Doctors appointment

sodapop

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.

How else do you want a stranger on the telephone, to determine the nature of caller's need for treatment , the urgency, and whether it requires a doctor, a nurse or an HPC ?

My Husband fell down in the shower and could not get up I got several towels to cover him as he said how cold
he was and then phoned my neighbour. He could not lift him,so I telephoned 111. When the ambulance arrived the ambulance man was very cross with me and said that I should have dialled 999 because it was obvious he had heart surgery.

Our surgery uses consult and it is very good. I have completed it several times now and usually a doctor will call you on the same day. If it is not urgent a receptionist will call and book me an appointment with either a doctor or a nurse practitioner it may mean a wait but if it’s not urgent there is nothing I can do. Sadly this is how things are now like everything else doctors are stretched to the limit.

Our GP surgery has an online form patients can fill in at 8am, like a triage service. I've used it several times (it's far better than waiting in a call queue on the 'phone). I used it yesterday about a cough and wheezing I've got. Someone texted me 5 minutes later to say it was being looked at, then a GP rang me at 8.20 and offered me an appointment for 10.20.

I rang on Monday morning (due to rectal bleed)- 14th in line but I didn’t have to wait long. Appointment given for the ‘Open Clinic’ - between 2-4pm. Didn’t have to wait there either - seen at 2pm. Excellent service ..

I am a dreaded GP receptionist. GP appointments 3+ weeks, nurses 2+ weeks. Our area has an out of hours GP hub, we manage to book about 3 appointments on the day, have up to 5 on the day appointments for the GP on a 1st come basis.

Should say above not shown

Why is the phone at eight in the morning still going If you live on your own and feel ill it makes it all worse and then if you are finally through it's all the appointments have gone phone tomorrow Then there are people working how do they get forty minutes to wait when at work Why has Starmer shown any concern about this people want to go back to the old supportive system where you could get an appointment

I've given up and see a GP privately. I was already a private patient with consultants so it wasn't too hard a decision. It's not right, it shouldn't be happening but those of us with multiple issues cannot continue waiting for an appointment - sometimes up to 8 weeks. It was becoming dangerous to keep going with NHS practice. (ie. emergency hospital admission for hypoxia, pneumonia and with sats of 65 due to inadequate care). What have we saved for anyway? What price our health?

I got my call at last at 12.55 , just 5 minutes before time 🕰️ ran out. The combination of my poor ish hearing and the doctor’s hard to understand accent made things awkward as I had to keep asking her to repeat, so was somewhat relieved after a few minutes of nothing much in particular, the call ended.
The disappointing thing is the call took 11 days of frustration on my part trying to get a response.
So sad about what’s happening to the nhs.

With all that experience it’s clear you’re more well informed than the doctors nurses and others who talk about the pressure they’re experiencing

My partner picked up a prescription from our doctors for blood thinners last week. The young girl in the dispensary took it off the shelf, signed it and gave it to him. No double checking; no counter signature. Have things changed since I worked in a pharmacy. Mistakes can be made even when things are double checked and blood thinners can be dangerous if a dispensing error is made. She was also quite rude to him, too. When he arrived at the dispensary and said he’d come to pick up a prescription she told him to shush because she was counting something. Fair enough but, if that had been me I would have followed it up with a smile and an apology. There was none of that. Standards have dropped so much since I worked there.

My go would either not phone at all, or phone hours before the arranged time, so I'd be in the bus, discussing my ailments with him!

I asked for an appointment 10 days ago and have been promised a call every day since, but no response.
Am promised a call this morning before 1 pm. So once a gain am staying in,but not banking on it. 90 minutes to go….

I needed an ambulance last week, and my neighbour was told it was an 8 hour wait.
The cubicles weren't all taken, when we got there, so I have no idea why such a long wait, since a and e looked to have about 4 people waiting.

Iam64

I wait 3-4 weeks to see my GP of choice. If I need urgent appointments, I get one on the day.
Ambulances - we waited an hour after my 77 year old relative had a heart attack and collapsed.
We all understand, I hope, the pressure the nhs is under

So why are they always under pressure? That certainly is not the case where my husband currently is. Staff galore and also in the previous hospital. You almost have to push your way through a crowd of nurses, doctors, HCAs, physios, speech therapists, managers etc to get out.

I think it’s more the way they organise their time rather than staff shortages. I have had over 10 weeks observing things in hospitals.

I am having to wait two weeks for a phone call from the pharmacist.

I wait 3-4 weeks to see my GP of choice. If I need urgent appointments, I get one on the day.
Ambulances - we waited an hour after my 77 year old relative had a heart attack and collapsed.
We all understand, I hope, the pressure the nhs is under

Having read the comments about ambulances I sadly have to agree.

My husband had a severe stroke 10 weeks ago. I dialled 999 as it was happening, told them it was definitely a stroke, they asked a few questions and confirmed it was a stroke.

We have all seen the adverts re Strokes and the message is FAST. I could not have been any faster but we still waited 1 hr 15 mins for the ambulance to arrive! It was terrifying to sit there waiting and unable to do anything other than wait. The estimated wait time for an ambulance for a stroke in this area is 18 minutes. Dreadful service.

grandMattie

It’s easier to get an audience with the Pope than get through tithe surgery.
You call at 8am, there are at least 2 minutes of stuff, basically telling you not to call unless you are dead. If you are, go to A&E or call 111.
If you survive the “advice” you are told you are #472 in the queue. By the time you reach #41, you are unceremoniously cut off.
It isn’t possible to book online.
If you go in person, you are told to telephone.
I’m so very glad that I am in good health 🙏🤞

This is exactly like our surgery grandMattie.

They actually don’t want to see patients face to face and are doing everything possible to get you to DIY. Last week I had to weigh myself, check my height and take my blood pressure all in reception area. No chance to ask any questions of a nurse or other staff. Hopeless!

If we fill in an econsult at 7.30am we get a phone call the same day followed by an appointment that day if it is needed.

No problem, on Tuesday I got a same day appointment due to my leg swelling up and pains good job too
as I had a scan and have DVT

My surgery does that, too.

All day spent clock watching, in case you miss the call, then you don't know whether to phone, or will it look pushy, then... nothing except a text.

I chased the surgery at 16:45 as I hadn’t heard from the doctor . I just got a text to say an appointment has been made for 21/01 at 09:30! No discussion at al never mind suitability, no apology for time waited already. I will be spitting feathers by then - I am so angry.

My youngest daughter (36) has severe Endometriosis and she also has a problem her with heart. She was in a lot of pain so phoned the Dr's to see if she could avoid being admitted to hospital and get some stronger pain relief , they said if she could get there in 10 mins the nurse would see her , the nurse took one look at her and called a Dr who decided she needed an ambulance , they tucked her up in the nurses room and either the nurse or the Dr looked in on her every 5 minutes until the Ambulance arrived. They phoned her husband the next day to see how she was getting on. This is an extremally busy surgery covering several large villages, my daughter said they were so kind to her even though they were rushed of their feet .