Doctors appointment

I attended an urgent treatment centre on Hogmanay as I had a really painful back. The nurse discovered a lump and said I should get my GP to check it.( This after waiting 3 hours) On Thursday 02/01, I did an Econsult relating the nurse's concern. A doctor rang me late on Friday afternoon and sent me a link in a text to send photographs of said lump. As I couldn’t take pics myself, my DH took them when he came home from work at 22:00. Sent them off at 23.25. It’s now Tuesday evening and I don’t even have an acknowledgment that the pics have been looked at! So much for getting lumps diagnosed quickly. As the lump is under the skin and only detected on palpation, the photos don’t show anything significant. The doctor had said if things weren’t clear, he would arrange a F2F. Lord knows when that is likely to happen. Is it any wonder A&E gets inundated? People are frightened and frustrated by the system post Covid. I’m sure there’s a lot of folk putting up with sickness and worse, who should be being treated.

That is quite a saga Borrheid. I hope someone can see you F2F soon.

Rang the surgery at exactly 8am as requested. Lucky enough to get through at 8.03am but was told all appointments that day had gone and no-one was available by phone either. Told to call back the next day at 8am. Couldn't get through at all until an answer phone stated all appointments were again filled. It's almost impossible.

Our surgery seems to be doing fine. DH has a few health issues and can always call in and get an appointment quickly. I hadn’t needed a face to face for years until a few months ago when I contacted them via the PATCHs link on their website, and got a call back a couple of hours later offering me a same day appointment. Straight in and sorted, as was another minor concern I sneaked in at the same time. While we waited for our jabs recently there was a constant small queue of people making appointments with the receptionist - none of them seemed to be having to wait long for one. I’m counting myself very lucky, having read some of the posts on here!

My surgery is useless. If you telephone at 8am you can never get through until roughly 9.30am
by which time all the appointments are gone for that day and they won't book in advance .
You have to be waiting outside the surgery at 7.30am to hopefully get an appointment, but if 3 or 4 people are in front of you there won't be any appointments left for that day . Then you have to ring 111 , It's a nightmare !
Plus they refer you to see a consultant and then they won't prescribe a back up medication that the consultant as prescribed ! It's a joke !

Allira

The waiting time for some patients at Royal Liverpool A&E is 50 hours at the moment.
Thry have declared a critical incident.

We have the same at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

It was announced on the BBC news website, together with an accompanying photo of 20 ambulances queuing outside, and a plea from the hospital to only attend if it was "serious or life-threatening".

I suspected I might have Cellulitis, which as some will know, can be very serious. So I called 111 on Friday at 4pm as that was the advice from my GP surgery (recorded advice).

I was told I needed to be seen within 2 hours and that a clinician would phone me back by 6pm.

That didn't happen - I didn't speak to the clinician until Sunday afternoon, and he said a doctor would see me at home (I'm temporarily housebound), but he couldn't say when.

Just before midnight on Sunday, a very stressed doctor came, confirmed it was Cellulitis and issued me with antibiotics.

I appreciate Starmer's long-term plans for the NHS - but during this critical winter period - which is the same every year - we actually need some short term thinking.

Just how much worse is it going to get in the short term?

Dickens

Allira

The waiting time for some patients at Royal Liverpool A&E is 50 hours at the moment.
Thry have declared a critical incident.

We have the same at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

It was announced on the BBC news website, together with an accompanying photo of 20 ambulances queuing outside, and a plea from the hospital to only attend if it was "serious or life-threatening".

I suspected I might have Cellulitis, which as some will know, can be very serious. So I called 111 on Friday at 4pm as that was the advice from my GP surgery (recorded advice).

I was told I needed to be seen within 2 hours and that a clinician would phone me back by 6pm.

That didn't happen - I didn't speak to the clinician until Sunday afternoon, and he said a doctor would see me at home (I'm temporarily housebound), but he couldn't say when.

Just before midnight on Sunday, a very stressed doctor came, confirmed it was Cellulitis and issued me with antibiotics.

I appreciate Starmer's long-term plans for the NHS - but during this critical winter period - which is the same every year - we actually need some short term thinking.

Just how much worse is it going to get in the short term?

We have the same at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
Oh! It wasn't on the local news. Although I was busy cooking.

I do know of someone on the Welsh side who needed urgent treatment, ambulance would be 8 hours so her family managed to get her the Grange, where she was seen quickly but they couldn't deal with it so she has had to be taken to Southmead Hospital.

Dickens I hope your antibiotics start working quickly. I needed two lots when I had cellulitis to make sure it totally went

Allira

Dickens I hope your antibiotics start working quickly. I needed two lots when I had cellulitis to make sure it totally went

... oh, TWO lots!

I'm taking FLUCLOXICILLIN x 4 per day which have to be taken on an empty stomach.

I suffer from malnutrition and am supposed to eat 'little and often'.

... I've had to make a spreadsheet to get the timing right - half an hour before food or two hours after - it looks like I got it wrong because I can't eat my last meal until midnight...

A question Allira - and thank you for responding anyway...

My leg itches like you wouldn't believe and has done from the start. From what I can gather, this is not a typical symptom of Cellulitis. Did you have this symptom?

I'm wondering if the doctor was playing safe and that it isn't Cellulitis but one of the many mimics...

He did not have time to ask the usual questions, just looked, felt the skin and gave me the AB. His tiredness was palpable - he even tripped over the raised bit of my doorstep and I had to grab him as he tilted forward . He was very pleasant and kind, but I wondered how many more patients he would be seeing after midnight...

That 8-hour projected wait-time for the woman you mentioned might well have been longer, so it's good that her family could help - I hope she's now getting the treatment she needs.

It's dire isn't it?

