Doctor's appointments

Candelle, on what are you basing the notion that those who are concerned about the NHS are suffering from a lack of understanding of the issues.

I, for one, am fully aware of the reasons behind the waits, and the impossibility of seeing a doctor, as well as the frustration of receptionists and nurses, but that is not the focus of my concern as far as this thread goes. I have done all I can by never voting Tory - much beyond that there is little I can do about the parlous state of the NHS (although I have campaigned for changes to a local service).

Knowing why the situation is as it is does not, IMO, mean that I should meekly accept that the NHS, the funding for which I have contributed to all my working life, is being run down to the point where even the most principled of people are considering going private if they can afford it. Frankly, if we all put up and shut up there is even less chance that there will be an increase in the number of GP appointments.

Nobody is having a go at your daughter, or suggesting that she doesn't work hard. What people want to see is a system under which she and her colleagues are not run into the ground, and are not bearing the brunt of the frustration of patients, many of whom who are scared, in pain and frustrated at being patronised by people who assume that we are whinging.

I'm a bit confused. Why are doctors not seeing people face to face? Is it Covid or lack of NHS funds/not enough doctors? I thought Covid was under control now.

I have no answer for you. More money to the NHS is the only logical answer I suppose.

At many GP surgeries, all staff are 'working' the telephones first thing in the morning but are still not enough to handle the volume of calls and of course, once the appointments are filled, they are filled.

We need more GPs.

If there is a patient list of, say, 13,000 patients and 1% of these need an appointment, that's 130 calls coming in simultaneously first thing in the morning. Larger resources (sometimes not possible because of building constraints etc.) would be the only way calls could be handled faster.

spabbygirl I didn't particularly want to turn this into a political debate but, having voted Tory all my life and now being disgusted at what is happening to the NHS, I feel they have lost my vote.

I think there was a recent thread where the poster was saying that she does not know who to vote for as she has been alienated by all the main parties and I am in her boat!

All Governments in the recent past have completely underfunded the NHS whilst raising patient expectations (as should happen - but not without adequate staffing and funding).

Doodledog, I'm afraid I do see it as doctor-bashing! I obviously have a personal interest and seeing my daughter with purply-blue patches under her eyes from tiredness (she should see a doctor!) is of concern to me - nobody else will care.

Yes, I absolutely agree that people have a right to complain but the ease with which this is available means that thoughtless people can whizz off moans and complaints willynilly. There is a lack of understanding about the perilous state of our health system, the way it is funded and the direction in which it is going.

There is sometimes a lack of common-sense as to when a doctor is needed. Not for a slight headache of a day or two but many patients will worry (having used Dr Google and now fear they may have a brain tumour or whatever) and demand an appointment.

I have been in the situation of not being able to get through to my surgery when ill and vividly remember how frustrated and upset I was. I joined our patient participation group and we made suggestions as to changes in the telephone triage system - it helped.

The bottom line is that there are not enough doctors, not enough funding and things, unless a radical reform takes place (with more 'bos' {bums on seats}) matters can only worsen. Jolly thought, eh?!

Yes, but if you can't get through on the phone, how are you going to book an appointment to have it?

Nothing is free!

Vaccines are bought in by GP surgeries according to the number of patients on their list. If these patients go elsewhere, the vaccines are wasted - they are non-returnable. The surgery therefore has paid for vaccines to be discarded. The money wasted could have gone to help the surgery pay for other services.

Just for interest, in the States, vaccines are available at a varying cost of $40 to 80.

Urmstongran, so is Lloyds!

'It is owned by the German company Celesio, formerly GEHE AG, which is in turn owned by the American McKesson Corporation'.

Although these are not surgeries or hospitals, it won't be long..... People can't see that we are being led down a path to privitisation, so why not carry on bashing the poor old GP who is soldiering on, hit by more diktats from Government and by expectation of their poor patients?

Miss Adventure, I don't understand this either! Perhaps patient numbers have grown exponentially and overwhelmed the area? List numbers do change periodically.

Perhaps it is just poor administration and things could be made better - which is where patient participation groups come in. At meetings, the Practice Manager should be present and points could be made to help improve services..

My own surgery is generally excellent but I am sure that there will be some patients who have not got their own way with whatever it was that they were seeking and will feel aggrieved, such is the nature of man!

melp1, did you actually read my post?

Nanika my Mum has to have INR tests whenever they request her to book one .It varies between appointments but I ring to book them for her and they are usually quite tutty up have to do it !. When one refused we'll said they had none I rang the number on the card explained.1 hour later call from Mum surgery appointment on appointed day ?

Spot on Hetty58 I don’t dispute that receptionists can have to deal with angry, rude and unpleasant calls but some of that comes from anxiety, pain and stress in the patient. It takes many people huge courage to even ring for an appointment given that prevailing feeling of ‘bothering the doctor’. A recent tv interview with a local GP asked him what he would say to patients about the matter. His response was to say he would ‘like to tell them to wind their necks in’. So glad he’s not my GP and I’m sure his patients feel all the better for hearing that.

Good for her, but I must say that our practice is excellent and we have managed to get appointments if needed, not always with the doctor but they have Urgent Care Practitioners who we always manage to see and if a Doc is needed then they arrange this either as a visit or a phone call. The system works very well for us but I am aware it is not the same everywhere. The hospitals have reduced consultants appointments and have stopped face to face visits, only phone appointments now. It is different but it is just the way it is.

sorry, was last night, tues 5th.

caller andrew was speaking to ian payne on LBC at about 11.30pm, tues 4th oct.

heard this evening on LBC a caller, Andrew, whose son aged 26 died due to being unable to get any medical help for what started as an ear infection and became mastoiditis, and then meningitis, over 19 days.
very hard listening.

