Why can't I use any GP?
Discussion
Saturday before last I fell on the ice and separated my clavicle and sprained my shoulder. The doc at the hospital put a sling on me, gave me some pain killers and told me to make an appointment to see my GP after a week if the pain wasn't subsiding as I may have done some other damage and will possibly need physio.
I called my GP surgery yesterday and the earliest date I could get an appointment to see my doctor was Friday the 20th, the receptionist told me that one GP was off sick and another on annual leave.
When I asked if I could see another doctor, she repeated about the sick/holiday etc..... so I re-worded what I was meaning. Could I go to see another doctor at another practice (in my area) - the answer was 'no'.
So, why not? why is it not possible to get an earlier appointment at another practice and have my medical file sent over (or my medical file online)?
I called my GP surgery yesterday and the earliest date I could get an appointment to see my doctor was Friday the 20th, the receptionist told me that one GP was off sick and another on annual leave.
When I asked if I could see another doctor, she repeated about the sick/holiday etc..... so I re-worded what I was meaning. Could I go to see another doctor at another practice (in my area) - the answer was 'no'.
So, why not? why is it not possible to get an earlier appointment at another practice and have my medical file sent over (or my medical file online)?
Have you not got a local NHS drop in centre you can use instead, try phoning 111 and explain, they can book you an appointment? If this happened with my doctors I'd be raising an official complaint with the practice manager, perhaps I'm just lucky, sometimes our receptionists can be a pain in the arse but they never flat refuse.
Poor service from your surgery. They should have locum cover. Go to your local walk in centre. Your details will be noted and the GP will get a black mark on his appraisal/quality audit for too many walk ins. Its a rough job being a GP nowadays but they should at least be able to keep on top of basic admin.
In terms of the paperwork it's not just sending over a file, it would require signing you up as a new patient at that practice (which you may want to do anyhow as it doesn't sound like these are doing what you need) - they get paid per patient per year, there's no scope for a different practice to see their patients.
However - most practices keep some appointments back to release 5, 3, 2 and 1 day ahead so it may well be worth ringing up early each morning to see if any appointments are available.
However - most practices keep some appointments back to release 5, 3, 2 and 1 day ahead so it may well be worth ringing up early each morning to see if any appointments are available.
Rick101 said:
Do you know how much it is?
Is everyone worth the same?
If you move part year do they get a pro rata payment.
It's a pittance, yes I believe so (maybe different for under 18s etc?), and no idea sorry. Will ask at next patient engagement commissioning group thingywhatsit.Is everyone worth the same?
If you move part year do they get a pro rata payment.
Registering a new patient and accessing all their medical history is a 30 second job. Assuming you are on the same system, of which there are only 2 main ones (in use in Leeds anyway).
Not sure if Scotland is set up the same but UK GP practices are not "the NHS". They are provate contractors that invoice the NHS based on many, many factors like caseload count, QOF points and all manner of stuff that I know not enough about to comment.
Basically, if your local practice is a bit rubbish, and you have another within easy reach then vote with your feet and move. You could be out of the frying pan and into the fire like but worth looking into.
With regard to your shoulder problem it sounds like you need assessment by a physio, or if bad enough an MSK doctor or even orthopedics, this would need a referral from a GP or you could find a private physio and get an assessment within days rather than weeks, to at least give you an idea of what bit you've broken.
s
t luck anyway, shoulders are an utter bd when they don't work properly.
Not sure if Scotland is set up the same but UK GP practices are not "the NHS". They are provate contractors that invoice the NHS based on many, many factors like caseload count, QOF points and all manner of stuff that I know not enough about to comment.
Basically, if your local practice is a bit rubbish, and you have another within easy reach then vote with your feet and move. You could be out of the frying pan and into the fire like but worth looking into.
With regard to your shoulder problem it sounds like you need assessment by a physio, or if bad enough an MSK doctor or even orthopedics, this would need a referral from a GP or you could find a private physio and get an assessment within days rather than weeks, to at least give you an idea of what bit you've broken.
s
t luck anyway, shoulders are an utter bd when they don't work properly.Rick101 said:
Do you know how much it is?
Is everyone worth the same?
If you move part year do they get a pro rata payment.
On average, £120 per patient per year. That's not all to the GP though, it has to cover the costs of running the surgery such as building costs, utility costs, staff costs, etc.Is everyone worth the same?
If you move part year do they get a pro rata payment.
Toynbee in the Grauniad
dave_s13 said:
Registering a new patient and accessing all their medical history is a 30 second job. Assuming you are on the same system, of which there are only 2 main ones (in use in Leeds anyway).
If I remember rightly there are 3 main primary care software systems. EMIS (now mostly on EMISWeb) and TPP Systmone are the main ones with INPS Vision being another. There are a few using older systems such as EMIS PCS as well. Factor into that also the number of Drs that flat out refuse to use software at their disposal for electronic storage of docs and liking to "sit down" with the letters rather than using electronic workflowMost of Leeds will be on TPP. They're based in Horsforth, EMIS are a bit further afield in Rawdon
Most document transfer nowadays is fairly simple using these systems although the two don't communicate overly well with each other (one of these companies are notoriously difficult when it comes to working with third parties but I won't name and shame), however this is improving all the time and the communication between secondary care using software such as EDT Hub are improving rapidly. The last that I heard there are moves afoot to force the companies to open up their software to allow better interaction
But I don't work in that field any more
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