GP appointments

[HernamewasMary]

Maybe it's better if you have young children, but am I the only one unable to see my GP or get through on 111? I attended a GP appointment a couple of months ago and just sat in a deserted waiting room for 45 minutes and then gave up and came home. Any advice appreciated. TIA

Was there no receptionist? Our GP has notices up saying if your still waiting 30 minutes after your appointment time to alert the receptionist

Hi @PinkPair There was but she was on the phone when I arrived and when I left. Maybe I should have been more assertive.

no shit sherlock?

At our surgery you have to check in to say you've arrived for your appointment @HernamewasMary .
So either with the receptionist (or before covid there was a screen you could also do it yourself). That alerts the Dr that you have arrived.

Believe it or not many people don't turn up so GP doesn't waste time looking for people who aren't there.

So I would try again, make another appointment and report to the receptionist on arrival. If no-one calls you after a while check what's happening as occasionally people do get forgotten. It happened to me once with a hospital appointment. The clinic sent me for an X-ray snd told me to come back round with my X-ray to see the doctor. I was back in about half an hour and sat for ages, then everyone left (lunchtime). When I eventually checked with receptionist they had forgotten about me and they had to get the doctor back from his lunch break to see me!

You need to let them know you're there for your appointment. Unless you can't stand for long, you need to wait at the desk until they get off the phone. Otherwise they will assume you're there for something else - maybe waiting for someone who's already in? To be fair I think after half an hour in an empty waiting room she could have asked if you were ok, but if the phone kept ringing she probably didn't register how long you'd been sitting there.

so you just sat in a waiting room and didn't inform anyone you'd arrived or do self check-in??

Our surgery has self check in,but prior to that you had to let the receptionist know you had arrived.

Did you let them know you were there!?

Honestly you just sat there and then left? There was only one receptionist to speak to??

Yes I let the one receptionist on the phone that I was there for my appointment. Still on the phone she told me to sit in the empty waiting room. When I went past her on the way out she was still engrossed in conversation

@hopeishere Yes

@emmathedilemma There was no self check in. Yes I let her know I'd arrived for my appointment

@badgermushrooms Yes I let her know

There was no appointment display board, self check in or communication from the receptionist. It was so quiet I started to think maybe I'd got the wrong day, but I hadn't.

I would not have walked out without asking again / reminding.

oh that's promising but I would have gone up to ask before just walking out.

I think you need to speak to/write to the practice manager regarding this situation. It doesn't sound great, but it also sounds like some kind of administrative fuck-up that needs to be addressed.

If they don't know about it, how can they address it?

Thanks for the feedback, I just started to wonder if it is like this for everyone?

@NightmareSlashDelightful True

What do you mean you can't get through on 111?

@Teach12 I held on for over 45 minutes and got no answer