GP surgery

What on earth are you on about love?

Haaaaa Fanny.

I didnt want to start a rant about the flippin carry-on with TRYING to see a Dr if there was already a topic created here on GN..... surely to goodness there is a discussion going !!!!!!!

Sorry Fanny ...
I haven't gone round the twist ...... YET !

I love a rant about our GP practice, they are truly dreadful.
I saw a few minutes of a TV program about a GP practice.
It was so far removed from my experience that I couldn’t help but think it was all for the cameras.

My GP is excellent. The whole Practice is good too.

I really am happy for you maddyone to have full faith in your surgery.... excellent, its good to read.

I am not 1 to be at the Dr's for every little ailment but in this case I needed confirmation as to whether I am going through the menopause.

So i had a blood test.

Got text to say its back, that it wasn't urgent but I needed to make appointment with a GP which I did, bang on 8am and was told I was 47 in the queue, i hung on for 45 minutes ( listening to absolute naff jingles ) to then actually make contact with a receptionist.... let me just say that no way was the wait of 45 minutes her fault and no way was the length of wait for an appointment her fault, I was as pleasant as pleasant to the poor woman who MUST be on the receiving end of a truck load of abuse !!!!

Anyway i was given a date for a telephone consultation with a doctor 16TH MAY...... 33 DAYS AWAY !!!!!!

same here - 7 weeks to see a gp re agonising arthritis pain- our practice used to be fabulous but 7 WEEKS?

I cried - that did not help.

The surgery online access ststem is always offline, so got through to the surgery at caller number 10. I spent 1.5 hours hanging on, getting closer, before it just went dead. Damn!
Why oh why is it now almost impossible to get in touch with a surgery for an appointment.

DD2 has had terrible trouble accessing medical services at her practice where she registered in 2020 (during Covid of course), Following an emergency admission to hospital, where she referred herself, after being unable to get any appointment at her surgery, she is still having weekly follow ups at a different hospital. They told her to ring her surgery on Tuesday for an appointment - she was very reluctant, expecting the same response, but almost fainted when the receptionist said she could have a face to face, not only the same day, but within an hour! Hopefully a sign of better things to come.

Aren't some GPs covering at A&E this week?

I use the NHS App to request test results. I then get a phone call or a text, depending on what needs to be said. She really is excellent. My previous GP wasn’t, but this one is. I changed from a poor surgery (had been very good but then taken over by some group and amalgamated with three other surgeries and service went straight downhill) and I changed to a good surgery (has won awards) that my daughter recommended (she’s a GP herself) and although the first doctor we were assigned to wasn’t great, this new one is really good. I speak as I find.

Our surgery is quite good about dealing with you once you get through. Rang in the afternoon after a water infection suddenly became quite severe and was seen by a nurse in a couple of hours. There was a blip with the medication as supposedly the modified release tablets I was prescribed are unavailable at the moment and the doctors supposedly had been told not to prescribe them. Another delay as the electronic system had gone down so had to wait until fault was rectified before a new prescription could be issued. Strangely never seemed to have any of these problems when everything was paper based. I've heard so many horror stories from practices around here In sticking with this one.

My practice is thought to be one of the better ones in my area but I’m not so sure. I’ve had a really painful neck for months and eventually decided I needed to get advice. I called to ask for an appointment but the receptionist said that I couldn’t speak to the doctor about this problem but only the physiotherapist. This took ages as she’s only there 1 morning each week. She organised an app with exercises but refused to discuss tests or painkillers until I had tried the exercises for 6 months so I’m still suffering!

How has it developed into this absolute fiasco of utter anger ?

It's got to be money !

Our surgery is pretty useless.Nobody answers phones anymore.
DP was referred a month ago and they still haven’t sent him a copy of the letter in spite of telling him they would do that in a weeks time.
He doesn’t know what consultant he’ll see, what hospital it will be in and how long to wait until he gets an appointment.
He rang yesterday even tho they said not to but was 35 or something in the queue and he had to go to work, as did I.

Don’t know why it’s now got this way, after the pandemic our surgery has never gone back like it used to be, even the pharmacy inside has stayed closed and you have to queue up in the wind and rain outside while they dole prescriptions out of a window.All requests for a face to face have to be done online, filling in reams of stuff even when you feel really ill.

Our surgery is absolutely amazing.
It is officially the best one in the county, and it’s in an absolutely awful catchment area.
So it’s proof that it can be done.

You can always get same day appointments and also the choice of phone or in the practice.
Both my DH and I have even had home visits.

I hope that you get sorted soon Serendipity, and my sympathies to everyone who is having a rough deal

However, the Rheumatology Department at the Royal Derby is an entirely different kettle of fish, but I’ve ranted about that on another thread!

We have lived here for six years and have never once seen a doctor. Nerves been called in for a medication review, diabetic blood test or anything we were used to with our previous GP. Here it seems a little diy. Luckily I have never had to request an appointment. No idea how that would go.

No wonder Fanny you wondered what Serendipity was on about when you are lucky enough to have an amazing surgery.

Does anyone else find that if you are fortunate to get to see a GP the most important thing is that they prescribe statins and blood pressure pills.

I ve got to be with the praising posts.
My big, busy surgery seems to be excellent compared to stories on here but it definitely works best if you do it the ‘email questionnaire way’ and not a 25 th in the queue telephone way

So I fill in a small questionnaire asking me what I want, how I want it, and if it’s urgent or routine. I then get a phone call back or a text back (as that’s my choice of communication) usually within 2 hours although it says within 7 days for non urgent cases
My doctor (who I d never seen before) saved my life, literally, when I saw her just before Christmas about a problem I found annoying but wasn’t overly concerned about however she was cautious and sent me on the 2 week pathway for biopsies which resulted in a pre cancerous operation in January which highlighted cancer cells stage 1, so a further operation in February and now hopefully cancer free with regular check ups
I can’t say a word against that doctor, my surgery, or the local hospital (who were kind, caring and efficient although run off their feet) in the middle of all this I kept my second cataract op, and this is someone who rarely saw a doctor or hospital.

Juliet27

No wonder Fanny you wondered what Serendipity was on about when you are lucky enough to have an amazing surgery.

The really are brilliant.
A few weeks back the GP really wanted to see DH in the flesh.
But he was reluctant to go because he is extremely vulnerable and if he catches anything he would or have to be hospitalised.
Anyway, the lovely GP said that he’s see him at the end of the surgery time and that he could go in the back door and not have to sit in the surgery.
He met him in the car park.

I'm afraid it's a total post code lottery as regards the efficiency of GP surgeries. We moved house around 12 years ago now, and I have to say that our previous surgery left a lot to be desired. However, our present one provides excellent care for both DH and I, who both have long-term ongoing health issues. This is despite the pressures from both Covid and NHS underfunding. I appreciate that we are among the lucky ones, as others have had a very different experience.

Im one of the lucky ones my gp surgery has greatly improved recently I’m no longer in need much about seeing a gp but when I did he would either phone and talk to me or he would call in
How’s that for an excellent service