Doctors appointment

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...

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

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.

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?

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 !

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!

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.

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

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.

I am reasonably happy with mine.
Have, after quite a while of no health problems had to see my GP recently 3 times.
I have been offered other staff but have held out for the GP I actually trust.
So far it's been OK.

I'm actually pleased lots of GPs are part time. Less exhausted and more time for people I think as not so stressed if the appointment runs over a bit. Also, many more women coming back in after having children. If they are treated OK they will stay. 🤞

So far so good with our GP Surgery 🤞

Just looked on the app for an appointment for my DH first one February 12th !

I tried to change my hospital appointment today. I phoned the NHS switchboard, was put through to appointments kept on hold for 10 minutes then a robot voice asked for
my pin followed by hash.
I tried half a dozen times to type my number using the keypad but was told it was incorrect. I gave up.
Not sure what to do next.

My appointment is on Friday for my eye and I could go if I wasn't recovering from my hip replacement
at another hospital.

As for our GP surgery. The phone message tells you all the various options but if you persevere you can usually speak to a receptionist guard dog
Sge says"The doctor will phone you back" so you wait and wait and after evening surgery, if you're lucky, the GP will call you. Make sure you answer your phone because their number is private.

A friend used to have a landline and two mobiles ringing the surgery at 0800 or 0830, all at the same time! The theory being that someone should get through!

Haven’t seen a GP in nearly 2 years only assistant physicians or practice nurses, and they are usually just locums.
Have to ring at 8 in the morning to book an appointment but are usually in a long queue and so don’t get seen, they don’t book appointments ahead. We used to have the DoctorIQ app but it hasn’t worked for months and we could only order repeat meds on it anyway.
We go for antibiotics to our local chemist and have had to wait up to 8 hours in A&E on occasion.
Every other docs practice here is the same so no point changing.
This lack of medical care is one reason why we are moving.

I will contact the Practice Manager if it goes on Jaxjacky. Your surgery seems on the ball and I hope all goes well.

That's true OldFrill but at least I don't need the undertakers just yet. I will leave it until next week and try again. Our surgery seems on the point of collapse. Last head GP shot himself.

I looked at our GP website yesterday where they have a list of the Doctors and the days that they work at the surgery, only 1 doctor works for 4 days, the other doctors (mostly) do 2 and a half days. 2 doctors do 3 days but work various mornings or afternoons, not complete days.

All GP appointments have to be made online starting at 8am.

I needed to try to get an appointment with a nurse today, I have to telephone the surgery for this, I was 20th in the queue so thought it likely that I would be too late for an appointment today (this was at 8.25), tomorrow I aim to be up and ready to call them on the dot of 8am. Fingers crossed I can see someone tomorrow.

A scheduled non-urgent appointment is usually 3 to 4 weeks ahead.
If we need to see someone in a hurry then an early morning phone call will be acted on, often with a face-to-face appointment that day. It will be with whichever practice member is best able to help.
My dr’s practice building also houses the walk-in centre.

It depends how urgent the problem is. I imagine GPs are inundated after the public holidays. Undertakers certainly are.

Call pro and ask to speak to the Practice Manager drropy.
A friend filled in an econsult at 8am early last week, she was seen at 12, bloods taken and put on the two week pathway for a gynaecologist. Our surgery are very good at urgent care, a longer wait for others.

Went in person to my GP surgery yesterday and was told to use patient access or telephone at 8 a.m. Patient access has no appointments and 8 a.m. call says volume too high and unable to answer calls. My GP had asked me to call him about blood test results. Last time he stopped my medication until I made an appointment. Am in a situation where I can't get an appointment and my health will be put at risk because my GP will stop medication if I don't make an appointment.

i think all surgeries are experiencing the same problem. we have 7 Drs at ours but even if you ring on opening time they seem to be having long waits, one day i was 26th in line on phone, then they say the days emergency apts are gone. its ridiculous as if people rang at Xmas they were being given apts for February. as i said to my oh by then you would either be cured or dead! the hospitals are packed out as it is so they should not be telling folk to go to the local a and e its only adding to the problems they are having especially this time of year with flu etc. my surgery if you moan enough you can get a Dr ring you but its not from our surgery its from an agency so they dont know your history etc. there is also the nurse practioner but same problem getting apt

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

About six weeks for non-urgent appointments.

We are triaged on the phone by the receptionist if we ask for an urgent appointment and would usually see a nurse then anyway.

I’ve used e-consult now at least 3 times. Twice I’ve been issued with a prescription and on one occasion I was sent for an X-ray and blood tests. My doctor received the results, called me and suggested I contacted our local physiotherapy NHS hub, which I did. I received and appointment 3weeks hence but was later offered a cancellation.

I like e-consult as a reply or appointment us arranged within 24 hours. However, I feel great concern for those who are unable to go down this route or who do not know about it. It isn’t good enough to have to wait 4 weeks or to go to A&E. We’re fortunate here that we already have drop in centres and I’m hoping we will have minor injuries clinics as well in the not too distant future.

I definitely support the government’s new plans for the NHS, especially back to the future when you see your GP, not just any GP.