Perhaps what's left of the army could be drafted in to help during this peak-admission period (a suggestion from my OH) - but the logistics and organisation might be so complex that this rough period could well be over before it could be set up.

Anyway, thanks for your replies. Back to the spreadsheet...

FLUCLOXICILLIN

I'm allergic to that one, when I was given it my tongue, lips and mouth swelled rapidly and alarmingly, luckily I was in hospital at the time and they jammed a cannula back in quickly and gave me a drip to counteract it.
I know it's effective if you can take it.

My leg itches like you wouldn't believe and has done from the start. From what I can gather, this is not a typical symptom of Cellulitis. Did you have this symptom?
I've had it twice, both times in a different arm, as far as I remember it didn't itch.
My arm was hot and red and the red patch had a very defined edge. I probably had two courses of an antibiotic as it might not have been as effective as Flucloxacillin.

A friend had it not long ago in her leg, her ankle and foot were affected too and swelled up so much she couldn't get a shoe on. I think she had two courses of antibiotics.

That 8-hour projected wait-time for the woman you mentioned might well have been longer, so it's good that her family could help - I hope she's now getting the treatment she needs.
Yes, I think she got the treatment she needed at Southmead Hospital.

Nanato3

My surgery is useless. If you telephone at 8am you can never get through until roughly 9.30am
by which time all the appointments are gone for that day and they won't book in advance .
You have to be waiting outside the surgery at 7.30am to hopefully get an appointment, but if 3 or 4 people are in front of you there won't be any appointments left for that day . Then you have to ring 111 , It's a nightmare !
Plus they refer you to see a consultant and then they won't prescribe a back up medication that the consultant as prescribed ! It's a joke !

My surgery is useless. If you telephone at 8am you can never get through until roughly 9.30am by which time all the appointments are gone for that day and they won't book in advance .

We cannot book in advance either.

It seems many surgeries are now turning to this "on-the-day" system - presumably that means doctors will never be able to see people 'by appointment' because each day is taken up with the triaged patients - who might actually not need to be seen that day, but have no choice in the matter.

I do wonder if there would be fewer people turning up in A&E if they were able to actually book a future appointment?

I sympathise with your predicament. This 8am 'phone lottery' is awful.

I do wonder if appointments could be booked in advance whether there would be fewer people scrambling for the 8am lottery?

No wonder A&E is blocked up!

Allira Tue 07-Jan-25 22:32:33
FLUCLOXICILLIN

I'm allergic to that one, when I was given it my tongue, lips and mouth swelled rapidly and alarmingly, luckily I was in hospital at the time and they jammed a cannula back in quickly and gave me a drip to counteract it.

good grief, that is scary.

Thanks for the info - I'll just go with the flow.

Dickens

Allira Tue 07-Jan-25 22:32:33
FLUCLOXICILLIN

I'm allergic to that one, when I was given it my tongue, lips and mouth swelled rapidly and alarmingly, luckily I was in hospital at the time and they jammed a cannula back in quickly and gave me a drip to counteract it.

good grief, that is scary.

Thanks for the info - I'll just go with the flow.

Yes, about four nurses all came rushing in to take a look at me, as well as Sister who was looking after me. She said "I bet you never knew there were this many nurses in this hospital!"

Allira

Dickens

Allira Tue 07-Jan-25 22:32:33
FLUCLOXICILLIN

I'm allergic to that one, when I was given it my tongue, lips and mouth swelled rapidly and alarmingly, luckily I was in hospital at the time and they jammed a cannula back in quickly and gave me a drip to counteract it.

good grief, that is scary.

Thanks for the info - I'll just go with the flow.

Yes, about four nurses all came rushing in to take a look at me, as well as Sister who was looking after me. She said "I bet you never knew there were this many nurses in this hospital!"

... Anaphylactic shock?

Whenever we want to see the GP we fill in an econsult at 7.30am and they phone back within 48 hours, Depending on how serious the condition may be or how busy they are. that said, we usually see them the same day. I think they triage the econsults. I hadn’t contacted them for 2 years and was seen in 3 hours for something relatively minor.

I must say that I do have some concerns about receptionists being allowed to ' triage' patients by phone. A very unsatisfactory state of affairs in my opinion.

Our Surgery is wonderful. Call in the morning, and you can generally see a nurse practitioner or GP the same day.

My GP surgery is atrocious but we learn to live with it. I find it disgraceful that surgeries, mine included, are recommending that patients visit A&E when they are fully aware how over loaded they are and have been asking GP's not to refer.

we fill in an econsult online and the dr's triage that, if its something urgent they ring or text you with an apptment that day, if not they tell you or ring you as to what to do next. Its a very good system

A&E is overflowing with people what we need are more GP'S and more appointments available. If we can't get appointments we put more pressure on A&E, and after hours emergency doctors

Yes definitely call 111 as they do a sort of 'triage' and if they 🤔 you need it (and a lot of the staff are very qualified) you will get a call from your GP. They will then call you and prescribe meds or arrange an in patient appointment. For me this works well as often in the past I didn't need to physically see anyone as it was a recurring problem - I just needed a prescription. I'd also like to do a big shout out to the NHS as I had a knee replacement last Friday - though chose a local private hospital for the procedure. The care was superlative and I waited only eight weeks from seeing my consultant to the actual op. There are some very big changes going on as my friend waited eight months last year for the same procedure. Just have to put in all the work to heal now!

111 arranged for me to walk past a 4 hour queue in a and e. Possible heart problem that in the end wasn't.

My surgery put up a notice every month stating how many people did not attend appointments they had been allocated. Average 50 per week. There may be some who had good reason not to attend but why don’t they cancel and give the rest of us a chance. If you use the GPs reminder service it’s easy to cancel. Not good to see when you are about to have BP measured!