You simply ring in sick.

You ring your line manager and tell them you are ill

There is nothing to check out, there is no actual certificate to complete at this time

Once you've rung in and left a voicemail or spoken to them or emailed and said you are ill, you drive your child to school and them go home

Be ill at home

For 7 days

You probably need to ring your employer on day 2 and let them know you're off sick for the whole week

At the end of the week (day 6) ring your doctors, any time, and say you need a sick note for x weeks

Sick note will be text to your phone

Send sick note for x weeks to your employer

If you need another sick note at the end of first sick note - ask GP surgery for another sick note as the first sick note is coming to an end

Honestly and with respect, you are making this WAY more complicated than you need to

Go and stand outside the surgery at 7.30am - that was the time at my last gp surgery you had to be on the doorstep to be near the front of the queue when it opened at 8am.People queueing were guaranteed an appointment ahead of the phone queue. It may work similar at your surgery. Often there would be 15 people queuing by 7.45am.

Why can your child not be late for school?

If you call your surgery at a quieter time, explain to the receptionist that you need a cert for work, they can send the doctor a task for them to issue a cert.

Gently, I’m going to quote my own advice again because you haven’t taken it on board and it’s still correct. You don’t seem
to be thinking straight - which I do understand, I have actually been signed off for stress before myself - and my previous post tells you what you need to do.

Appreciate you haven’t had to take time off for stress before and you’re worried about doing things correctly, but I assure you, you self-certify first, you let someone else deal with your calendar and you don’t worry about being late for work because you won’t be at work.

In an ideal world you wouldn’t have to do the school runs but it sounds like you have limited opinions there, and it might be you can cope with them if you don’t have to work in between. When you’re signed off for stress, you don’t have to hide in your house all day.

Your company will have a procedure for calling in sick. One day - maybe even today - just do that. Don’t go in. That’s your self-certification period started.

I should have gone off sick a few weeks before I actually did. Like you, I felt guilty and I kept trying to cope. I think it made matters worse and I should have stopped as soon as I sensed myself heading for breaking point and not waiting until I was actually there.