Happy with your GP?

[Lee Richards]

So what do you expect then and are you prepared to pay more money so that can be achieved?

Just on the NHS aspect alone, the level of service most get throughout their lives far exceeds the financial contributions they make towards it.
Some never ever pay a bean.

A standard heart bypass costs £17,000 and then there are the after care costs.

 

[Arry]

I'd at least expect the doctors surgeries to be open to patients

 

[Lee Richards]

Can only speak for mine but its open six days a week and has been seven when inoculations and testing has been ongoing.

 

[angel]

No, far from happy.
Latest example happened today, on Friday I tried to book a telephone call with my normal GP, was told he was fully booked for next 2 weeks then he is away on leave for 2 weeks, I asked if I could get a call from one of the other 4 GP's in the surgery, I was told someone would ring me back on Tuesday, no specific time, just on Tuesday, at 5pm tonight my phone rang once and stopped, I check the missed calls and see it's the GP, I instantly ring back, go through the automated service and get put on hold with the promise of being next in the call queue, eventually I get through to the receptionist and explain I had just missed the call and how the phone only rang once,.... apparently I am wasting there time if I cannot be bothered to answer when they call and I need to re-book in the morning as our systems are shutdown now, this was 17:08 when the surgery is open until 6pm.

When the service is good it's very good, but it's faults make me want to go private.

I had pretty much the same thing happen its very frustrating. Why is it not possible to give say, a 2 hour slot when you will be contacted. I know one 86 yr old chap whose callback came at 10pm...
The reception staff may well be under pressure but that doesnt give them the right to be rude and impatient.
My wife has awful difficulties on the telephone because she has a stammer, trying to get your name out with someone badgering you is not helpful. They have even put the phone down on her.
I spoke to the practise manager one day and asked her if she actually read any of the bad reviews the practise was receiving, she basically said if you dont like it go elsewhere.

 

[tipitinmick]

Sounds like it all depends where you live.

 

[angel]

Sounds like it all depends where you live.

My guess is if you come from the home counties your face to face appt is not a problem, up here in the NW we cant get a face to face at all.
Maybe if the docs were on appts instead of sitting on the phone calling more folk would be happy.

 

[tipitinmick]

My guess is if you come from the home counties your face to face appt is not a problem, up here in the NW we cant get a face to face at all.
Maybe if the docs were on appts instead of sitting on the phone calling more folk would be happy.

We aren’t quite as bad as that in South Yorkshire but, if / when you can get through to your surgery and you insist on seeing a doctor then our wait time is between 4 to 6 weeks. And they never ever ever phone you back when they say they will. There’s no wonder our A&E is swamped.

 

[tipitinmick]

Slightly off topic but ……….

I’m sat in our surgery’s waiting room having waited weeks for an appointment when in walks an Asian guy. He walks over to the reception and asks to see a doctor. The receptionist asks if he has an appointment. He tells her no he does not. The receptionist says that he will have to make an appointment. That’s when he starts kicking off. Telling her he’s in soooooooo much pain etc etc. Eventually she rings the doctor and moments later the Asian gentleman is asked to sit in the waiting room with the rest of us. Low and behold he sits next to me. I say …. “ did you get an appointment then pal ? “ To which he replied …. “ yes, the doctor is going to see me in half an hour. “. Then he said something that took my breath away. He said ……. “ The trouble with you lot is you ask. We don’t. We demand. “.

 

[Simon R]

I'm not qualified to answer this question as I don't actually know who my GP is.

Prior to Covid I hadn't realised that the practice I was with had been split into four new ones - all in the same building as before and I apparently wasn't on the books of any of them. I only found this out when I needed my NHS number in order to book my Covid jab.
Anyway one of the four (the last one I phoned naturally) managed to find my details after I mentioned the name of a former GP that I did remember - apparently he had retired about 20 years ago but fortunately the receptionist had worked there nearer thirty and knew how to find the details of all his past patients. Patient is probably stretching things a little I actually only saw him once in about 1984 when I had suspected glandular fever - he took a blood sample and it turned out I had that other common teenage disease - BoneIdleItis

Anyway she furnished me with my NHS number, told me the name of the practice for future reference, and asked me to fill in an online health questionnaire. So I still don't know who my GP is but at least my details are now on the system. And if I have need of their services in the future I can refer back to this thread and add my whinge to the end

Simon

 

[62tucker]

Best solution
Don’t be bad.

