GP telephone appointments

My surgery expects you to explain all your symptoms to the receptionist who then decides if you need an appointment. You can’t make an appointment by visiting the surgery, you have to phone. My husband sat in their car park the other day and rang them to make an appointment.
When I complained to the GP about their system he said that all the receptionists where trained to identify emergency’s. How can an unqualified person know what your medical problem is? A few weeks ago a receptionist said to me “ you only have a Urinary Tract Infection, it is not an emergency, what do you want me to do about it”. I managed to get some antibiotics by leaving them a urine sample with a covering letter. The whole system is unbelievable.

Baggs why didn't you wait till just before closing time for the practice and ring

That never occurred to me lucywinter. I've never been as it were 'stood up' over a medical appointment before. I guess I was nonplussed. Also, I only made the appointment because I was told the GP wanted to talk to me. Left to myself I wouldn't have made an appointment because GP had already explained that adjustments to the med's dose might be needed. I've given them three lots of blood and urine samples for them to check effects of the medication. If they had the results of Tuesday's samples and there was a problem, presumably the GP wouldn't have re-prescribed the medication which, apparently, she has.

I'll go to the pharmacy on Monday and ask if it has arrived. I'm presuming dosage instructions will be on the box.

So now I'm just: Shrug! ?‍♀️ I don't feel there's anything to worry about except unfulfilled appointments and no explanation, which is why I've written to the practice manager. As I've said above, I expect it was a blip in communications at the practice. The GP might not even have known about the appointment.

Yes. I think you've done the right thing anyway. Was a bit much when it was their idea anyway.

Hope you're ok btw.

You are right to complain to practice manager and I have done the same thing myself in the past. My G.P,s used to be brilliant but now you can hardly get an appointment and since they have brought in the Sunday working appointments I have had three appointments at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning and not even an appointment in the week.
I know this is about the G.P. but since the beginning of January I have had three hospital appointments made and then they have been cancelled and now the appointment is not until end of April which I find completely unacceptable, I told that to the booking receptionist and she just said |I know but we have not got the staff. Makes you want to laugh the N.H.S is getting beyond a joke.

I have no complaints about my GP practice. As well as the scheduled appointments, you can phone in the morning to see if there are cancellations, and, if not, then two doctors take ad hoc appointments, where you just have to sit and wait.
I was most impressed by the care they gave the Bodach in his last days, and also very touched when the doctor who had been attending him phoned to offer condolences and ask how I was ( cue more unexpected greetin’)

Incidentally, ‘ greetin’ is crying!

Last time I saw my GP (head of practise) I mentioned the difficulty of getting an appointment and the wait involved. He said "If you can get me 5 more GPs, I will employ them. There is a chronic shortage. Not enough trainees. Those that do train won't accept the appalling conditions in the NHS."

This, from a practice in a fairly posh area, that 5 years ago was beyond outstanding.

Cuts and austerity and selling off of the NHS. We have to count ourselves lucky if we get to see anyone, let alone a doctor.

One of the problems here is that there has been so much building lately that the town has expanded massively, and the infrastructure hasn't kept up.

The schools here are excellent, and people buy houses (more expensive than in the surrounding towns) here so that they can get their children into them, but then find that there are no places, which causes no end of consternation in the local media.

There are three surgeries in the town, and all are still taking patients, although they struggle to deal with the ones they have.

I can't help thinking that if the doctors followed the lead of the schools and simply stopped taking new patients, the housebuilders wouldn't be able to sell the houses, and would kick up such a stink that things would have to improve. I understand that people have to live somewhere, but it seems madness to keep bringing people into an area that simply can't cope. The infrastructure should have to be in place before planning permission is granted, and pressure needs to be put onto councils, and ultimately government, to ensure that this happens.

But even if you build the physical doctors surgery, there will be no one to staff it. The problems go a lot deeper than just bricks and mortar.

The whole allocation of medical school places and funding of training needs to be reconsidered. There will be lots of working class students who would aspire to do medicine but who aren't guided/supported/accepted onto the right pre-med courses and who then can't read medicine. Also some who would like to and have the results, but can't afford the training.

None of which will be addressed by our current government because they subscribe to a laissez faire system. Easy for them, they don't USE the NHS.

Not GPs but DDs friend has just done a 48 hour shift as the only doctor on duty on an acute medical ward at a large and well known hospital. The shortages go right across the NHS.

Don’t worry the NHS will soon be getting £350m a week extra.

Good old Boris!

But even if you build the physical doctors surgery, there will be no one to staff it. The problems go a lot deeper than just bricks and mortar.

Yes, by 'infrastructure' I didn't mean buildings, but staff and facilities. I think that the existing surgeries should stop taking more patients until more doctors are available (either trained here or abroad), which would put pressure on the government to do something about the lack of GPs.

The trouble is that in richer areas, people would go private, and there would be places, particularly student areas, where people would struggle to get a GP - it's not at all straightforward.

Yes, vegansrock, I look forward to seeing where all the extra money is going to be spent. Maybe a bus could drive around areas that have benefited and let everyone know?

Tell me about it! Over the last couple of years,I've had to book around 8 telephone consultations with my GP,and on half of those occasions they've not called,and no receptionist has bothered calling to tell me that they won't be calling,so I've had to chase them up. Then they make me sound like I'm making a fuss about nothing!

When the doctor DID keep the appointment,I came off the phone really annoyed. Not only did he question my need for painkillers for my fibromyalgia,saying that 'fibromyalgia shouldn't necessitate painkillers',he also said that I'd not had my blood pressure taken since 2016,and that I'd not had a blood test since 2017. Both untrue. If he had looked at my notes properly,he would have seen that I'd had my BP taken on around 10 occasions since 2016,the last time being only 3 weeks previously! And I have had at least 6 blood tests done for various things since 2017,again the most recent being only 2 weeks previously.

When I needed to make an appointment to see a doctor face to face last week,I told the receptionist that I did not want to see the doctor who I had my last telephone consultation with. When she asked why,I said that I did not like the fact that he obviously had not bothered to look at my notes before or during the consultation! There as a few seconds silence,then she said 'Right. I'll say something to the Practice Manager'. I'm half expecting to get a phone call or a letter any day now,striking me off their practice list for 'gross misconduct',i.e. for daring to complain about one of the doctors.

yes, unfortunately they can remove you from their list for any or no reason, probably termed by them, breakdown in the doctor patient relationship, or some such.
so it can be tricky to raise any complaint, and probably ineffective too.