Booking a doctor's appointment

Axe_meister

What a pain in the arse. 
The last time I had to book (about 10 years ago). I just called up and got an appointment either same or next day.
Now you have to do it online, fill in a massive questionnaire regarding the condition with no indication when you will get an appointment.
Now filling in online forms is no issue for me, but there will be plenty of people with no easy access to the internet or are just not comfortable doing it online.
I turned up first thing today (as my wife used to do) just to be turned away, not even willing to take my details there and then.
All this if course pushes people to use A&E for non critical issues.

p90fool

I rang to get an appointment to talk about statins in mid March. A month later the doctor called me and asked me to make an appointment for a blood test which I duly did, waiting another two weeks. 
As of this morning the test results still aren't back, but when they are I then have to make another appointment to talk to a doctor about them, which will be about another month or so from then. 

So for a totally routine chat about cholesterol levels and what to do about them I'm currently seven weeks in with no real progress and no end in sight. 

VimFuego

last time I used my GP, I did the online triage thing. About 2 hours later a GP called me to set up a blood test for that day and face to face for the next week. All very smooth and easy. 

boogieman

VimFuego said:

last time I used my GP, I did the online triage thing. About 2 hours later a GP called me to set up a blood test for that day and face to face for the next week. All very smooth and easy. 

Ours is pretty much like this too. The biggest PITA though is that hospitals and our particular GP practice don’t seem to share information, so if I have to see a consultant for anything I don’t get the test results added to my online patient access notes. You’d think it would all be shared on a common NHS database. 

RocknRollDave

Have a go at rocket science and brain surgery first. Once you have mastered those, and only then, you might consider trying to book a GP appointment.

Philly_Q

VimFuego said:

last time I used my GP, I did the online triage thing. About 2 hours later a GP called me to set up a blood test for that day and face to face for the next week. All very smooth and easy. 

Last time I tried to get an appointment, it took three days before I was even allowed to fill in the online form - the system was at full capacity every time I tried.  

When I eventually did fill in a form, which took a good 20 minutes, I got a message at the end of the day saying they'd reached the maximum number of enquiries for that day so mine had been deleted, and if I still wanted an appointment I should start a new enquiry the next day.  I didn't bother.

I honestly find it extremely demoralising, it makes you feel like you're nothing more than an inconvenience and they really don't want you wasting their valuable time.  I'm now very reluctant to even try to see a doctor if something's wrong.  No wonder people go private if they can afford it.

Dominic

^ Yes , this is now typical
I'm pretty certain I could get an audience with The King easier than a GP appt despite having critical heart and kidney issues.
I appreciate that they are busy , triage type priority systems, overload of cases but it has become pathetic and purposefully disingenuous.
Every week I receive at least 2 texts informing me that they are "Closed from 11 a.m. on tuesday for staff training " ,the next week it's "all day Wednesday " ..........every time it's "staff training " .............what complete rubbish 
It's obviously a way of shutting shop early or not opening at all
I replied to the last one to say that I was reassurred to know that I was in such "well-trained" hands as they obviously have the best trained staff in the country.
I had assumed that the Doctors and Nurses had already had some significant level of training before getting the job .It must be those blimmin' Receptionists that are finding it so hard to get up to speed .........or out of practice after the phone has rung 470 times without answering

sev112

We moved to the computer system on March 5th this year.  On March 6th I was laying on the floor with what the 3 subsequent ambulancmen said was a typical stroke! 

How on Earth my poor wife, who luckily was working at home that day for a change, coped with the stress of whatever was happening to me and the new computer system I do not know!

A couple of weeks later I went to the GP for some subsid tests and I spoke to the nice receptionist. I asked her how she was getting on with the new system.  She said it had its teething probs, but that supposedly anyone without Internet capability and various other difficulties they still maintained telephone systems for them etc. 

Philly_Q

Dominic said:

Every week I receive at least 2 texts informing me that they are "Closed from 11 a.m. on tuesday for staff training " ,the next week it's "all day Wednesday " ..........every time it's "staff training " .............what complete rubbish 
It's obviously a way of shutting shop early or not opening at all
I replied to the last one to say that I was reassurred to know that I was in such "well-trained" hands as they obviously have the best trained staff in the country.

They send you texts you can reply to?  That's a weakness in their defences... careless.

Kittyfrisk

sev112 said:

We moved to the computer system on March 5th this year.  On March 6th I was laying on the floor with what the 3 subsequent ambulancmen said was a typical stroke! 

How on Earth my poor wife, who luckily was working at home that day for a change, coped with the stress of whatever was happening to me and the new computer system I do not know!

A couple of weeks later I went to the GP for some subsid tests and I spoke to the nice receptionist. I asked her how she was getting on with the new system.  She said it had its teething probs, but that supposedly anyone without Internet capability and various other difficulties they still maintained telephone systems for them etc. 

Sorry to hear about your health misadventures, hope that you are recovered fully  

Dav275

I have sympathy for all those struggling with what seems to be the normal appalling GP services in most areas.

For balance though, I think we are extremely lucky here in rural Scotland, in that our GP surgery (9 miles away) is very accessible in an old fashioned way. A telephone call to reception, requesting to speak to a doctor, results in a call back, usually within 10 minutes from one of the two GP's personally, who will discuss issues on the phone. If an actual consultation is then needed, it can usually be had in person that day. 

An elderly, house bound relative was able to get personal house visits when necessary over the last year, prior to their recent death.

The traditional approach does still exist, although apparently increasingly rare.

