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!

I mean, I’m not dying of shock, I’m sat here doing some unpaid overtime myself.

Wait with the what now?

How does 3 x 12 hour days make anyone part time?

Not all GPs work 12 hour days but very many do. Until very recently I worked 11 hour shifts (7.30 to 6.30) in a GP surgery & many of the partners were both there before me & still working as I left.

This is what we would have done in the surgery where I work. At least one of the GPs on rota for the day would be working until 6.30, others maybe 5.30. If an emergency happened that delayed one of the GPs then their work would be allocated amongst the others on duty.

We would never just not contact a patient because we had reached the end of the day. Each patient on the list would be seen / called on the day they had booked the appointment for

Im an NHS podiatrist and cant remember when I last finished work on time. I finish patients at 4.30 then work until about 6 or 7pm doing referrals, finishing notes, ensuring everything urgent is done. There is so much paperwork and I cant go home until its done unless I decide to work from home.
I dont get paid for that extra time, but if I dont do it nobody else will.
I doubt your GP just goes home at the end of the working day.
There are legal consequences for not doing this work.
I get 30 mins per patient. Far more than GPs. But I might have to do a procedure that takes an hour or 25 foot ulcers and both leg double bandaging that makes me late all day.
Thd NHS doesnt give us enough time for anything and yet here we are doing yet another time and motion study.

But if you had other commitments surely you would just have to leave? If your childminder/ after school club shut at 6 and you couldn’t stay to 7 surely you just wouldn’t?

Yeah, someone should at least have phoned the OP and said she wouldn't get a call today unfortuately, but she will get a call tomorrow, and give her a 2 hour slot (10am to midday, or midday to 2pm, or 2pm to 4pm etc...) That's the least they could do.

The GP is doing their job which has a start time and end time. It is not an emergency service, they are well within their right to go home at the end of their working day

We absolutely should not be going to a&e in place of a routine gp visit.
it shouldn’t be straight to a&e unless it’s a genuine accident or emergency.
most Gp appointments are not either of these.
All you’re suggesting is to move the problem elsewhere and dilute the offered service even further as well as overloading those staff at the hospital and risking people being treated as though they’re attention seeking or wasting resources at a&e when they should be seeing their gp

I've heard this too, that 111 can access GP apps. Try this, OP.
Agree they should have rebooked you.

This makes sound unhinged and doesn’t even make any sense. A practice could just hire another GP? If a GP currently working PT went to FT their salary would increase so the money could equally just be spent on another GP?
There is nothing in GPs working PT that actually has an impact on service unless the practice is relying on insane unpaid overtime out of the goodness of hearts alone.

Blame the government for setting unreasonable tatgets.

You are now able to send you query in online for the GP to respond to that day. But if the GP gets 1000 requests that day how on earth are they supposed to respond to them.

But its all okay as the government has found a new system that works!

It's completely unacceptable OP. I wish I had a job that I could just leave because it's the end of the day.

After my last experience of trying to get a a GP appointment I wouldn't even bother now. I 'd use a private GP and/or Bupa consultation.

Your last paragraph 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Do you mean this bit ‘The feminisation of GP practice has led to a deterioration of the service’ ??????

lolololol I have never heard of this dire feminisation of GP practice’ . Sounds terrifying, probably witchcraft

Because your GP is not an emergency service.

And at the moment they are battling against what NHS England say they will do with what they can practically do in the hours they work.

Exactly - it's hardly rocket science

Blame the process and not the individual. Clinicians love a DNA as it frees up a bit of time to catch up!

Except for GPs this happens every working day. So where do we draw the line? Or are GPs just supposed to work till 8pm everyday? Burn-out is a real and current problem among doctors. They deserve a work-life balance as the rest of the population. One solution would be more GPs, not overwork.

The booking system may need to be adjusted in this case but I do not agree GPs should just carry on working.

I expect the GP is as frustrated and fed up as you. You're blaming the wrong people.

Depending on the size of the surgery they have one, maybe two allocated slots for 111.

111 may say the GP will contact you within one hour but the actual contract between 111 and the GP is to see the patient at the earliest available time - which may be 5 days later.

They are not an emergency service so don't rely on 111's advice.

Not everyone is able to or has access to online services

Surgeries have to have procedures in place for that too. I should know, I was responsible for deciding what ours should be. This still cannot be call at 8am or you’ll never be able to see anyone.

😆

This makes no sense as a response to my comment.