Impossible doctors booking system!!
Discussion
I'm 41 and have started to get pains in my chest. It's worried me a lot and I want to see the doctor. So I ring up and ask if they can see me any time next week.
No. The first available appointment is the second week of February, 3 weeks away.
The only way is to ring up in the morning for one of 3 available slots that day. Now I've had this before. If you are not on permanent redial at 0830 your screwed. If you ring at 0845 all appointments for that day are gone. It's f
king ridiculous.
Is this common practice or just our stty GP booking system?
Yes I know, crap rant, more shouty swearing, 2/10.
No. The first available appointment is the second week of February, 3 weeks away.
The only way is to ring up in the morning for one of 3 available slots that day. Now I've had this before. If you are not on permanent redial at 0830 your screwed. If you ring at 0845 all appointments for that day are gone. It's f
king ridiculous.Is this common practice or just our s
tty GP booking system?Yes I know, crap rant, more shouty swearing, 2/10.
Common practice IME.
I had a swollen lymph node and a strange rash, turned out just to be Shingles that I had diagnosed in seconds by a nurse, not a GP. You google the symptoms and it could be anything including cancer. Trying to see a GP with any sort of worthwhile urgency was impossible. You're not allowed to book an appointment seemingly at any time (< 2 weeks), and have to ring and ring and ring from 8am onwards on the hope that you get through, then you have to choose from an incredibly limited selection of times.
The only other suggestion was 111.
Pointless and pathetic.
I did think about asking if I could hang around outside the surgery and kill the first Eastern European freeloader immigrant and take their appointment instead... but not on that particular day...
The system has 3 responsibilities to the people - Education, Safety and Healthcare. It's pretty much fail, fail, fail these days.
I had a swollen lymph node and a strange rash, turned out just to be Shingles that I had diagnosed in seconds by a nurse, not a GP. You google the symptoms and it could be anything including cancer. Trying to see a GP with any sort of worthwhile urgency was impossible. You're not allowed to book an appointment seemingly at any time (< 2 weeks), and have to ring and ring and ring from 8am onwards on the hope that you get through, then you have to choose from an incredibly limited selection of times.
The only other suggestion was 111.
Pointless and pathetic.
I did think about asking if I could hang around outside the surgery and kill the first Eastern European freeloader immigrant and take their appointment instead... but not on that particular day...
The system has 3 responsibilities to the people - Education, Safety and Healthcare. It's pretty much fail, fail, fail these days.
Then they wonder why people go to A&E.
Really those people are making a logical decision. Get an appointment with the GP and if it needs further investigation sent away and added to the queue and then back to wait for the results and so on.
Roll up to A&E and after the wait and being seen to if it needs further tests then off you go at the front of the queue.
/complete cynic.
Obviously if you use the keywords that push buttons you will get seen by the GP and if really necessary an ambulance sent for if things are bad. But essentially even the system recognises that the A&Emob are making a logical decision.
Hope you get fixed up OP. Fingers crossed for you.
Really those people are making a logical decision. Get an appointment with the GP and if it needs further investigation sent away and added to the queue and then back to wait for the results and so on.
Roll up to A&E and after the wait and being seen to if it needs further tests then off you go at the front of the queue.
/complete cynic.
Obviously if you use the keywords that push buttons you will get seen by the GP and if really necessary an ambulance sent for if things are bad. But essentially even the system recognises that the A&Emob are making a logical decision.
Hope you get fixed up OP. Fingers crossed for you.
Ring 111
I had chest pains during August bank holiday. 111 were really good. After a long chat passed me through to my local out of hours service. Another long (valuable) chat with a doctor. He offered to arrange for an ambulance to take me to A&E. I opted for my daughter to drive me. Four hours later after ECG, x-ray and blood tests all OK and I went home. The culprit seemed to be the hypertension drugs. Changed to a new type of medicine and all OK so far.
I had chest pains during August bank holiday. 111 were really good. After a long chat passed me through to my local out of hours service. Another long (valuable) chat with a doctor. He offered to arrange for an ambulance to take me to A&E. I opted for my daughter to drive me. Four hours later after ECG, x-ray and blood tests all OK and I went home. The culprit seemed to be the hypertension drugs. Changed to a new type of medicine and all OK so far.
