My GP receptionist's ask 'why' patients want to see their Dr as practise policy.

We are lucky. Order meds online. Phone, yes there can be a queue, but the majority of time, there is an option for you to stay in the queue and they call you back when it’s your turn. Likewise touch wood always managed to see the Dr the same day, going through Triage. A couple of times I’ve known what it is and took a photo and sent it and the Dr has rung back. On one occasion one Dr who was researching something for me rang me from home with an answer. Sometimes I’d like to move house and then I think how lucky we are with the Dr and change my mind…

All change at our surgery too.

Appointments must be booked online and with a QR code.
If unable to access that, then online request.

If unable to access either, then phone up and receptionist will fill out online form for you .
All,in all, it’s a lot of mucking about.

I went in wanting a doctors appointment, told the receptionist about shooting pain in my hip, she referred me straight to the physiotherapist, I told her I wanted the doc, as it wasn't urgent,the next doc appointment was two weeks away, however I could see the physiotherapist in two days, I opted for the physio and he was excellent, he could have prescribed or referred me to hospital or doctor, and if I'd have waited for the doctors appointment, he'd have referred me to the physiotherapist anyway! I was uppity about the triage system initially, but in this case it worked a treat.

We have to ring the surgery at 8am, the same time obviously as everyone else, which means you can never get through. No on line system. After waiting on the phone for 20 or 30 minutes a receptionist answers, but by then all the appointments have gone and you are invited to repeat the procedure the next day, or go to A&E if its urgent, or ring 111. Several days of this can be guaranteed to make you feel really ill. About every other week a message is circulated on the village Facebook asking us not to ring the surgery because they are overloaded, or most of the GPs are off sick, or the phone system is down, or the computer system has malfunctioned again. When you give up and phone 111 they invariably send you to A&E for a 6 or 7 hour wait. Getting to the stage of actually seeing someone at the GP surgery is a bit of a dream. Both DH and I have only been able to use 111 since Covid.

I'd like to know what oaths GP admin staff have taken to protect the patients' privacy. Mind you, they've always been able to read our records so any idea of confidentiality has only ever been illusory

The receptionist asks to make sure you get the right appt. If it's personal you just say it's personal or sensitive and that should be enough

I have been asked this a number of times and just politely say I will tell the Dr when I see him/her.

MissAdventure

Elusivebutterfly

I am surprised that so many people see Nurse Practitioner. I have only seen a nurse for vaccinations. Most appointments, and medication reviews, are carried out by a pharmacist and on the phone. Do other areas use pharmacists to replace GPs?

I've seen a pharmacist at my GP surgery.
All that happened was he had to call the gp in, so it seemed a waste of both their time, really.

I've seen a paramedic as well as the NP. He seemed very efficient, said due to his age and retirement coming up he wanted out of the shifts and being out in all weathers so he had this job at the surgery. He did reviews of medication and could also see patients.

I was asked why I needed to see a doctor by the receptionist so I asked her if she knew what chronic ideopathic urticaria was. She replied “No.” so I I said “That’s why I need to see the doctor .”

Apart from HCP visiting my home to do blood tasts and pressure Ive only ever had telephone appointments since covid. That suits me as I am not a lover pf engaging with doctors. I simply tell the receptionist what the reason is - usually Ive had a letter or text asking me to make an appointment for something. Its about 4 years since I physically went to a GP.

It’s not acceptable to disclose confidential information to a receptionist who is not a clinician, but an administrator, especially in front of an audience. You could say it’s urgent, if you wish to be seen without delay, but you only wish to discuss with the doctor. If the doctor wants specifics on why you wish to see them, then they could phone you to see if it needs to be in person to be examined or a phone consultation will suffice IMO.

tictacnana

I was asked why I needed to see a doctor by the receptionist so I asked her if she knew what chronic ideopathic urticaria was. She replied “No.” so I I said “That’s why I need to see the doctor .”

