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[jaypo]

But penguin,isn't it terrible that this awful practice that surgeries have adopted means you delay calling them. What was wrong with the way it was before? Phone the surgery,they offer you a date and time.....job done 🤷‍♀️

[Tinkerbell]

Our surgery is horrendous. We have to either ring at 8 am or do Dr IQ. It is then decided by triage whether you get an appointment with GP/pharmacist/ paramedic. No choice of time or day and if they say they will phone you have to be able to answer at anytime between 8.30 am to 6.30.

On more than one ocassion my Dr IQ has been ignored, happened last week again .My young adult son is worried about a lump and he has to wait for 5 weeks for a face to face appointment. If you want to see a GP of your choice you can request but wait for my favourite GP can be up to 8 weeks.

[Penguin]

That's just awful Tinkerbell, your poor son. Is there a walk in you can go to? And they wonder why people are paying to see private GPs.

Jaypo, totally agree,  it worked fine before. It saddens me that this is where it has got to. I remember the good old days where if there were no appointments left, they'd always squeeze a sick child or an elderly person in. There was a lot more common sense used back then though. Even back a couple of years ago I'd always get my mum seen as it must have flagged up on her notes that she had a tendency to deteriorate quickly with infections. Again, common sense and often saved a hospital admission.

[VioletAquarius]

It's just so bad at the minute, over the past few years you can see how bad it has got, and it's only going to get worse.

[VioletAquarius]

Our surgery is horrendous. We have to either ring at 8 am or do Dr IQ. It is then decided by triage whether you get an appointment with GP/pharmacist/ paramedic. No choice of time or day and if they say they will phone you have to be able to answer at anytime between 8.30 am to 6.30.

On more than one ocassion my Dr IQ has been ignored, happened last week again .My young adult son is worried about a lump and he has to wait for 5 weeks for a face to face appointment. If you want to see a GP of your choice you can request but wait for my favourite GP can be up to 8 weeks.

This is so bad!

[CLKD]

Penguin - R U able to self refer your son to the appropriate Dept.?

[Penguin]

Penguin - R U able to self refer your son to the appropriate Dept.?

No he needs a paediatrician and possibly a urologist, no option to self refer.

[CLKD]

That's awful.  I would be banging on the surgery door ;-). 

[Penguin]

So after all that faff, email from the surgery saying they have made a face to face appointment for my son for 830am next Wednesday. It will be two weeks after I did the e-consult so not bad I guess, some people are waiting longer. And they have at least given me the doctor I requested, along with an apology that there were no after school appointments available. If he needs a follow up, I will ask the doctor to make it in her room before I leave! Still think the system is rubbish though but glad we are seeing his nice female GP.

[CLKD]

That's better, tnx for the update.  Take a list of worries with you ;-).

Take your diary along too. 

[Autumnwalks]

I went to my surgery five minutes away a while back with a urine sample as I was going on holiday and had that familiar twinge of cystitis. I thought best to get it sorted before I went than be sorry. Silly to think they could test it and let me know. Receptionist told me they throw away any samples brought in as they have no time for testing and to go home, make an e appointment and then they would decide if a doctor needed to ring me. The fact that I was going away and also have kidney disease made no difference.

[Penguin]

I went to my surgery five minutes away a while back with a urine sample as I was going on holiday and had that familiar twinge of cystitis. I thought best to get it sorted before I went than be sorry. Silly to think they could test it and let me know. Receptionist told me they throw away any samples brought in as they have no time for testing and to go home, make an e appointment and then they would decide if a doctor needed to ring me. The fact that I was going away and also have kidney disease made no difference.

That is awful. Would have taken two minutes to do a dip test at least. Must say, back in 2021 before my mum passed, our surgery were great in seeing her at short notice and the GP doing bloods himself when she was in there and there wasn't a nurse appointment available. It has probably changed now if the appointment system is anything to go by.

[DottyD68]

I was in my local surgery earlier and a very elderly lady shuffled to the desk with her walking stick. She asked the receptionist if she could make an appointment and was firmly told that she need to fill out an econsult online! I didn't hear the detail of all of the rest of the conversation but she just looked bewildered and the receptionist ended up spending a long time explaining what an econsult was and that it was the only way to get an appointment. I'm pretty sure this lady didn't have a PC or any clue how to go about completing an econsult. I just find it totally unacceptable that people are being forced down the digital route just to get basic medical services when they are not equipped to and never will be. So much focus is placed on being inclusive these days and yet this is an example of a total lack of inclusivity.

[CLKD]

That's awful.  I would probably have stepped in to point out to the receptionist that not every1 has access nor wants to own a computer.  It's dreadful 

[DottyD68]

I know. Tbh I did think about it but it actually made me feel quite upset. Having tried to get through on the phones myself I wouldn't have been surprised if this lady had decided to make the effort to go to surgery in person rather than wait for hours in a phone queue. She was obviously not very mobile so that would have been an effort for her. I can't imagine how stressful it is for her (& others like her). It's hard enough for people who know how to fill out an econsult.