I have recently changed practices as one of the partners is burnt out - he is rude, offhand, closed-minded about some issues (e.g. screening tests against which he is evangelical, which destroys patient choice) and at my last appointment he wanted to prescribe something to me (which is strong stuff with a bad side-effect profile) and I queried what the diagnosis was that required this drug - his irritable reply was that he was tired of patients wanting a diagnosis and that was not his job to diagnose!
The new practice is full of decent kind doctors. But.......
- they are mostly women (fine) but they all work part-time. This makes it very difficult to see the same doctor each time to provide some continuity of approach for long-term conditions.
- as a rural dispensing practice they struggle to keep enough stock of the drugs for me, but particularly for my OH - he has PD and he cannot have gaps in his treatment without deteriorating badly; and a heart problem that requires daily drugs.
- they have an annoying system whereby if you need a blood test you have to go away and book an appointment with the nurse to take the blood, and this might be a fortnight away.
I have however found that you can book appointments online - the trick is to do that, even if you are feeling OK, and then cancel it nearer that time if it is not needed. Not something that I am proud of doing but it does seem to work!
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