Doctors Appointments

I’ve been having bad pain in my legs and lower back to the point where some days I struggle to walk more than a few yards. I phoned the GP surgery almost 2 weeks ago and they said that they couldn’t give me an appointment and the best thing to do was to write a letter and post it through the door. I did that 10 days ago and, as I still hadn’t heard anything, I phoned again today. The receptionist said that a doctor had read it on Tuesday (so a week after I put it through the door). He had marked it as routine so I have to wait until I receive a phone call from the receptionist which should be next week and they will make an appointment for me to see the doctor which will probably be in about 3 weeks.

I went for a blood test for cholesterol on Monday and I had to go to a tent which had been erected on the drive of the house next to the surgery ?

cupaffull

A Gatekeeper service by the under qualified.
As part of the General Practice Forward View, a new five year £45 million fund has been created to contribute towards the costs for practices of training reception and clerical staff to undertake enhanced roles in active signposting and management.
We can anticipate exactly what this is going to do... those less able will fall by the wayside and many will just bypass the GP and go straight to A&E, again overwhelming hospitals.

The "gatekeeper" at my GP's surgery obviously hasn't had the training yet.

After refusing to make me an "urgent" appointment for six weeks (whenever I did mange to get through), I eventually saw a GP today, who has now booked me in for further blood tests, an ECG and another appointment in two weeks. He was shocked I'd left things so late (and didn't look too pleased when I explained why).

GPS are earning very good salaries and many do a four day week - fifth day is meant to be for training but not sure that golf or sailing qualify. Most have a night and weekend on call service so are really shirking. Most surgeries have one or two very committed doctors and several shirkers who feel cheated as they didn’t make it as hospital consultants.

A Gatekeeper service by the under qualified.
As part of the General Practice Forward View, a new five year £45 million fund has been created to contribute towards the costs for practices of training reception and clerical staff to undertake enhanced roles in active signposting and management.
We can anticipate exactly what this is going to do... those less able will fall by the wayside and many will just bypass the GP and go straight to A&E, again overwhelming hospitals.

Taken from NHS England..... Supposedly to save GP's time!
www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/redesign/gpdp/reception-clerical/
Active signposting by reception staff....
This provides patients with a first point of contact which directs them to the most appropriate source of help. Web and app-based portals can provide self-help and self-management resources as well as signposting to the most appropriate professional.
Receptionists acting as care navigators can ensure the patient is booked with the right person first time.

Reception staff are given training and access to a directory of information about services, in order to help them direct patients to the most appropriate source of help or advice. This may include services in the community as well as within the practice.
Given my experience ar our GP's yesterday words fail me...

I agree with you cupaffull.

I agree with you infoman. After weeks of trying, I have finally got an appointment for this afternoon. I had to explain to the receptionist what's wrong with me. She's not medically qualified and I was embarrassed about having to explain. To begin with, she said there were no appointments, but I persisted and finally, she got the duty doctor to call me. I explained what was wrong and she said that I need a 1-1 appointment as soon as possible (which I knew), so I've got one this afternoon.

The stupidity of it all is that my appointment will probably be 10 minutes and I know I need antibiotics. Meanwhile, I've spent hours speaking to receptionists over the last few weeks trying to get the appointment and another 15 minutes or so thus morning speaking to the receptionist and the duty doctor. What a waste of time, when I could actually have spent the time being treated - and they could fit more patients in that way.

PS. I had the same thing getting a blood test. They know how long they take; they know who's doing them. Why don't they just have them online, with a few spare slots for emergencies?

Being treated differently? I think this is an ageing thing.
Always remember one of my older relations,when I was a teenager, saying that when you get older,you become invisible.

As regards to the doctors surgeries in General,wanted to book up for a blood test.
I rang the number and got the continual engage tone several times,then got the queing system number allocation.
A fifteen minute wait,three minutes talk and I got the appointment.Why can't the surgery put a schedule sheet on its site and you can choose your appoinment time?

I am perplexed too, exactly why our GP's surgery door remains locked against all comers. I could understand the precautions during the height of infections but our rate here is very low, so with strictly planned appointments our GP's could be seeing physical patients. They don't seem to want to and the receptionists are increasingly like gatekeepers.
I did at one point wonder whether GP's were having to cover wards and hospital duties but surely not now.

Seems to me they are just taking advantage to keep patients at arms length and to institute a new way of working.

There's going to be mistakes made because there is really no substitution for having the patient in the room with the doctor.

I had a letter telling me to download an appointment form and fill it in, which I duly did. Then I got another letter telling me there were no appointments available and to wait 4 weeks.

After 4 weeks I got the same letter telling me to download an appointment booking form and fill it in, which I have done.
I am now waiting for the follow-up letter to say 'wait 4 weeks'.
Groundhog Day!

As you say - surgeries are not dealing with covid - so why are there no appointments? I can understand hospital clinics's waiting lists will have lengthened due to the original lockdown - but this is ridiculous !

