The Dogmother Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Apologies for this rant - I wonder if any of you can shed light on whether this sort of behaviour is permitted. It seems that you can't just call up and make an appt with our surgery any more: you now have to ring up, the receptionist will take your details, the GP rings back, triages you and then makes you an appt if they feel it is necessary. Seeing as I am very hard to get hold of during the day, this means that they usually miss me, I call them back and they're not available, and so on... you get the idea When I questioned the wisdom of this (I only needed to see the GP for a repeat prescription) they said that all the surgeries in town now do this, and that there's no point in trying to move to a different surgery as there's no patient movement allowed between surgeries in town. I actually called another surgery to check this. Surely this contravenes some freedom of choice for patients?! I rang OH's surgery; a small village set up 3 miles away, and they'd not heard the like. Even said that I could join them if I was moving over that way. The upshot is that I now have an appointment for 18:30 tomorrow evening for the doctor to ring me; seems pointless when I know that I just need an appt to have a few checks done before a repeat PX is issued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Rant away - thats all I ever do on Omlet these days. I have heard of this but we dont do at our surgery where I work. To me its double work. You ring a patient do equivalent of telephone consultation then have to see the next day. Most GP's want to see you once a year if you are having an on going script for something. I do telephone consultations mostly to my ashtmatics who want advice. Personally I would rather see my patients - but I am not a GP just an old fashioned nurse. I will say some of the rules are ludicrous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubereglu Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Yep, sadly this sounds normal. We had this problem at home in Yeovil a few years ago. It's a lot of work to get an appointment. Ring up before 9:30am to get an appointment before 12:30pm, and then from 12:30 to get an afternoon appointment....waste a lot of time trying to actually get them to pick up the phone, and try not to lose you temper in the meantime. I truly understand why A&E gets so busy/why people don't bother going to see their GP. Getting a routine appointment is even more complicated, sometimes they're willin to book you in, but only if you've been referred or are on the system. (I just don't get it...) All in all I think this has led to a substantial rise in the number of people using the 'NHS Drop-In' centre in the centre of town, as they routinely offer early evening appointments, which I am not sure even exist at the Yeovil practice I would go to if I still lived that way. Admittedly the last time I did see a GP was about this time last year following a cycling accident, as I needed to register at the practice to then be referred to fracture clinic at the hospital, which should actually have happened when I was discharged from A&E...what a pallaver! On that ocassion, as it was a Monday morning, and I was at the uni GP practice, they had 2 'on-demand' GPs who deal with the people who need 'urgent' treatment following the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Nothing surprises me these days about the state of the NHS I've never heard of a doctor triaging before though. I had to make an appointment for OH yesterday. I said that he would be happy to see a nurse practitioner but when he arrived (after over an hours wait), he saw a paramedic. He told OH that he had been pulled off duty for the week as the practice was down to its bare bones. He said he had never seen the NHS in such a desperate state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Our surgery you can book up to three weeks in advance an appointment with a GP of your choice. Which is great if you have chronic condition which needs follow up. If however you take ill and want an appointment when you ring the receptionist does ask reason. This I think is fair enough as they have a limited amount of appointments that day. She will give appointment out if it sounds like you need seen e.g. When I had shingles, got one an hour later. If no appts left she gets Doc to ring which like you say DM is a nuisance, phone is taken everywhere,even to loo,in case you miss call. He will issue script or urgent appt. whichever needed. They also have nurse practitioner who can do pre repeat checks. It is a very big practice with two surgeries, we lie between towns so can usually be seen at one or other. They also do late evenings,which is great for working people.They don't seem to mention this much as I hadn't realised,when I was looking appt she said can you come at 7! I thought I had misheard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 if you want to change GP's that's your right practice management will tell you that you can't because they don't want to loose patients as it makes the books look bad. the main stumbling block is how many of the GP's are run by the same outfit mine run about 6 in the borough but only one in each town getting an appointment with the Queen is easier than a GP with my surgery if I phone or turn up at 8am I can get an appointment that morning might have to sit around all morning through with me that'll never happen when I go in to book an appointment it can only be with in 2 weeks if they've got one but they can book me one up to 3 weeks mine are obsessed with penny pinching on prescriptions I have to have a nasal spray there are about 6 different ones only one works for me trouble is it's the dearest one( prescribe by the consultant) there is an over the counter one the contents less than the other for a start trouble is the atomizer on the bottle is next to useless on about 2 in 3 bottles oh and it's costing me more money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 I thought it was probably a numbers/targets thing too I may ask the GP when they ring this evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 DM this is what our surgery do. For certain things you can book an appointment up to 3 weeks in advance, but if you can't attend any of those slots they won't book any further ahead so you go back to having to do the phone up in the morning thing. OK if you're sitting around doing nothing all day, but not great if you're at work! My mum is at a smaller, more rural practice a few miles away, and they still do proper old fashioned appointments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursula123 Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 My surgery do telephone triage with a doctor and if they need to see you, you are asked to come in, usually with the next half an hour. It sorts out a lot of time wasters. Repeat prescriptions can be renewed online but if the doctor needs to speak to you about it they call. Like Grandmashazzie when I had shingles, I went to see the pharmacist as at first I thought I had been bitten, she sent me down to the doctors surgery and as soon as I said the pharmacist had told me to come down I was offered an appt 20 mins later. Personally for me the system works and if you really need to see a doctor it is on the same day. However I do live in Devon so the surgeries are not as busy as say London or larger towns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 That seems like an archaic system, especially as I thought most doctors were moving to EMIS for prescriptions and appointment bookings! That being said, my sister is just in the process of leaving her job in the NHS (emergency medicine) and moving to private healthcare instead because of how bad it has become. I was having a conversation with her the other day where she said it has gone from the point of being inefficient to dangerous to both the patients and staff. She seemed to think there won't be an NHS within the next 2 years. I guess if things really are that bad, then they may well just be attempting to skip any completely unnecessary appointments to save money etc. I know the meds I take have all just been changed by the NHS to the most basic brands - although you'd think logically the NHS would automatically prescribe whatever the cheapest option available it anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 S poke to the GP when they called and they said I had to come in for a BP check - told them that and could have saved them a call. They have 4 GPs in a surgery with 17k patients, and are in crisis. She said that other surgeries in town had the same problem and that they'd all been given dispensation by the NHS for these special measures. Still doesn't help improve the service for us paying customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I see it from both sides really. One as a patient and believe me its very lacking I cant get appointments either and fear for my ES whos at uni and his surgery who obviously have had their fill of young things with STI's, anxiety etc I feel dont seem to care when the the students really need help. My son has a life threatening allergy and hes struggled to get his repeat epipens at times. From the nurse point of view its targets targets targets - and the patient know this. A colleague from Hungary was given the job of ringing new mums and asking if they were breast feeding. Her English was good but she was worried they would think it a wind up or some pervert calling. The pressure on us is ridiculous. We still try to care believe me but we are all fed up and demoralised. I think we will end up with a system like the States eventually. But hopefully with a better system for the poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Although there are some things at my GP practice I'm not entirely happy with I have to say the appointment system is generally good. You can book an appointment in advance, book a telephone consultation if you just want to chat but if you feel it's more urgent they have an open access system where you arrive between 8-30-10am sit and wait and are seen on that basis. Lots of people moan about the waiting time but i personally think it's a good, fair system. The receptionist are polite and non intrusive. There is a feedback forum on NHS Choices website and if you have had good/bad service or just wanted to make a point or comment and you want to leave feedback you can do it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 Your practice sounds lovely gavclojak; ours used to be like that. Thanks for the feedback idea - wasn't sure f there was such a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Could you go completely private instead? I've only ever gone private once because it was through a health insurance scheme, but the service was better. I do think we need to take some radical steps to save the NHS if we can, but I am not confident that any of our current overlords are going to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 I would love to Andy, but pennies are scarce... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 If we had to go privately and pay for it - the surgeries would be less busy believe me!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyRoo Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I would love to Andy, but pennies are scarce... Oh, I can imagine; I wouldn't have done it unless I'd had insurance! If our health care system ends up based on insurance, I'll be stuffed on premiums alone due to pre-existing conditions (PTSD, Depression and Anxiety!). For life insurance, I already have to pay nearly double what my partner pays! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Last Monday OH had a heart attack. Mild thankfully but no thanks to the local doc who couldn't read an ecg. He is responsible for the machine and is supposed to assess other docs with machines - so you'd think he would be able to pick out more than a "little anomaly". He thought it was OH's back and perhaps we'd rather drive to A&E instead of waiting longer for an ambulance. Long story short. A&E monitored him for hours because he'd settled down in that time. Chief doc took one look at the surgery's ecg and said classic heart attack and came over and apologised profusely. Didn't understand why our doc didn't ring through (doc did but couldn't get through and didn't bother to get secretary to try either - but then he didn't think OH had a problem). In hindsight what would have happened if OH had another attack while I was driving - ambulance had all the equipment - but then doc didn't really want to call an ambulance and kept pushing the you drive and goodbye bit to us! This doc is in charge of admin and is the one in charge of the ecg machine. He is not a popular doc because he has a track record of misdiagnosing. Myself included. Most people do not want an appointment with him and rather go without than give him an opportunity. I gather he would have had to pay for an ambulance - not sure, but he should have called one for OH. A&E doc then called the cardio bods out from their homes and when all was ready in angio we were rushed with defibrillator in tow! I was a bit miffed when the nurse suggested I might not keep up with them rushing across the other side of the hospital and I could possibly get lost along the way - looking at my portly size! But it was normal pace for me - wasn't even puffed. Minor issue but lesson is don't judge a person on how they are wrapped! OH had a stent in an offshoot of an artery. He came home Wednesday last week - instructions were to call our doc when you get back home. Our doc is available in a fortnight. Er would like appointment sooner! Oh well ring at 8.30 and see what we can do. Monday. We had issues on Saturday and after contacting his heart dept they said back you come. So I got him back home this Monday. They almost did another angio but chief surgeon (obviously I don't know ranks in the different departments but never mind!) didn't want to open him up again just to look around - he did know that there was an area that they might put another stent in away from the heart on the right, but then again a change of meds might work. Meds not changed but now we know his heart isn't damaged at all thank goodness. He's armed with tons of tablets! He emailed the docs surgery to cancel the appointment. I rang later on Monday to see if he'd cancelled - they hadn't even seen his message! Thankfully it was still early enough for someone to fill that appointment! But when I got OH home on Monday our own doc rang him up! Rehab starts Friday week. Like I said hindsight is a wonderful thing but you just don't think in that situation - you are focused on A&E and getting the nearest and dearest sorted out. Our doc "tried" to ring but never asked his secretary to keep trying so we just stayed in a queue and it was very busy. His heart attack happened at 1pm. He felt better but work partner was concerned. Got to the surgery at 5pm. Doc saw him about 5.30. We got to the hospital just before 6.30 and he had his angio at 11pm. I left the hospital at 11.35! He is very lucky!!! All our surgery docs are part timers. Pity everyone's work isn't the same - I'm sure there are people with highly stressful jobs, poorly paid but would love to have the opportunity to go part time. Rant rant ranty rant. Our own doc is lovely though. Such a nice man - when I had depression he gave me a cuddle! On the other hand the doc that OH saw is a smarmy ratbag horrid weasel. A pile of compost has a better bedside manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I had to pay £140 for a private 15 minute consultation for my daughter last year. Long story short but she had 2 referrals that were cancelled (illness & emergency) a referral to the wrong hospital then a referral to kings, it flitted between 3 departments, upper GI, surgical and colorectal for several months before deciding it was a colorectal referral and when I queried it as an inappropriate referral and should have been upper GI the referral was then returned to my GP for a referral to upper GI!!! The irony is the private consultation was with the first consultant that was cancelled by the hospital as a result of a double booking. She had an endoscopy then was recalled for another as biopsy were not taken the first time, I mean you couldn't make it up could you. It has taken four years to get to the point the consultant said she needed an operation and this would be done within six months, a year on we are still waiting!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 OMG Valkyrie I am so sorry, your poor husband, I do hope he continues to make progress. What a nightmare for you all. I am so glad he seems to have been sorted out in the end, thank goodness for A&E. If its any consolation, my uncle had a stent put in after a lot of persuasion from my Mum (he had a history of angina and heart attacks) and it worked a treat, giving him years without any more attacks. Anyway, I digress, I just want to wish you well. I have also sent you a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 16, 2017 Author Share Posted February 16, 2017 I had no idea Kerry... send him my best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Valkyrie that is awful. So glad you got him safely to A & E = I hope the doctor apologised for his lack of care and duty. The NHS doctors have really gone down the tubes this last few years and I remember as a youngster you went to an open surgery and if there were lots of people waiting and you were not urgent you just came back another time. They work shorter hours and yes I know they have to do CPD and keep up with things but the level of care is so different. I remember the doctors coming to the house and then would come and check up on you a few days later - i was a sickly child with tonsillitis and was forever on antibiotics till they took my tonsils out so the doctors visited lots. Hope he continues to do well - you must have got quite a shock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Last Monday OH had a heart attack. Oh my goodness Hope he is OK now and improving every day. Must have been a nightmare for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Gosh I hope he is ok...and your taking care of yourself too x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