Wow. Have just looked at the GP's website to find the name of my doctor. Noticed that there are 2 GP's, 2 nurses and 10 office staff. Even if some of them are part time, does it really need 10 administrative staff to support 4 medical people??
I'm obviously very out of touch with what goes on here.
I'm obviously very out of touch with what goes on here.
Our surgery does this. But I've found that if you phone mid-morning, you might be lucky and get a cancellation. It doesn't always work, but it often does.
Our surgery has a one-hour slot in the afternoons for "random" appointments too. You have to phone and announce your intention to attend, and then be there at 15:00. (I've not tried this, but apparently they won't let you in if you turn up after 15:00.) Might be worth seeing whether your surgery does something similar.
Our surgery has a one-hour slot in the afternoons for "random" appointments too. You have to phone and announce your intention to attend, and then be there at 15:00. (I've not tried this, but apparently they won't let you in if you turn up after 15:00.) Might be worth seeing whether your surgery does something similar.
warp9 said:
Wow. Have just looked at the GP's website to find the name of my doctor. Noticed that there are 2 GP's, 2 nurses and 10 office staff. Even if some of them are part time, does it really need 10 administrative staff to support 4 medical people??
I'm obviously very out of touch with what goes on here.
i'd suspect that most of the admin staff are part time I'm obviously very out of touch with what goes on here.
to run a surgery with one HCP working you need 2 admin staff most of the time - one to man the desk and one to man the phones etc ...
also in that 10 admin staff are you including the practice manager and any finance person ?
CHest pain especially in someone of the OPs age would be assumed to be Cardiac in orgin until disrpoven and a GP won;t be able to do that.
all too often people complain about 'can;t get a GP appointment' are simply not being clear when they ring / call in to the Surgery - if you need an Emergency Appointment say so ...
all too often people complain about 'can;t get a GP appointment' are simply not being clear when they ring / call in to the Surgery - if you need an Emergency Appointment say so ...
We found the opposite with 111 when we rang about our son getting ill. Dumb questions like "how is he talking to you" were asked about a 9 month old.
We hung up and called an ambulance instead, good job we did aswell as he was having a severe allergic reaction that required him to be admitted to hospital.
We hung up and called an ambulance instead, good job we did aswell as he was having a severe allergic reaction that required him to be admitted to hospital.
Well I rang 111 this morning and found them to be very good. It was a bit repetitive going from operator to the next medical person and a bit tick box question set, but it was very thorough and helped put my mind at ease.
They have told me to go and see the GP ASAP and as a few people have suggested, mention chest pains to the GP receptionist and appointments will open. However my practice is closed this afternoon.
Back to the 0830 am phone bun fight.
They have told me to go and see the GP ASAP and as a few people have suggested, mention chest pains to the GP receptionist and appointments will open. However my practice is closed this afternoon.
Back to the 0830 am phone bun fight.
warp9 said:
Well I rang 111 this morning and found them to be very good. It was a bit repetitive going from operator to the next medical person and a bit tick box question set, but it was very thorough and helped put my mind at ease.
<snip>.
it is a 'tick box ' question set , the Pathways system is designed to allow more assessment by lay operators than the old NHS Direct system and with a better general health queries question set than AMPDS. <snip>.
it is important to remember that 111 uses more lay people than NHSD did and like the 999 call takers they are band 3 /4 none clinicians with potentially little or no real clinical exposure
If you mention chest pains they should be asking about other symptoms - pins and needles in left arm and/or up the left side of the neck, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest (and "please can you describe how your chest feels for me?"), vomiting (I could go on but it's pretty clear after these Qs if there's a potentially serious issue) - in the following 30 seconds or so 
.
Despite answering all these questions affirmatively (and agreeing that it feels like they have a belt round their rib cage that is being pulled tighter and tighter), it is worrying how many patients are then insistent that they will see their GP and decline advice to ring 999 now
.
.Despite answering all these questions affirmatively (and agreeing that it feels like they have a belt round their rib cage that is being pulled tighter and tighter), it is worrying how many patients are then insistent that they will see their GP and decline advice to ring 999 now
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