 

[Zerkalo]

My brother in law was going on about the elderly patients he sees. "I'm 101 years old, why do I find it hard to breath?" and questions like that he gets asked, and he feels like saying, "because your lungs are 101 years old".

 

[62tucker]

Had flu jab today.
Doctors/pharmacy posted on Facetube last night
Walked in. Mask on.
Where u ok last year.
Yes.
Needle in. Never even felt it then or since.
Sometimes I think they don’t bother sticking it in.

 

[62tucker]

Remember when I turned 50 I had to go for cholesterol check up.
Nurse who done it was about 5 ft high and 5 foot wide and told me to cut out my butter and don’t drink more than 4 pints.

 

[G0zzer2]

My brother in law was going on about the elderly patients he sees. "I'm 101 years old, why do I find it hard to breath?" and questions like that he gets asked, and he feels like saying, "because your lungs are 101 years old".

Does he not understand that even at 101 people still feel they are 21, but that Nature has played a trick on them? It really is like that!! People in waiting rooms have told me that several times. That old "What do you expect at your age?" isn't sufficient nowadays to placate patients. They feel that a doctor should be able to explain why they can't breath. BUT I understand why he gets frustrated.

Perhaps modern society expects too much from doctors, in which case our government should explain that when the NHS was set up it was really expected to only deal with basic ailments. It was never envisaged that, for instance, it would offer free IVF treatnment for women who wanted a baby, nor that it would offer free plastic surgery for people who didn't like an aspect of their body. Once that happened it opened the floodgates.

I am afraid that when the NHS offers things like that our society thinks it should also be attending to actually keeping people alive who want to live, and that the NHS can do almost anything, which of course it can't!

 

[stump28]

We made drugs... we cock up people can die... how different is that to any job where your lack of diligence can cost lives...?
There are plenty of jobs, trades, vocations, where the same applies...

If you want to take that concept further... a doctor can get it right, but if we got it wrong, someone can still shuffle off his/her mortal coil... its a chain all the way through healthcare system...
Your point about other folks where the same applies just reinforces the notion that doctors are giving a substandard service by not opening their doors to patients... if everyone who has a job of great import shut up shop, we'd be arse deep in the cacky...

gonna have to agree to disagree on this Lee...

Sorry but not even close to being the same applies. The procedures applied to drugs manufacture does not compare with a decision or call a single doctor needs to make wether in a gp clinic, itu or a&e

 

[Arry]

Sorry but not even close to being the same applies. The procedures applied to drugs manufacture does not compare with a decision or call a single doctor needs to make wether in a gp clinic, itu or a&e

Really... make a mistake in production and some poor sod can die... possibly more if it's a big cock up.... it's part of a chain that filters down through the healthcare system... admittedly not as urgent as a docs work, but important nevertheless

 

[Lee Richards]

Look at it another way Arry.
Manufacturing processes will have QC or safety gates to try to eliminate the mistakes being made.

A medical professional misses something, makes the wrong diagnosis or prescription judgement and there is a chance its not going to be picked up until its to late.

 

[tipitinmick]

Had flu jab today.
Doctors/pharmacy posted on Facetube last night
Walked in. Mask on.
Where u ok last year.
Yes.
Needle in. Never even felt it then or since.
Sometimes I think they don’t bother sticking it in.

That’s cos ya a hard Geordie.

 

[62tucker]

That’s cos ya a hard Geordie.

Keep forgetting I’ve had it. Same with 2 covid jabs. No pain at all.
Watch me be bad tomorrow
Hope not. Setting off up north at 5:30
Hound on the beach by 10.
Side note. Car park is £4
Dog walkers before 10am and after 4pm. Free.
What’s not to like

 

[Arry]

Look at it another way Arry.
Manufacturing processes will have QC or safety gates to try to eliminate the mistakes being made.

A medical professional misses something, makes the wrong diagnosis or prescription judgement and there is a chance its not going to be picked up until its to late.

Both have an inbuilt flaw... the human aspect...
Try seeing it from another aspect... Doctor makes a mistake concerning a patient... worst case scenario is that patient dies...
If a mistake is made in drug production worst case scenario is many people could die... despite all the safeguards and process stops...
The human aspect is the common denominator...
To be frank doctors get it wrong a lot of the time and they get a reprimand and the practice insurance sorts out the issue...
A drug company gets it wrong, a Production Stop order is placed, its licence is pulled, and could go out of business and even more people die...

as I said earlier... we'll agree to disagree.. I'm done on this