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!

True. How much does it cost them for a missed appointment? Ask them if when THEY miss your appointment you can have that "lost" money and go and use it for a private GP consultation instead.😆

It's really unfortunate that the surgery didn't automatically rebook you in or another GP take over your calls
. However the emergency could be really serious and then required writing up/debrief etc. A friend of mine is a GP and a few years back had a routine appointment for a patient who had booked. The woman went into cardiac arrest in the waiting room and and my friend was performing CPR and using a defib for a long time until the ambulance arrived ( pre covid but the same old issue of not enough ambos in the area as waiting to off load at hospital). After the ambulance did arrive and the woman was taken to hospital, my friend had to then write up their account and ensure the patient records were available as it's their legal responsibility. It was time consuming and quite a shock for her and the other surgery staff.

You'd be surprised. My surgery operates an evening and weekend surgery on rota - no one wants to come to them! We cant give them away!

But they hadn't finished their work for the day?
It's a salaried job, not a payperhour job. You leave once the works done for the day, not at a set time.

Stop talking about GPs as if they are still like Dr. Leg from Eastenders!

GPs are part of practices which are run as a business and for profit- partners earn as much as hospital consultants. Salaried GPs earn more than most consultants.

I have a friend who works in the ICB and has worked in Primary and Secondary care commissioning. Every time they try to make changes to improve GP access and take the pressure of secondary services, the GPs kick off - even when the changes make a lot of sense and would actually reduce the GP caseload. The BMC get involved and nothing gets fixed!

Not having the capacity to give people appointments is one thing, but not contacting patients who have been given an appointment and making alternative arrangements is just bad practice management.

No-one would think it acceptable if you were given a 3:30pm appointment with a consultant at a hospital, you sit around until 5:30 and then are told when you ask what is going on "Sorry, the consultant has finished for the day - call back tomorrow and we will see if we can re-arrange"

Emergency services are being overrun with non-emergencies because people are unable to access primary care.

Personally I think if someone rocks up at A&E with something that is a non-emergency - if they can prove that they have tried and failed to get an appointment with their GP then the GP practice should be fined because they have either not employed the correct number / right mix of staff or they are being run badly.

We've always been very lucky with our GPs even though we have lived in areas with very very high demand and increasing populations - our current and previous GPs had very innovative practices in terms of staff mixes. The only thing I would like to see is more weekend access!

There will quite literally be millions of parents who have salaried positions and leave on time because nurseries/ after school care or clubs don’t run late.
The idea that everyone on a salary just stays however late is rubbish.

Yes, mine does evening appointments too. So does my adult DC's surgery, and my 2 BBFs surgeries. Not many people seem to go to evening (6.00pm to 7.45pm) appointments, but the GPs do plenty of phone calls/phone consultations during that time. So they are not sitting doing nothing. This is why I'm surprised that a GP didn't ring the OP at 7pm or something.

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I’ve done this multiple times because I’ve felt I have no fucking choice. I have brittle asthma and a flare can start slow 2-4 days prior to needed hospitalisation so either I get seen by my GP or I’ll hassle a & e

My surgery regularly sends me texts that say they are short staffed & only seeing/booking emergencies.
At least once a week this happens.
The online booking doesn't work so it's ringing with every other bastard at 8am & phone lottery!
I have only experienced one no call back though. The receptionist had written my number incorrectly) that is on my file correctly ffs)
I'd be pissed off with the total lack of concern from your surgery. A text to say essentially, tough shit today, is crap.
If you don't get joy with 111 you could try a pharmacist. Some can prescribe, but I'm not sure what regarding pain relief.
Good luck

I get the frustration. Can you not go to a local walk in centre?

And there will be millions who DO stay late (until the work is done!) Many people do have other people who can pick up their child from nursery/after school clubs, ya know like the other parent of the child! Or a grandparent or other family member or friend.

I had an unpredictable finishing time in a job I did in the noughties - although it was 3 days a week. I would start at 8.30am and sometimes not finish til 7 to 7.30pm if a particularly tricky case or situation came in... And so my DH would pick up the DC from the childminder or school. If he was at work, (he did shift work,) or the childminder would sometimes keep them for an extra hour or two, or my SIL would pick them up and keep them at hers for an extra hour or two. (Or one of the other mums at the school/one of my friends would do it.) I would return the favour if a similar thing happened to them on MY days(s) off.

You learn to adapt and make provisions when you have a career with unpredictable hours that sometimes run over the normal finishing time. Not everyone can just clock out on the dot of 5pm!

