GP didn’t call me because their “workday has ended”

[angelinlothian]

I had a telephone call booked in at 15:40.

It rolls around and no call. 17:30 comes and goes which is when the surgery closes.

I get a text to say it’s not been completed as they got to the end of their workday and couldn’t make the call, which means at least 8 people were in the same position as me, they didn’t have their calls made.

So I now have to compete again tomorrow for an on the day call, and even having one booked in doesn’t guarantee it!

AIBU to think this is exactly why so many people end up in A&E? We’re told to go to our GP, but our GP won’t see us!

again, this would be a fair comment to make if OP's app was the last or last to one of the day - the fact there was 2hrs between when her appt was due and the surgery closed suggests it's not the case of just one or two appts slightly overrunning.

Even if her specific GP was only supposed to work until 3.40 so it was only OP's appt being missed, if the surgery itself was open until 17.30 a different GP should have covered her appt, or at the very least a member of admin staff should have phoned her AT 3.40 and told her the appt had been cancelled so she wasn't waiting around in vain for someone who had finished work 2hrs ago.

would a chemist be able to assist ?

I think they should at least rebook you for the morning.

People with jobs like this, where they have to stay until the day's load is done, have contingency plans as routine.

I was a teacher - couldn't ever guarantee what time id finish so DH did all picks ups.
I have a midwife friend - her parents are on usually on standby if she's got a morning shift because it's common to overrun.
My old neighbour was a GP - his wife was a SAHM to be able to manage child related duties.
A friend who is a hospital consultant - her DH wfh so he can do last minute schedule changes.
Etc.

These kinds of jobs you can't just walk out on time if the work isn't done.

I had the opposite once. Eg. My call back slot was between 11am and 12pm. They called once at 9.30am and I didn't get to my phone in time. Went down as a missed appointment. Grrr.

I really think surgeries should operate an evening appointment system for this reason. If emergencies come in it must be difficult to fit everyone in. They should have called you to explain.

Do you have a walk in centre or urgent treatment centre nearby? You don't have to go to A&E. Have you asked a pharmacist for OTC stronger pain relief?

Yes it's frustrating when your appointment gets bumped but YABU to expect the GP to stay significantly over the end of their work day, they have lives too.

Have to say though when it happened to me I was sent a message explaining along with a link to rebook, I think they should have done that even if it meant you weren't seen tomorrow.

That’s shitty OP although I can see why they don’t just start the list from the next day. It would get excessively long and many people’s problems would have resolved or been low priority relative to those calling.

Our GP is amazing tbh. People moan all the time (because people like to moan) but I think their system is extremely sensible.

Complete an online triage form before Midday with one of the following outcomes:

• an urgent appointment is arranged for you that day
• an appointment for a non-urgent issue is arranged for you within the next 5 days
• a prescription for obvious things or where there have been photos is sent to the pharmacy without a need for an appointment
• a receptionist calls you to discuss (eg. I needed a smear but you aren’t supposed to be on your period)

They encourage online triage but phone lines are still open for old people etc.
I really can’t fault it tbh.

Changes are coming in April that will give you the right to see a gp same day for urgent medical needs.

GPs in England will have to guarantee same-day appointments for any patient with urgent health needs, under a new clause being added to their contract. The government said the changes would ensure everyone who needs to be seen quickly would be. Urgent cases are being defined as any patient whose symptoms suggest they need treatment to start the same day or where there is a risk of deterioration if they aren't assessed, such as a child with a high fever and a rash, or a frail older person who has suddenly become confused.

Mine went one better than that the last appointment I had - I'd filled the form in because I wanted to change one of my meds and I requested a specific, female doctor who'd I'd dealt with before. It wasn't urgent and because the doctor I wanted is quite popular, they booked me in for a call a few days later -lets say I filled the form in on the Wednesday and my telephone appointment was for the following Tuesday afternoon.

I got a call from a male locum on the Friday morning! It was lucky I answered because the number came up as private, which I don't normally answer unless I am expecting a specific call! I did mention that it was a few days early and I'd asked for this other doctor - he said "Oh you can wait if you want!".

In the end I went ahead with the appointment but it was very weird!

I wonder if the Dr would have walked out through the waiting room if OP and the other patients (eleven of them if 10 min appts from 15.50 to 17.30 ?) waiting for their turn with the Dr had all been sitting in the waiting room.

‘Soz folks, I’m off home now. Take your chances trying to get an appointment tomorrow !’

The Dr may have had to leave ‘on time’ but at the very least OP (and the other patients) should have been rescheduled for the next day as she had been triaged as same day appointment.