JuliaM DH has had a letter today for a routine diabetic eye screening and I have an appointment at the eye clinic next month. So seems to be a regional thing.
My DD on the other hand had smear test cancelled the end of March and has had a couple of letters reminding her to re-book. "Oh we're not doing that at the moment, the nurse is too busy with flu jabs" she was told yesterday.

growstuff you have my sympathy. Is it worth considering changing your GP practice? This is what DD is doing.

Baggs

I've just read this thread and am wondering: in what sense have we "saved" the NHS? Not for patients with problems other than Covid, it would seem.

I think there is going to be some pretty awful 'payback', including excess deaths, because of this. It's quite shocking.

Must admit that other areas of the NHS have let us down during this pandemic. Not blaming the nurses and doctors but scheduled operations should have been back up and running again during the (comparative) lull in Covid infections.

Our local hospital is only just restarting these last week ? Where’s the logic in that? Just in time for a second wave? So everything will shut down again? Cancer ops., hip replacements, etc all on hold again soon.

Yes, Baggs is correct. There will be extra deaths and people living in pain and with disabilities.

I don't really understand what the problem with my GP surgery is. GPs aren't dealing with Covid-19 patients. I understand that there is extra cleaning, but they're hardly seeing any patients, apart from flu jabs and blood tests. The practice building is locked up. When I had a blood test, I was the only patient in the building - usually there are at least a dozen people in the waiting room. Maybe a few people get through "security" and actually get a 1-1 appointment, but very few. All I need is a phone appointment to change my prescription. I know what's wrong with me and I know what I need. Eventually, somebody needs to look at my wrist, but that's not super-urgent.

I've just read this thread and am wondering: in what sense have we "saved" the NHS? Not for patients with problems other than Covid, it would seem.

I think there is going to be some pretty awful 'payback', including excess deaths, because of this. It's quite shocking.

grannysyb

Complain to practice manager if there are difficulties, I was a receptionist and never allowed to give advice, I hate having to tell them what I think is wrong with me.

I have complained - twice. However, the practice manager won't talk to me on the phone, so I've had to write and I've received no reply.

I hate having to tell the receptionist what's wrong with me (which us why I used to book online, if I could), but she won't give me an appointment, whatever's wrong. She just says there are no pre-bookable appointments, all the on-the-day appointments are booked and she's just doing her job.

It's getting really silly and I'm sure doesn't do my blood pressure much good.

Complain to practice manager if there are difficulties, I was a receptionist and never allowed to give advice, I hate having to tell them what I think is wrong with me.

Furret

Sorry to hear about your issues growstuff. I didn’t mean to sound smug, and I hate it when people say ‘I’m ok’ so apologies.

It's OK. I'm just a bit touchy. I go through this farce almost every morning. I was told to ring 111 if it's an emergency, but it's not. Meanwhile, I have high HbA1c, the start of retinopathy, deteriorating neuropathy in my feet and legs, badly controlled pain in one wrist and a lump, which has become infected and is getting worse and needs antibiotics. I've been like this for weeks and there's no system, if all the triage appointments are taken.

Telephone appointments nearly killed DD during lockdown.

It started in March, her GP would only do a phone appointment. He ordered a scan and prescribed correctly but, as anaemia is a frequent side effect of her diagnosis he should have ordered a blood test. I am quite convinced that if she had seen a doctor in a surgery this blood test would have been ordered as she looked ill and just the act of pulling down her bottom eye lid would have revealed that she was anaemic. But not seeing the patient at a time of pressure, he just forgot to do it.

Anyway the blood tests were not ordered for another 2 months. By then she was so anaemic she was on the edge of being blued and twoed to hospital for a blood transfusion (I think COVID was the reason this didn't happen) and her GP told her she could have a fatal heart attack at any moment! She was then given a prescription for iron that was so high the pharmacist queried it, I think the the GP wanted a very quick boost to avoid a hospital admission.

She is now recovering, but she has been told it will be the end of the year, over 7 months, before her body iron levels return to normal

A pharmacist can't issue new prescriptions, which is what I need. It would only take a few minutes, if I could actually get an appointment. I even wrote a letter, but didn't receive a reply.

Just come off the phone. Yet again, there are no appointments and I was told to ring again tomorrow.

I do understand GPs are under pressure. I haven't seen one at all during lockdown, but this is now quite urgent.

Some gp practices are under far more pressure than others. We have only contacted gp once during lockdown, find chemist helpful at other times

Sorry to hear about your issues growstuff. I didn’t mean to sound smug, and I hate it when people say ‘I’m ok’ so apologies.

If some GP practices seem to be managing so well, why aren't they all?

Well, lucky you! As I wrote, I can't even get a phone appointment. I'm waiting in a phone queue right at this moment, but I'm Number 14 and I'll be cut off after 20 minutes.

I’ve had two phone consultations since lockdown. One resulted in me being referred to a consultant and the other a discussion about pain management. Happy with both results.