Getting a doctors appointment

lika_86

Go private. The private GP service I have through work is amazing, there are always same day appointments available (them being 2 minutes around the corner is a bonus).

[Deleted User]

I hardly ever go to the doctor but I was unwell a couple of years ago - serious d and v. I knew the procedure so took myself to bed with lots of water and after a couple of days of no improvement and a packet of Immodium, I rang my GP surgery for an appt. They couldn't give me one but they put me through to the triage nurse. I explained the symptoms and that I had been ill for 4 days now - unable to keep anything, even water, down and was feeling extremely unwell. The nurse said there is no treatment for d & v, take immodium, and drink those electrolyte replacements. I explained I had been doing that for 3 days but nothing was helping. She was adamant - nothing can be done, no point in seeing a doctor.
I continued to get more unwell. After 6 days one of my friends came round to see me. She was horrified (she's a district nurse) and said I HAD to see a doctor. She said I looked like the person in that painting The Scream :eek:
It was Sunday so my daughter rang the GP surgery the next day and refused to get off the phone until they gave me an appointment. By then I was too weak to get off the settee, I was so dehydrated. My daughter had to virtually carry me to the car in my t-shirt, knickers and old bedsocks I'd been lying in for several days. When the GP saw me she rang an ambulance and admitted me to hospital - I had salmonella and was in hospital for 5 days on a drip.
I do feel resentful that i was fobbed off -if it had been caught earlier I wouldn't have ended up being so ill

j.e.j.

lika_86 wrote: »

Go private. The private GP service I have through work is amazing, there are always same day appointments available (them being 2 minutes around the corner is a bonus).

I know you say you get yours through work, but generally how would one go about getting to see a private GP? I'm guessing the private prescriptions are pricey (?) but if needs must it's good to know there is that option.

mcja

lostinrates wrote: »

There was a piece by dr mark porter in one of the papers recently. He said he couldn't recommend it but that people who went and sat in the surgery usually got seen

I did this once with my daughter. She had a tooth abcess, while that was being packed she was falling asleep, raging temp, rolly eyes the lot. Walked from dentist to docs, sat there for 45mins to get a rollicking from the nurse "we would have rung you back", to be told she had a urine infection, another course antibiotics and she got better. Fockers, she was 4 at the time.

*zippy*

We are in the catchment of 2 surgeries, ours we have the ring at 8am or 2pm and tell the receptionist why you need to see the Dr for a same day appointment, if there is any left, otherwise wait 3 or 4 weeks to see a particular Dr. The other surgery someone I work with uses and they they can only pre-book appointments so she can never get seen on the same day, they can book online though, which I wish ours did.

It seems to be swings and roundabouts, DH refuses to tell the receptionists what's wrong with him, but I don't mind, it's probably to stop those who treat it as a day out and go for the least trivial thing.

A friend has the best option, she is good friends with her next door neighbour, a GP, so she just pops around there for a cuppa and diagnosis

lostinrates

j.e.j. wrote: »

I know you say you get yours through work, but generally how would one go about getting to see a private GP? I'm guessing the private prescriptions are pricey (?) but if needs must it's good to know there is that option.

Good private gps are amazing. Along with the private consultants they referred me to one save my life.

But out here in the sticks they are few and far between and not practical for much of the 'fire fighting' rathe than routine care a gp surgery needs to provide. My nearest private go is actually terrible, we tried him some years ago and he simply told me ( then aged twenty three or four' well, none of us are getting any younger ) about some of my symptoms. There are some in a mother city but its a good drive, plus time for parking, two ours round trip to see the doctor issuing it for me tbh.

Edit. Prescriptions vary in cost because you are paying the actual cost of the drug rather than an average nhs cost. Some will be very much more expensive, a few will be cheaper.

iammumtoone

Our doctors are ring on the day at 8am (by 8.15 all the appointments have gone). The reason most surgery's do this is to save on lost appointments, alot of pre-booked ones are forgotten (person feels better so doesn't turn up) so booking on the day cuts out a lot of the missed appointments.

I find the best way around this is to see the nurse, they always tend to have appointments available and if they can't help a doctor always turns up.