Love that Tictac

GP said just say Ill discuss with the doctor

The last timeIhad something remotely embarassing it was a bank holiday so I rang 111. After a phone consultation with a doctor I was told I needed to see a doctor in person. I asked what I should do if I couldn't get one and was told to go to A&E.
The next day I phoned for an appointment and was offered a phone appointment. I said I'd already had one on 111 and needed to see a doctor in person. They said there were no appointments available so I said "That's ok, I'll go to A&E. Surprisingly I had an in person appointment within the hour! Threatening A&E seems to work at our practice as they know they will be in trouble if you say you are there because you couldn't get a GP appointment when it was urgent.
We do have appointments available if you queue at the surgery from 7am but if you get there much later you'll be out of luck. Last time I did that I saw a paramedic who had to then consult with a doctor to prescribe, but at least I was seen.

My GP's receptionist have training and can triage effectively. I don't want to waste the GP's time if someone else is available. It's a GP training practice so certain conditions are triaged to a trainee to give them the relative experience.
GP receptionists put up with a lot of nonsense from folk who don't understand their role.

Our GP surgery has recently introduced ' Total Triage', which involves filling in an online form ,(there is help from a receptionist for people not able to do this). Then you get a reply offering advice,a phone consultation or face to face appointment that day or in a few days time. Seems to be working quite well. If it is something urgent you can still phone the receptionist. Our receptionists are trained to send you, for example if you said you had back pain , to a physio for assessment, but you can say that you prefer to see the GP. I think we must be very lucky. The Total Triage seems to be working very well. The only person who sees your form is the doctor doing the triage. If you went into the surgery with a personal problem there is a room provided if you want to speak to the receptionist in confidence, a room is provided. Anyone else's surgery offering total triage?

The best GP practice I ever attended was one where you could either make an appointment by phone, or in person, or, you could go to the surgery, give the receptionist your name, take a number (remember the ones they used to have on deli counters in supermarkets) and wait. When your number came up you saw whatever GP was on duty for walk in appointments. It worked well.

Phoned my surgery today to make an appointment and told the receptionist the problem before giving my name,I’m so used to the system.That said I’ve not seen anyone for18 months!

Its the practice everywhere now i think, if you don't want to say I'm sure they would understand

I hope the new Labour government can improve GP availability. The NHS has been badly damaged by the Tories and it is going to take years to get back to a fully functioning service.

Grantanow

I hope the new Labour government can improve GP availability. The NHS has been badly damaged by the Tories and it is going to take years to get back to a fully functioning service.

So do I, but if they can’t they will continue to blame the Tory party rather than admit that it is as difficult as they and the previous Labour Government found. (Kings Fund Report.
I’m already being offered lots of different ways to access GP care, which I suspect means eventually paying for it, though not all the offers mention money so far.
Increasing taxation, which I expect despite what was said pre election, will only be effective if the money is well used and not swallowed up in admin and an increasing number of non-medical managerial staff.

I am a bit confused by the Guardian’s article about making people with severe mental health illnesses seek work and that help will be given to enable sick people to work and not claim benefits. So seems to me that mental health has long been the Cinderella service in the NHS. I agree in principle that it’s important to engage in meaningful and appropriate work but for some people that is not a realistic possibility. I have always felt that research into the causes of mental ill health takes a back seat. I hope that this new government can step up to the challenge.

I pretty sure it's recognised that some people will be unable to work, for a variety of reasons.

More support is an excellent idea, though.

This was the only article I could find, Ronib?

www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/03/number-of-people-in-uk-out-of-work-due-to-ill-health-growing-by-300000-a-year

bobbydog24

Definitely ninat474. Home visits, same day appointments, doctors actually on the premises. That was a reality not that long ago.

Still happens at my rural practice, and I know we are VERY lucky! Called them last week to get a hone visit for my mum, and the GP visited at the end of morning surgery.

HOWEVER, ever think that all this may be deliberate? Sunak deskilled the NHS, there are thousands of unemployed doctors and GPs, as he had them replaced by Nurse Practitioners, Paramedics and Pharmacists and in hospitals by Physician and Anaesthetic Associates. These 'associates' have dine a 2 year course that is basically A level Human Biology, nothing about the disease process and are being used as doctors! All of these people are CHEAPER!

Add that to the removal of the WFA, the coming food shortages - culling chickens and cattle for another pandemic that is on it's way, the depopulation wanted by the UN will be well on it's way; remember Starmer 'prefers Davos' ... maybe when they actually go for our PETS because allegedly they spread 'bird flu' too (or they'll say they do, but they don't) people might finally wake up, smell the coffee and finally put a stop to it all?