VimFuego

I guess the bottom line is that there is a massive shortage of GP's (and indeed many other medical professionals). They are retiring or choosing to work part time and there aren't enough training spaces to fill the voids. We just don't train enough people here. For example, at work we ship over newly qualified paramedics from Australia, they train too many and a lot of them who come over have dual degrees in nursing and paramedicine, just to be competitive. SA is similar I believe. Why we don't train enough medical professionals is up for debate, but I'm pretty sure I know where the blame lies.

VimFuego

sev112 said:

We moved to the computer system on March 5th this year.  On March 6th I was laying on the floor with what the 3 subsequent ambulancmen said was a typical stroke! 

How on Earth my poor wife, who luckily was working at home that day for a change, coped with the stress of whatever was happening to me and the new computer system I do not know!

A couple of weeks later I went to the GP for some subsid tests and I spoke to the nice receptionist. I asked her how she was getting on with the new system.  She said it had its teething probs, but that supposedly anyone without Internet capability and various other difficulties they still maintained telephone systems for them etc. 

dude, you kept that quiet. All good now?

Kittyfrisk

VimFuego said:

sev112 said:

We moved to the computer system on March 5th this year.  On March 6th I was laying on the floor with what the 3 subsequent ambulancmen said was a typical stroke! 

How on Earth my poor wife, who luckily was working at home that day for a change, coped with the stress of whatever was happening to me and the new computer system I do not know!

A couple of weeks later I went to the GP for some subsid tests and I spoke to the nice receptionist. I asked her how she was getting on with the new system.  She said it had its teething probs, but that supposedly anyone without Internet capability and various other difficulties they still maintained telephone systems for them etc. 

dude, you kept that quiet. All good now?

Look, you were there & you called it a typical stroke.
Just own it already...

VimFuego

Kittyfrisk said:

VimFuego said:

sev112 said:

We moved to the computer system on March 5th this year.  On March 6th I was laying on the floor with what the 3 subsequent ambulancmen said was a typical stroke! 

How on Earth my poor wife, who luckily was working at home that day for a change, coped with the stress of whatever was happening to me and the new computer system I do not know!

A couple of weeks later I went to the GP for some subsid tests and I spoke to the nice receptionist. I asked her how she was getting on with the new system.  She said it had its teething probs, but that supposedly anyone without Internet capability and various other difficulties they still maintained telephone systems for them etc. 

dude, you kept that quiet. All good now?

Look, you were there & you called it a typical stroke.
Just own it already...

no, I said fancy a stroke. A whole other thing completely, something HR were very keen to point out.

VimFuego

re the staff training thing. It does demonstrate how little people know about modern healthcare if they think ongoing staff training isn't essential. Just in my job role I have to do about 36 hours a year e-learning and at least 2 full days face to face training. The list of skills and knowledge you need to keep up to date is vast; new medicines and regimens come out constantly; training and practice in little used but life saving skills needs to be kept up to scratch. We get about 2 operational bulletins a week that we have to read and remember. You'd have to be soft in the head if you want your doctor using knowledge they learnt at medical school 20 years ago!!! But don't let that get in the way of a nicely ill informed rant.

VimFuego

and whilst I'm on a rant. The aussie paramedics we employ come over on a 3 year contract. If they want to stay on beyond that, they have to reapply for a work visa, this costs approx £1600 a year (so in essence they are paying to work here) and they would have to leave the country for a month (I think it is) each year before being able to apply. All the ambulance trusts have lobbied government to get this changed but to no avail.
Anyho, back to the ill informed gruntings. 

Philly_Q

@VimFuego I appreciate you see things from the other side, but we're not just being old men shouting at clouds, these are genuine frustrations (I'm talking about getting GP appointments, not the training thing - I realise that CPD, as we'd call it in my job, is essential).

@sev112 I hope all's OK now.

crosstownvamp

Another lucky one here in Surrey.

Funny how leafy Tory boroughs don't seem to fare so badly.

I got an appointment within a few days last year. The waiting room never feels remotely busy.

Recently they wanted to put me on statins, I expressed my doubts via a phone call, did the blood test a few days later. The results were a text saying 'low but you probably should' - I'm giving  them a miss but the GP service is very good.

Rob1742

I had a spot on my head that I believed was one of the those pre-cancerous growths that would need removing by laser or cream.

So I thought of going to the doctor 

1. Waiting on the phone for half hour
2. Appointment in two weeks time if you are lucky 
3. referred to skin specialist and wait for an appointment that could take months 
4. see skin specialist for treatment 

Something so trivial would be such hassle and so I rang up bupa, was in within a week and out with a cream. £200 out of pocket, but i would pay that any day rather than go through all the hassle of seeing an NHS doctor. 

VimFuego

Philly_Q said:

@VimFuego I appreciate you see things from the other side, but we're not just being old men shouting at clouds, these are genuine frustrations (I'm talking about getting GP appointments, not the training thing - I realise that CPD, as we'd call it in my job, is essential).

@sev112 I hope all's OK now.

being on the other side of it (something like 80% of our jobs are things that either a GP should've dealt with or have been left too long and now require hospital urgent treatment, this is having a knock on effect of staff burnout in the ambulance service). At no point did I say your frustrations aren't valid, literally the only thing I complained about was the poorly informed rant about GP training time. I realise that it is frustrating getting a GP appointment, all I did was talk about my personal experiences. Nothing I have said takes away anything from you, and nothing I have said is untrue or incorrect.