Failing that our doctors are very good in that a doctor will phone you the same day (but you have to ask for this) and on occasions after speaking to them they have booked an appointment for me that day.

Bangton

My doctors are rubbish. There's 3 of them. You can guarantee 2 of them will be rude and the other, although ok personality wise is a bit s**t. There are no female doctors either but they pride themselves on having a nurse who's jack of all trades!

Mine operate a call at 8.30am policy which since I start work at that time 25 miles away from home is a bit of a pain if they then don't have appointments. Usually I find they will have a slot at 10am or so, so I stroll in work at 11.30am having wasted time just waiting to go. They never ever have anything earlier when I've tried, even when I've got through at 8.33am (as I did yesterday).

Nowadays I triage myself 'how bad is it really Bangton?' 'Give it three weeks and if no better go to docs!' Not the best policy but so far I'm alive!

What really really gets my goose (and this may be precisely because I'm pregnant) is midwife appointments! I'm at the stage now where I have to go every 2 - 3 weeks and what a complete pest that is! The midwife works once a week, on a Wednesday. When I asked what time I could book in from she only starts at noon so nothing before that, when I asked what is latest appointment it's 3.30pm? So she works 3.5hrs a week, once a week at my surgery (I know she will cover elsewhere!). I asked may I have 3.30pm then considering I have to leave work just over an hour or so earlier than that to get back.

'Well' said the receptionist 'Not really, if she isn't fully booked up for the day she doesn't like us booking in the last slot because she has to wait around. Besides you do get paid for antenatal appointments.'

For 'reasonable' time to attend them not 3 or 4 hrs because she doesn't want to sit around and wait for someone to finish work. No idea what the other expectant mums do...they must surely work too?! Weird system! Sorry for the rant!

daisiegg

j.e.j. wrote: »

They need to be made aware of this (preferably in writing), as they're discriminating against you by insisting you use the phone.

My surgery now has this 'Call First' thing where you phone in, tell the receptionist what's wrong with you (:eek:) then the receptionist writes it down and hands it to the doctor, who calls you back, if they have time, and asks what you need to see the doctor for. You explain again in more detail and they will either book you in to see them that day or just tell you you don't need an appointment.

Talk about making life complicated!! What was wrong with phoning and booking a non-urgent appointment, FGS.

Mine has this, and they have NO pre-bookable appointments whatsoever. It is absolutely, utterly ridiculous.

lostinrates

Bangton wrote: »

My doctors are rubbish. There's 3 of them. You can guarantee 2 of them will be rude and the other, although ok personality wise is a bit s**t. There are no female doctors either but they pride themselves on having a nurse who's jack of all trades!

Mine operate a call at 8.30am policy which since I start work at that time 25 miles away from home is a bit of a pain if they then don't have appointments. Usually I find they will have a slot at 10am or so, so I stroll in work at 11.30am having wasted time just waiting to go. They never ever have anything earlier when I've tried, even when I've got through at 8.33am (as I did yesterday).

Nowadays I triage myself 'how bad is it really Bangton?' 'Give it three weeks and if no better go to docs!' Not the best policy but so far I'm alive!

What really really gets my goose (and this may be precisely because I'm pregnant) is midwife appointments! I'm at the stage now where I have to go every 2 - 3 weeks and what a complete pest that is! The midwife works once a week, on a Wednesday. When I asked what time I could book in from she only starts at noon so nothing before that, when I asked what is latest appointment it's 3.30pm? So she works 3.5hrs a week, once a week at my surgery (I know she will cover elsewhere!). I asked may I have 3.30pm then considering I have to leave work just over an hour or so earlier than that to get back.

'Well' said the receptionist 'Not really, if she isn't fully booked up for the day she doesn't like us booking in the last slot because she has to wait around. Besides you do get paid for antenatal appointments.'

For 'reasonable' time to attend them not 3 or 4 hrs because she doesn't want to sit around and wait for someone to finish work. No idea what the other expectant mums do...they must surely work too?! Weird system! Sorry for the rant!

Sometimes it makes more sense to be at a gp near where you work not where you live. It gives you more choice. Probably not when you are just about to go on maternity leave, but Might be worth seeing if would suit you better if you plan to go back to work.