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Im not the sort of person who goes to see a doctor frequently for the most insignificant ailment. When nagged enough however, even I relent and phone up the local surgery to make an appointment. My gripe isnt about the doctor's at the surgery; its about the difficulty I had trying to get an appointment this morning.
Heres how it works at my local clinic. If you ring reception and just ask to make an appointment, you will most likely get allocated one some time the following week, in some cases as much five or six days from the date that you originally call them. Now I dont know much about medicine or the human body, but I suspect that, like me, most people seek the advice of a doctor when they actually have a problem, not when they think they may have one in five days time.
Do we have to be seriously ill or on deaths doorstep before you get an appointment? It would seem so, because on this particular occasion the only way I could get someone to take a look at my hand was to insist that I had to see someone today as it was an emergency. Even then, the most I could expect was to see the nurse rather than my GP. Either they are just extremely busy at the moment, or this is some sort of screening process. How can the receptionist tell who needs medical attention and who can be put off for a few days?
Later, after the appointment Okay, I cant pronounce the word but needless to say it is not something that goes away by itself! If I had left it, the infection could have spread further apparently, and by then things are way more serious. I have been given another appointment this afternoon with the doctor in person, so perhaps it was a good idea to insist that I see someone today after all.
I wonder how many people take the first option and delay treatment for a few days? I also wonder how often this has made things worse than they need be. Isnt preventative medicine supposed to be the way to go?
Perhaps they need to look into different ways of doing things. More nurses for that initial consultation perhaps. It certainly worked for me because she knew what the problem was and how it needed to be treated. Not everyone needs to see a doctor the same day, on the other hand some people definitely do.
Alternatively how about an e-clinic? I could quite easily have emailed the doctor/nurse a description of the symptoms; possibly even supported with a photograph (who doesnt have a camera phone these days?). A quick decision could be made whether or not I need an appointment that day or if it could be deferred to when the clinic isnt so busy.
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He looked at my leg from a distance and prescribed painkillers. I didn't know nurses had x-ray vision but I did know that it was more serious than anything pain killers could solve. I noticed that he wrote in the notes that I was overweight and obviously made the judgement that the condition was causing my pain (it was actually a tearing tendon that would rip again in 1 weeks time)
I changed surgeries recently because of a house move. I asked the lady on reception if I could book an appointment....she literally laughed....i'm not kidding....she laughed at me for presuming I might get to see a doctor!
I tried for 6 months to find an NHS dentist, nobody is taking them in but rather strangely, the same surgeries always have unlimited capacity for private patients (I wonder why that is?) There also, is a waiting time of 2 weeks before you get an appointment and which can also be cancelled at short notice.
I rang 111 today (Saturday) on the advice of a pharmacist because of a possible infection from an extracted tooth. I was 11th in the queue. 5 minutes later I was 10th in the queue...progress! 15 minutes later I was still 10th in the queue and beginning to get fed up.....20 minutes later I was 9th in the queue....25 minutes later I was 9th in the queue....I hung up and bought some stronger pain killers
Luckily I am somebody who rarely needs to see a doctor but I hope to god it's never an emergency because I can see myself dying before a week before i'm seen...
Anyway, I don't usually need to see a doctor, probably a couple times a year? But on the occasion I did urgently need one, traces of blood in urine following cystitis, they were booked up and even telling the receptionist how much discomfort i was in there was nothing she could find. so I went to the walk in center only to be seen within 30 minutes of arriving. Gave a sample and the doctor tested it there and then. AND the doctor who saw me even gave the antibiotics for free from a locked cupboard in his room. So it saved me money :)
When I have gone into the doctors to collect my mums perscription I cant help but notice how empty the waiting room is. I often feel like asking the receptionist how can you ever tell me its booked up when no ones even here??
Gauranteed, if we had to pay to see a doctor they will have appointments free all the time because all the ones who go for the slightest things (my neighbour said she was going to go once over a cold) will think twice and stop clogging the appointments.
Once through the call centre operator completely disregarded my request and totally ignored my medical condition. I was actually giving the clinic I attend over 6 weeks notice that I needed to change my appointment for a week later. All the appointment centre operator could offer me was an appointment 6 weeks beyond the one I had booked. I told them that I must have a much earlier appointment: to no avail.
I wrote in using email, outlining the above case, saying I must have a much, much earlier appointment. An automatic email told me I would get a response within 48 hours [a feeble response time]. It is now 4 days later and no response at all.
The sytem has completely collapsed, even thought the operator told me during this hole saga that they have now got a new system in place.
Maybe my Bp 170/105 isnt a priority?
Here the New Norm is between 6 to 8 weeks, this has happened only in the last few months, however if it is urgent one can if you are more than lucky get a appointment within 1 day, or are told by the receptionists to go directly to A&E.
SusanR