EmilyHarburn, have you read the reviews from bluecrest's customers ? they are pretty poor.
either you had an unusually good experience, or you are an advertiser.

I have heard about this issue and even my youngest daughter says that her family surgery, you raise the problem by email first, then the Dr rings in a day or two and then if he or she decides to prescribe without seeing you they do.
I live in a Suffolk village, here you ring at 830 and the Dr rings before 12 am and you are seen that day if needed.
But when I was in Somerset it was different ( pre pandemic ) so I went to see a private doctor for advise and a prescription and the prescription was half the price of the NHS one and consultation and advise was £90 .
I don't know the reason behind today's Drs and dentists problems but you can't get a NHS dentist up here, i had to travel to Colchester to see one.
But some people don't get medical help at all in some places in the world -so I guess we should count our blessings.
In 2018 I had breast cancer surgery and lymph nodes clearance and treatment and 2 tears prior to that may eldest daughter had the same. I really thought I was being treated privately, the NHS were amazing with us.

Some of you sound very lucky to be in your GP practices. Able to contact in some way, hear from a doctor, get appointments and so on. We have a lovely practice but it’s impossible to actually speak to a doctor, never mind face to face. I am quite a confident person but it’s completely beyond me to try and be forceful and persistent with a receptionist doing her best, I was a medical secretary most of my life and I’m now on the PPG of our doctors but I can’t get through. There’s only the phone call at 8, you’re number 17 in the queue. We’re retired so can just wait but obviously the appointments to even speak to a nurse have gone by five past so you try again the next day. Anytime of the day you’re 17/18/19 in the queue.

I rang at one minute to eight last week, number one in the queue, wheyhey! I thought wow! I’m going to get an appointment! I hung on through all the messages, the phone was eventually answered…..and bang…… I got cut off! I give up. We don’t have the ability to fill in a form to be triaged so there’s no hope at all. I daren’t complain too much at the PPG meetings because all the staff are so resentful at explaining how they are so busy and can’t help this situation. What are they doing all day? They cannot be available for telephone appointments, with 12 doctors or so, there would be many more slots surely?

PERSISTENCE! Seriously if you really need a face to face appointment then make it clear and tell them you want to speak to the practice manager if they will not allow it. Complain, complain and complain again - threaten to complain to the local trust - do whatever you need to get an appointment (if you REALLY need face to face). Never take NO for an answer if you have a genuine reason to need face to face (type of illness, poor english, deafness, etc etc). Our practice is excellent but this is the advice I've seen from patients in our city in inferior practices.

Was it right that the decision to refuse a home visit should have rested with the admin staff?
No. And saying that is neither GP bashing nor being unsympathetic to receptionists.

Bumped into an old acquaintance last week. She told me her husband had been feeling ill, was on various meds but possibly because of his mental state may not have been taking them properly, she was worried about him, particularly his colour, and she asked repeatedly over the course of 3-4 days for a home visit (she does not drive and is disabled so could not take him) but was refused. 3-4 days later, she found her husband dead. Was it right that the decision to refuse a home visit should have rested with the admin staff?

this conservative government don't want an NHS because they believe that they are paying for someone else's health care and they don't see why they should do that.
We have a socialist health care system and it works because we all pay the same ratio of income and we all get the care we need.
I want the NHS to stay as it is, I'm quite happy to pay for other people's health care, I'm just glad I don't need much so I won't be voting Tory ever again. Labour are the best for the NHS & they get my vote no matter who is in charge.

Candelle, I don't think that people are 'bashing' GPs. I do, however, think that when people have had bad experiences - and particularly when those experiences have impacted on their health, which is something over which we have no real control - they have a right to complain without being made to seem like moaning minnies. Pretending that all is well is not going to make the NHS any safer from Tory cuts.

I am very concerned that I am going to have irreversible treatment on my thyroid, based on one consultation (pre-Covid) which determined that things were not as they should be, and over 18 months of taking toxic medication. The consultant (not the one who diagnosed me), with whom I have a 5 minute telephone conversation every three months, goes on the results of blood tests to decide what is happening now. We have never met. I have had several changes of diagnosis since the first one, and the latest is Graves Disease.

I don't think it is unreasonable to be concerned that something may have been missed, or that there may be a less invasive course of treatment than the one he has recommended.

I fully understand that this is all the result of cuts and underfunding, but speaking as someone who has never ever voted Tory, and who has fought against cuts in services, I think that I, like many others, have a right to express my feelings.

As for telephone consultations - I'm not saying that some people don't prefer them, and can imagine circumstances under which I may do so myself - but in that case, why not give us all the option - if you want a face-to-face appointment you can have one, and if a telephone appointment suits your circumstances you can have that instead. As was pointed out upthread, ten minutes is ten minutes, whether over the phone or face-to-face.

Look at the outcry from people who complain that students seeing lecturers on Zoom is not the same as seeing them in a classroom, and wanting their money back. I have done both, and can honestly say that preparing for an online seminar is every bit as time-consuming and intensive as preparing for an in-person one. I can't see why a GP would feel differently.

I had to have a meds review and blood test today and whilst I was in the waiting room a lady came in and asked the receptionist if she could have an appt with the duty doctor.....

The conversation went like this...
Lady..Can I have an emergency appt with a GP today?
Receptionist..why whats the problem?
Lady..its a bit personal
Receptionist...Well I need to know so I can decide what to do
Lady...I have a coil fitted and I am having problems with it
Receptionist...what sort of problems?
Lady then had to divulge personal information to receptionist in front of a waiting room of males and females who could all hear .....
Result was the receptionist decided that the lady did not warrant an appointment so she made a telephone appt for her to speak to a nurse not a GP.....

I think I would have asked to see the surgery manager......