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I think you’re very rude OP to suggest the GP isn’t working.
the reality is, you have ZERO idea what has gone on in their work day. Something has clearly gone terribly wrong if you’re not the only phone call that couldn’t take place (you previously suggested maybe ~8 others wouldn’t have happened).
that is a clear implication that something has happened. They could have had a mental health emergency, sepsis, heart attack etc.
it isn’t like the GP was running a bit late and had one phone call left and though cba I’m going home.
chances are, if something has gone wrong, the GP is likely still at the GP surgery working unpaid overtime dealing with whatever the problem is.

also healthcare workers are not robots/super human - they deserve to work the hours they are paid to do (like everyone else) and then go home. They aren’t at the publics beck and call constantly. It also isn’t like you don’t have other options??
if it’s urgent and can’t possibly wait 18hrs until tomorrow to call the GP again, you have out of hours GP and if it’s an emergency - there’s A&E.

at the end of the day unpredictable s@!t happens that messes everyone’s day up.

the only thing you have a right to be upset with is how this was communicated and the plan going forward. They should have informed you sooner, if they were able to/aware this would happen. I’d also have expected they automatically put you on the list for a call tomorrow.

I'm often surprised by how varied GP surgeries are.

At ours, you fill in an online form during their working hours, including symptoms and availability. And then you get an appointment, either telephone or in person depending on the problem, and usually that day or the next, or otherwise sometime in the next week, depending on the problem.

The forms are a bit of a faff if using a phone. And you usually have to wait a few minutes if you call. I've seen a couple of not-brilliant doctors there, but most of the nurses and doctors have been excellent.

Why aren't most people's GP surgeries as good as this? It's the same funding as the rest of England I'd assume.

When I read about NHS experiences on mumsnet I slightly dread ever leaving my area!

YABU but also they will have triaged the calls that were overbooked and anyone potentially at risk of needing urgent treatment/a&e will have been put first so they did fit within the day.

I presume yours was more routine/less serious. I realise this a total PITA.

Based on your username, I live in a neighbouring health board area and we have a really good, dedicated out of hours service so hopefully you do too. I also work in healthcare and agree that it’s not a good enough response to send a generic text, two hours after you were supposed to be “seen” and not offer you priority next day appointment. Hopefully a call to 111 can get your pain sorted, hope the ortho appointment doesn’t take too long.

People in salaried roles needing to leave on the dot and people in salaried roles doing unpaid overtime are both sufficiently common that nobody has any excuse for not knowing about the existence of either.

It may have been unavoidable here, and just because you want there to be capacity within the practice to cover at short notice doesn't mean it exists. However it takes the piss for OP to be expected to phone again tomorrow. The number of same days for Friday should be reduced to accommodate those cancelled today.

I joined a new surgery last year.
i can send an e consultation in the am and get appointment in the afternoon. Not something I’d classify as urgent btw.
They run sessions around menopause and different other type of illnesses so people can 1- ask questions, 2- support each other as patients. They even have a ‘keep fit’ walk once a week.

Its a standard GP surgery.

I think a lot of the problems we all have is down to organisation issues. My previous surgery was like the OP. It shouldn’t happen. Being late by two hours is disorganisation (too many people booked, forgetting someone is off, whatever). Not an issue with a couple of patients that have complex problems.

This is where the modern attitude bites. Once upon a time a doctor would be conscientious and put the effort into their job as a respected member of society and role model. Now it’s employment law this, union that, strike this, my rights that, and society is no better off for it. The me me me generation.

YY to asking for an OOH appointment.

Fwiw that’s what I was told to do when I was struggling with my previous surgery. Apparently it counts in their stats (so they hate it…) and never tell patients about it.
But it’s also the right thing to do if you can’t get an appointment or if, like the OP, you had an appointment but it just ‘vanished’

@DonnaBanana thats absolutely not the case. GP already put many many hours over time unpaid. It’s not because they don’t see patients that they aren’t working.
The last thing I’d say is that theyre just selfish. I fell that’s unfair and not reflecting the reality tbh

Doesn’t surprise me. My ex was a trainee GP working in a surgery and had failed his entrance exam multiple times.

He used to get a Friday off and 2 hour lunch breaks. Still he would winge his workdays were too long.

The podistrists with kids all work very part time because they have other committments. We dont have any full time working parents here unless their partner is a SAHM.

I doubt anyone would go to A&E if it wasn't urgent and they knew what the waiting time could be.

I did an e consult for ds over a limb problem (he’s disabled) and asking for an apt for referral to orthotics (I’d spoken to the centre his consultant works at).

They gave me a phone call.

The receptionist was brilliant when I quiered how they expected to assess a limb over a phone and asked if it could be moved to face to face.

she rang up to someone who agreed!!!

We have to do the 8am battle. Tried last week and was number 14 in the queue. Got to the front and there were no appointments. I think it's BS that they're inundated. Even when you go to the surgery theres never more than a couple of other patients waiting. No way are they rushed off their feet.