Edinburgh- GP appointment / medical info

[rickyrickygrimes]

We are visiting FIL in Edinburgh. We’re from Scotland originally but have lived in France for a long time.

FIL has a problem with his hip, he’s in a lot of pain. He’s been able to get an x-ray and a follow up rdv with the Dr but he can’t remember what she said about the results. He’s come away with codeine based pain relief, which he’s not been taking as he’s worried about getting addicted 🤷‍♀️

DH wants to talk to his doctor and find out what’s going on, but it seems impossible! FIL hasn’t been given any record of the findings / results of the x-ray to refer to (this is the norm in France). Getting an appointment … FIL has to phone at 8am, keep ringing for half an hour, then usually gets told there are no appointments left for that day! And he can’t even book one for a day in the future when DH or SIL are available to go with him. Is this normal? Is there any way round it?

If he goes into the surgery I would have thought they could give him the x-ray results there. They will also be able to advise if there's someone else he can see in the surgery to go through the outcome of the last GP appointment, such as a nurse. For his concerns about medication, I would make an appointment with the pharmacist, who can hopefully clarify with him how to use codeine safely.

quite normal for a lot of surgeries unfortunately! Mine doesn't operate on a first come first served system but I can often get an appointment for early the next morning by ringing towards the end of the day. My theory is that they hold those appointments for emergencies but close to closing time they'll hand them out to anyone who rings rather than waste them because anyone who rings in the morning wouldn't physically be able to get there fast enough. our practice also has a separate enquiries line which is for results of tests and if you don't understand what they tell you there should be the option to book a follow-up appointment to discuss them.

Welcome to NHS in Scotland!
Seriously though, he should be able to phone the surgery and request a copy of the X-ray results either by email, post or collecting them in person. Actually speaking with a doctor may be a whole other issue though.

Not sure if this is the case in Scotland but in England you can sign up to the NHS app and see all your GP notes + any results of tests they requested.

There are details on NHSinform website (this is the Scottish NHS patient website) that explain how to get a copy of your medical records - you can arrange to view them or to get a print out. But Insuspect it could take a few weeks.

Scotland dont have the NHS app

Would it be worth phoning the practice and explaining the situation to see if they could get a GP to call and you listen in on the call?

It's impossible to get a GP appointment where I live in north Edinburgh

Thanks all. FIL clearly needs somewhere to go to the rdv with him, but my SIL cannot get out of work on the same day. But they won’t give them a rdv even one day in advance.

So FIL surgery operates a crazy system where by you phone at 8 exactly, where you will be met with an engaged tone. So you have to keep redialling until eventually you might get answered. At which point, you will probably be told that there are no appointments left! And that the only option is to do it all again 24 hours later.

SILs surgery at least puts you in a queue so that you don’t have to redial continuously, but same procedure - you inch forward in the queue then get told there are no appointments left. She recently had an xray for hip pain, and she was told the results by the receptionist calling her, reading out the results (which weren’t great) over the phone, then told to call back separately if wanted to speak to an actual doctor.

my parents surgery (DH has a separate medical issue that he needs treated) is the same again, but with a variation that emergencies can just turn up at 11am and wait / hope to be seen, no appointments.

how are elderly / less capable / working people meant to get an appointment??? I’d read about how dire the situation was had not experienced it. In France I just go on an app and pick a GP rdv that suits me - often the same day, definitely the next day, or into the future when it’s convenient. The results of any medical tests / blood tests / X-rays come straight to me as well as the dr, I can read them then check with him by email if I need make a rdv to discuss them. He’ll also send prescriptions etc by email when needed.

Sorry for ranting, it’s so frustrating trying to help FIL and being blocked by the system.

My DH had success with MIL’s surgery, by calling and requesting a call back from the practice manager. At which point he explained the difficulties that a frail 90-something with poor hearing and cognition was having getting any sort of service.
They took it on board, MIL got her needed appointment and further appointments were easier to get.

They all seem understaffed, overwhelmed and struggling with poor technology ( no app, inadequate online services.) The joy of NHS Scotland.

My Gp has a similar system. You need to make it clear it is an emergency to get the appointment. At my GPS, if I phoned and said I'm really worried about my df who is not taking his medication and is in a lot of pain, I would expect to get a same day phone call. You might think it isn't an emergency; but the alternative is not getting help at all so I think it is.

What does he actually need to speak to the GP about?

1. x-ray results - ask at reception
2. medication use - talk to the pharmacist

Can you try both of those things first, neither of which require an appointment?

I'm not for one second disputing that the 'Hunger Games' approach to getting a GP appointment is unacceptable, but there are things which can be done in the meantime.

Welcome to Scotland………

I've never had any difficulty getting through to my GP practice, nor with getting to see a GP. If I want to see the specific GP (who I've now been going to for about 30 years ), I might have to wait about a week or so for an face-to-face appointment but I can usually get a telephone appointment within a couple of days (I think he now only works 4 days/week). Might be a delay if he's on holiday! (Dh had to wait for a week for his telephone appointment with him after his hip op but that was because he was away that week).

The practice has been doing telephone appointments for many years (since long before lockdown) but if, after the telephone appointment he thinks you should be seen, you'll get an appointment later that day or the following day.

This is in Glasgow.

My experience is very similar to @prettybird but in Edinburgh.
However I'm aware that new people moving to the area can't get registered locally as the GP practices are full and not taking new patients on. This is the same in several areas in Edinburgh.

There's a national shortage of GPs caused by a failure to plan ahead when Gov knew they had an ageing GP workforce, plus many GPs taking early retirement during Covid.
We did our usual with healthcare, turned away many applicants from medical school while continuing to rely on immigration to fill the posts

I do worry about the fact that our lovely GP will be retiring in 3 years time

But given that he's been Senior Partner for a while (from being newly qualified when we first registered with him - me when I moved back up from England), I'm assuming/hoping that he will have helped create the positive atmosphere there and will have been responsible for taking on the recent doctors.

When ds moved back down from Aberdeen two years ago he couldn't re-register with the practice as technically we're now just outwith their catchment area , but fortunately for him, the flat that he bought last year was in a postcode that they took, so he and his girlfriend were able to register there. (She's already had two very positive experiences: same day face-to-face appointment the day after she'd had to go to A&E with a gynae problem).

It does sound bad in Scotland. But what is the appointment for?

He has seen his Gp, been assessed and given a prescription. He doesn't like the prescription but it's unlikely the GP is going to suggest something else.

Surely his best option is to start taking the medication and see if it helps.

Sadly the Scottish government pays only £1800 a year to universities per student so we can have free tuition.It’s simply not enough, so to plug the shortfall places are given instead to overseas students and Scottish ones are capped. Great thinking from the SNP .