Edited to add. I wonder how the receptionists would have handled those eleven people , none of who had been seen since 15.50. Our Drs are pretty good but it's easy to see how phone calls could be ditched in some circumstances.

If its not an emergency and doesn't involve a child with a rash/hi fever etc then anyone who goes to AE because their GP didn't call them back is a fucking idiot.

Numerous on-line GP services attached to 'practices or the NHS app that are free and same day.

If you re that ill you wouldn't be waiting around all day for a phone call, you'd dial 999 or got to AE.

But then i ve seen this, sore throat/fever/can't sleep/small cut etc clogging up AE, then moaning they had to wait 38 hours before being told "Go and see your GP"

Our surgery still does the ring at 8am on the day for urgent appts only.

They got around the new guidelines of letting patients book non urgent appts online by saying you have to be invited by them to make an online appt, and it's only for 3 things (ecg, smear test and diabetes test).

There's no way of booking yourself an appt online as they have to have sent you a link to access it, so it's no different to before.

E-consult is meant to be open from 7.30am to 6.30pm, but it's always shut before 9am as it's "at capacity for the day".

None of the GPs work full time. They're all on part time contracts.I don't blame them due to their pension changes/ limits, but it definitely adds to A&E always being so busy as people get fed up waiting to be seen.

They should automatically book you in for the following day and reduce the number of calls slots to account for it.

The GP should not be forced to work until all calls are completed, that's an untenable system.

The GP system in lots of practices is awful.

our GP has an online form you fill out, it's triaged and they either call you to make an appt, or tell you that you'll be on the call list and get one by 7pm. If they don't call you, they usually just add you to the mornings list.

I don't think the OP is unreasonable to expect to be put straight onto the call list for the following morning.

I had to take my DD to A&E with severe hyperemisis gravidarum and it was wall to wall full of retired to very old people. I’m not surprised at all, to get a GP appointment I have to call between 8.30 - 9.15 then keep my fingers tapping the ring back button to get through which might take half an hour then press the correct button for the service I want and then hope I get through in time it’s an absolute nightmare

"None of the GPs work full time. They're all on part time contracts.I don't blame them due to their pension changes/ limits, but it definitely adds to A&E always being so busy as people get fed up waiting to be seen."

This is the problem....barely any GP's now work full time. The feminisation of GP practice has led to a deterioration of the service given many women doctors now choose that route specifically because of the flexi working hours.

Why should they 🤷🏻‍♀️ sometimes you just can’t? Sometimes I’m more than happy to work over my hours but sometimes I just can’t for one reason or another. No matter how hard you try to prioritise your workload/delegate sometimes you just can’t 🤷🏻‍♀️, life happens. Sometimes there’s just not enough hours in the day. I said in another post, I wonder if the OP has misinterpreted, it’s very unlikely that she’s going to have go through the process again. I would expect that she’s being carried over until tomorrow.

I’ve worked in GP surgeries & honestly, I’ve never known this to happen. It really isn’t OK.

It doesn’t follow that more patients also missed their appointments though, as they may have been face to face slots rather than telephone.

In my experience, all clinicians in primary care will stay until all appointments have been completed, no matter how late they are running. If that isn’t possible then yes, a call tomorrow morning without you having to book it yourself is the least that should happen.

Wow! That’s a bold statement! Not a sentiment I share

Yes I DO expect this of the GPs, because most of them work part time, 2 days or 3 days a week, and there are 3 nights of the week that some of the GPs work til 8pm. As I said, sometimes they do ring people at that time (or close to it) and the practice have appointments as late as 7.45pm.

So in this instance, yes I WOULD expect the GPs to stay until they have phoned everyone. Otherwise, why bother with this triage system where they promise to call you/deal with it on the same day, if they're not going to ring anyone after 6pm? Poor practice, and this needs sorting. The OP needs to complain about this.

Also, quite a lot of professions/jobs mean you have to stay until everything is done. Open your mind a bit.

They get sent by 111 unfortunately . And there's no point telling them to see their GP when they can't get an appointment for weeks or months.
Perhaps like me you are lucky and can always get an appointment on the day, but I think surgeries who can offer that are very much in the minority these days.

If you’re in England your surgery has to offer an online triage system as part of the GP contract. This came into being in October.

Nobody needs to be dialling each day any more.

Exactly. SOMEone should have phoned her. Preferably another GP. As I said, some of them do work late some evenings. (Til 8pm at mine.)

A race to the bottom is staying hours later than you should.

The GP will have other responsibilities that have to be prioritised after 5pm