To be annoyed at the GP receptionist for being arsey about this?

[SneakyGremlin]

Had a GP phone appointment booked for 13:10 today, for something that needs sorting today (think medication review/replacement). Took my break at work from 13:00-13:30. 13:35 came, still no call, so I went back to work.

Finished work at 4:00 p.m, checked my phone and saw a missed call at 13:41 - so I rang back asking could I possibly get the GP to call me now as I'm not longer in work.

GP receptionist huffs, says she'll try but I should have kept an eye on my phone as they can't always help when it's the patients who missed the appointments. When I then point out to her that actually they rang half an hour after my scheduled appointment, which is why I missed it, she said that that shouldn't be relevant and I should always be by the phone because it's known that GPs run late sometimes.

AIBU to want to complain, or at least mention to the GP who I'm still waiting to call that some of us can't stop doing our jobs and wait for a call just because THEY are running late? If they'd sent a text or something that they were running behind I could have taken my break later and probably kept the appointment.

It feels like I'm being told off like a naughty child because THEY were late.

Oh this kind of thing does my head in!!! Luckily my GP Practice is very good, and will call at a fairly prompt time. So if your appointment is for 4pm, they will usually call by 4.15pm and I have never known them call any later than 15-20 minutes late to be honest. I have a sketchy signal in my rural village - and occasionally the call goes straight to voicemail. So frustrating! They do try another 2-3 times though. But it may not be for another hour. It has to be when they've got time. They will often call within another 2 minutes, but they do sometimes call much later (if they can't get through because no signal!) Not their fault then though...

I have had experiences with (and know other people who have had experiences with) various Hospital Consultants this past few years, and they are the WORST! You get to your appointment on time, (well, 10 minutes early actually!) and often don't get called in for 40 to 50 minutes after the appointment. Then you're in there 5 minutes, he takes a quick shufti, and then you're out! Why the fuck was he so behind?!!! I have even known cases where the Consultant calls people in 35-45 minutes after their appointment, when the appointment was only the second one of the day! They really are the epitome of the phrase 'my time is more important than yours!!!'

@SneakyGremlin You did NOT miss this appointment, and it's very important that you make sure it goes on record that you didn't miss it!

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The NHS and housing associations really do have a lot in common

In a former life, my response to the receptionist could well have been "It is absolutely relevant, because the person I was due to anaesthetise in theatre couldn't wait"

I don't think that they realise that some of us don't have jobs where we can just answer the phone our surgery is terrible they will often call 5/6 hours later. Then it gets recorded as you missed the appointment. Ugh no i was sat by my phone at my appointment time you missed the appointment. This is why I get so annoyed when the nhs are always going on about 1000s of missed appointments 😡 sorry I made that about me but im 100% with you on this op

Hi @SneakyGremlin, totally get your frustration but I can almost guarantee you that your GP will be just as frustrated, on a non-stop daily basis, as they will be so overloaded and overworked.

There is every chance that they will give you a call later today, potentially out of hours, as they will be aware that they didn't catch you earlier. Not because the receptionist "asked" them to, but because they will just work through their call sheets until they're done. So definitely keep an eye on your phone.

And for next time, I would say that those telephone appointment times are indicative, at best, so expect the call at any time that day.

But so many jobs simply cant allow for this. Would it be reasonable to miss my 6 period teaching day, incurring 6 periods of cover so that I can sit by my phone? I find it incredible that in 2026 we cannot come up with a better system.

A missed appointment is when you don't turn up for a face to face appointment. It is not missing a phone call, even if it's in the slot they give you, there could be a reason you miss it, like your mobile phone suddenly deciding to reboot itself!

I think 10 minutes either side of a slot should be fine.

The post above reminds me of when my son was small and we had an appointment with a consultant. We had a 9am appointment, which I understood was the first of the day. The doctor didn't even arrive until 9.45.

Telephone appointments aren't for a set time, because so many people don't pick up. This should have been made clear to you when you booked it. I'd say only 50% of patients pick up on the first call.

In between, the clinician is dealing with other urgent queries such as incoming calls from paramedics and district nurses.

If you want to look like a complete dick, go ahead and complain. Your med review probably wasn't the most important thing on the GPs radar.

Its not GPs being overworked we are objecting to. Its when they pass the blame onto the patients by gaslighting and saying they missed appintments that is the problem.

Oh no to be clear I'm more annoyed at the attitude of the receptionist - I understand the GP has an insane workload but so do I! I can't have my phone on me unfortunately

They are run ragged. Who do you think was supposed to notice the call hadn't been made? If you expect high levels of service, go private.

It doesn't sound like anything resembling that has happened here?

When you feel aggrieved at the NHS, it's genuinely a really good idea to take a little step back, appreciate that it's free at the point of use and consider how much more tax you'd be willing to pay to bring it up to par.

Because despite what the politicians like to tell you, more money absolutely would make a huge difference.

Maybe if drs called on time people would actually answer their phones

The OP is being told she missed an apppintment when she didnt That is gaslighting.

Do you also think these women should shut up and be grateful?

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/four-women-share-horror-stories-32973828

On the NHS app it said 13:10, phone appointment with Doctor XYZ. So I made myself available from 13:00-13:30

Yanbu it really irritates me. We can't all have our phones on us all day. We don't even get given a time slot!

What do you mean, telephone appointments aren’t for a set time? At my surgery they absolutely are - a pre booked phone appointment is for a set time, an on the day phone triage for urgent issues is not, you’re just on the list.
And if a phone appointment isn’t for a specific time, they should say that, and not give a specific time.

So because the NHS is a good thing, GP receptionists can be a rude, and as factually inaccurate, as they like?

OP was at work! Some of us have REAL jobs where phones cannot be present! I used to work in an airport behind the security point, my phone was the other side of the airport! My partner is an airline pilot and cannot have his switched on for 12 hours at a time.

Not by the GP, as the OP hasn't spoken to them yet, as far as I'm aware.

And could you perhaps try to be a little bit less extreme in your response? There is, I am sure you would accept, a vast difference between a delayed telephone appointment for a non-acute issue and the kind of clinical errors that I'm assuming the article discusses.

For the avoidance of doubt: absolutely no one should be expected to feel any kind of "gratitude" for any service provided by the NHS (and everyone is entitled to safe, professional, thoughtful, compassionate care). That said, patients do need to be realistic about how the service is these days. It is under severe pressure. There's an awful lot GP practices and other NHS organisations could be doing to communicate what the reality is and managing patient expectations better.

My cousin had a telephone appointment with a cardiologist. They didn't ring and and when he rang to find out what was going on he was told he was down as a DNA (did not attend).

Do you think there is a realistic chance that this is what I was attempting to say?

Please take a deep breath and have a think.

It's OK to take a balanced view of things, you know.

That's not gaslighting.

It's a ball ache but whether face to face or phone consultation you never know what previous patients problems are.

Just the chat could be a life saver, they could be given bad news and just need some extra time to understand.

It's really the 10 minute allocation that's a bit out of kilter.

Having said that when we get a phone consultation sent over they inform you it could be up to an hour late.

I'd be looking to make better allowances at your work. Can there not be an exception for you to answer the phone? Is there really no one else who could have covered for a few minutes?