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.

Why is the OP being doubted over the inflexibility of her workplace? It's her job!

At one of my past jobs, phones were supposed to be in the locker room from start of shift to end of shift, and the management conducted regular security checks of staff pockets to ensure you didn't flout the rules. Like hell could I have had a GP app by phone during working hours.

I work in the NHS in a patient facing role, and the majority of the time my work do accomodate it, so it is possible. In my case if there are days when it's clearly not going to be possible, like I am operating, I don't schedule a telephone appointment. There are jobs where its not possible to accommodate but In OPs case it was quite possible.

@Paprikapringlesmany of those jobs you’ve listed can take a quick call. Presumably if there was an emergency at school that a parent in one of those jobs was doing occurred they would be able to leave or if they had to go home sick. What you mean is it’s inconvenient to take a call. If someone in the nhs is running a clinic with face to face patients the presumably they wouldn’t schedule a routine GP call for that day. I’m not saying the NHS GP service is perfect. Far from it, but let’s be honest about what we mean when we say ‘cannot take a call’.

I think the UK public deserve a service that every other European country has. Where you the patient and the doctors that your taxes pay for work as equals to a common goal. If a GP has too many patients, we need more GPs. If the NHS cannot afford it, we need a new funding model. I have health insurance. I’m ok. It’s unacceptable to me the way the OP has been treated, and laughable that you think this is ok.

Sorry OP. It's a freaking nightmare. Hope you are ok.

I had a telephone consultation a few weeks ago for a meds review. Sat by my phone time came and went. So I had to go for a wee, yep typical that's when the Dr called. She phoned back 10 minutes later, I apologised and she said I always call back at least once to try and get hold of you.

As it happens, I wasn't supposed to be in work today but I don't think that's relevant to the original point of being grumbled at by the receptionist for missing an appointment when they called half an hour after the SCHEDULED time which they gave me. I could have been on the loo, out and about, at work.... It doesn't matter where I was, if I'm told 13:10 I make myself free around that time but I can't sit twiddling my thumbs all day.

GP has just rung and sorted me out, and she did apologise. I did say it wasn't her fault she was running late but I'd appreciate a notification of some kind of possible next time and she said she'd raise it with the practice manager.

Before Covid, I don't think there were tel. consultations - it was all F2F.
There certainly weren't in my GP practice.

It was a good idea at the time, but there was a F2F if needed.

It's never gone back to all F2F, & I do wonder why.

You don't get mich of a choice when to 'schedule a call' though..you take what you're given. I'm a teacher and a parent. I can check my phone once an hour between lessons. Other than that, I'm not contactable. If there was a genuine 999 emergency I suppose my kids school might call mine and someone would come, tell me and cover the class but I cant just walk out on y8 to take a call and I don't have another classroom near mine to get someone opposite to keep an eye. There has to be a better way....create more gp roles, have two attached he'd to every surgery whose sole job it is to do phone appointments and run to time. We keep seeing young Drs saying there's no jobs...let's get things right from the ground up.

Try this little litmus test @SneakyGremlin Ask your GP if he/she would be happy for THEIR receptionist to leave their desk to take a call as often as they expect you and other patients to.

When I’m in hearings or client meetings, I can often see a message come up but can’t really take a call. In any case, I think the OP is saying she could have received a message during the half hour she had set aside for the appointment so that she could make arrangements to be available for the rescheduled call or could have let reception know that she would not be available.

Put your concerns in writing to the Practice Manager, they will attend regular meetings with the GP’s and these matters will only ever be addressed if patients complain or raise concerns. What harm is there for the booking to include ‘patient will be at work and prompt timing is encouraged for calls’……not rocket science is it?!?!

I had very similar. I had a phone call booked and nothing - I then got a letter telling me off for being a DNF. Apparently the consultant was expecting me in person despite all correspondence saying phone call (and I had to get permission at work for my phone call to not be on silent). I did point this out to the consultant's secretary but she was determined it was my fault for not knowing. I did request both they and my GP address accurate notes about it but no idea if they did.

This is something that infuriates me about telephone appointments - a face to face appointment is for a set time (which granted often run late but usually only about 20 mins or so), but usually the telephone appointment is for a four hour window (or even whole day window), as if people can just sit by the phone that time - and then they go and call from a withheld number so if you happen to miss it you can’t just call straight back. Granted this wasn’t quite the case in your situation and I’m amazed your appointment slot was such a defined window, but at the end of the day it was late and they missed the appointment, not you.

I do love this idea that everyone works in a job where they can just drop everything and answer the phone! Fantastic if your job offers that flexibility but lots can’t for many reasons.

This is it!

If I'd had a text saying they were half an hour late, I'd have asked my manager to move my break. I mean, he might have said no, but I'd have asked.

Glad you finally got to speak ot the GP

Can't believe the hard time you are getting for not having your phone switch on and next to you outside of your break. There are many many jobs where you can't to this and I'm in the camp GPs need to call around the agreed time (if you were 10 mins late they wouldn't see you) or leave a voicemail to say they'll try again later.

I think we need joined up thinking somewhere , because many people cannot take time off work for a phone appointment or have their phone on them at work .

The assumption that everyone has the sort of job where you can just keep your phone on hand and answer the minute it rings is ridiculous. What if you’re a driving instructor, or a teacher or a chef or a pilot or a paramedic?

I’ve had this too. Totally infuriating. Why if you wanted me there in person did your communication all state phone call? My fault for thinking it would be a phone call apparently.

Ive worked in a banking department where all phones are banned for security reasons and there are land line phones on the desks for emergencies from school, kids etc. it’s not uncommon.

I'm too busy answering the work phone nevermind my own, but it must be lovely having a manager who lets you do whatever you want whenever you want.

Don’t even get me started on GP’s and GP receptionists at the moment! It’s like they think a GP’s time is more precious than anyone else’s and they can run late, but god forbid anyone who doesn’t respond when they finally do get in touch.

As others have said, I think it’s important that we don’t have false ‘Did Not Attend’ (and ‘Attended Late’) statistics floating about in the NHS, both for primary and secondary care.

Who are these statistics supposed to be helping? What purpose do such false stats serve?

Who benefits from the blame-the-patient narratives? Because it isn’t the patients or the GPs. It isn’t the hospital HCPs.

Reading your thread prompted me to check my NHS app as I’ve been waiting for an appointment. Good job I did, it’s tomorrow!! No text or notification received. Thanks very much.

I do think it’s odd that some professions or services are give a free pass to mess you around no end, and also claim it’s your fault, and others are not. Like they don’t even have to tell you they’re running late.

For other things, the time is the time and everyone accepts that.