blinkin doctors.

[southeastastra]

just had an appointment where i had two problems. they can only deal with one. argh i waited three weeks for this appointment argh

that is cr*p of them - surely it's more efficient to deal with more than one problem per appointment (or is that too logical for the nhs?)

thanks roskva feeling so fed up about it.

i noticed a sign that said doctors can only deal with one problem per 10 minute consultation. i was only in for five .

WTF? That's bloody ridiculous, everyone knows mums save up their medical worries till they have enough to justify the hassle and crap involved in getting there to see the doctor.

At our surgery they say if you have more than one thing to discuss, they book a double and they are pretty good about it when you call and ask for one - they recognise that if you are willing to make a 20 minute appt you probably need it.

But if you don't know that it's a bit bloody out of order to insist you bugger off till you have made another appt. Esp. if they won't see you same week, if not same day!

I'd move doctors to ones used to treating human beings!

i should have got a double appointment but it didn't cross my mind to. it's just such a hassle getting another appointment. it'll be two weeks wait or an emergency appointment where you have to sit in waiting for a call to see if your problem is worthy enough.

Inflexible systems like this just encourage people to go in as emergencies.

FFS, it would probably have delayed the doctor two sodding minutes to talk about both things - less if you were only in there five minutes. Everyone knows about the 'hand on the door' phenomenon where the real problem is revealed as the patient stands up to leave the surgery - so GPs know that it's rarely just one thing that brings you in.

Call them up and insist on being seen same day. That's just bloody unreasonable.

OK, from a GPs point of view....

We are very pressured to keep to time, and are only allocated 10 minutes per appointment slot- it would be great all round if it were more. I typically see 18-20 patients per session, so overrunning can be a bit unfair on patients with the later appointments. It will usually take 10 minutes to deal adequately with a problem, including arranging referrals and doing the paperwork. However, if someone has a couple of quick things that can be done within time, then that's fine and can be done easily. Of course, some consultations may take longer due to the subject matter, and that's also fine- I would never dream of chucking someone out because they had exceeded their 10 minute slot if they genuinely needed longer.

Can I suggest, that if you know in advance that you are going to need a long appointment, just book a double slot. It gives all of you more time and means you are far more likely to get your problems sorted properly than being rushed.

I must say that I have never enforced the one problem per appointment rule, but am seriously tempted as a lot of people really take the piss. I've had 4 members of one family all insist on being seen on one appointment, I've had people turn up with lists of 10 problems and more which they expect me to sort. I have only ever once asked a patient to come back another day to finish off her problem list, but it was after she'd had 45 minutes of my time already and none of the rest were urgent. Also, it would be great if people could start with the most important problem first, instead of leaving it to mention just as they are about to go out of the door!

Am I missing the stress of being a GP while I'm on maternity leave? No way!

i can understand that emma but i was only in there for 5 minutes anyway and i was the only one in the waiting room.

In which case, that's pants and I'm annoyed for you too.

Emma, I sympathise with the time pressures, but do patients always know which is the most serious problem? I once gave dh the 'shut up or go the docs' ultimatum, thinking he had his annual dose of manflu (ie bad cold but he thinks he's dying). I probably should have realised when he went to the docs that he was really poorly. I was mortified when our GP rang me to go and fetch him because she thought he was too ill to make his way home alone . And in fairness to our GP, she kept him in her office until I got there (after fishing dd out the bath, getting her dry, dressed and bundled into the car), despite her queue of patients outside.

I know I'm guilty of going to the docs with a list of problems, but then I feel like I'm being a bit of a timewaster if I go for one thing which is not serious but is annoying. So I really think Southeast's GP could be a bit more lenient.

i should have been more assertive i suppose, it just cause more problems for me to sort out, waiting in hospitals etc.