Agggggh getting hold of a doc!!

[Stuvart]

Well I've had an interesting but frustrating day trying to and finally managing to get hold of my docs surgery (group practice).
3 1/2+ hours on hold in total first hour (phoned at 8.01am) in queue then cut off at #3, 2nd hour 10 minutes cut off at #1 in the queue finally after 1 hour 25 mins got to speak to the receptionist for all of 2 minutes that was needed.
Then the wait for the doc to call back.......
3.25pm a 4 minute chat with a doc and I've got amoxycillen and mometasone furoate nasel spray for infected sinusitis which is strange as I was calling about dizzyness (I've got vertigo and disequilibrium both of which play up when my sugars go above 9ish or get an illness) which was sorted (symptoms anyway)by betahistamines last time. the mometasone could rise my bs and the circle would continue.

Sorry for the rant and essay just needed to get it of my chest.

 

[rebrascora]

That does sound incredibly frustrating!

Do you have the "Ask My GP" online system or an equivalent? I am not sure what the other systems are called.

It works brilliantly at my GP surgery and saves all that sitting on the phone trying to get through. Basically you compose an email of your symptoms/concerns etc through the system and you can include photos if applicable and then send it off and the Dr reads it usually within a day and replies. If they need tests done they will book an appointment for you with the nurse to take the necessary samples etc. It is how I was diagnosed with diabetes. Composed my email on the Sunday night and sent it off, doc read it the next morning first thing and replied saying she had made an appointment for me with the nurse for a blood sample and 2 days later I had to go in and see the nurse because my HbA1c was 112.

I have used it for other things and always incredibly prompt responses and issues dealt with. No aggravation at all. Absolutely love the system and I am pretty sure the doctors do too. I get white coat syndrome so if I can sit in the comfort of my own home and write down all the things I need to tell the Dr without getting interrupted or distracted, it is so much easier and no sitting in a queue on the phone for endless hours. Worth looking at your practice website to see if they have such a service.

 

[Stuvart]

Sadly no they don't use that its the phone or nothing I'm just glad it wasn't really bad, and they wonder why people end up at a&e with minor stuff‍♂️

 

[helli]

@Stuvart, that sounds terrible. I am glad you finally got through.

I was recently advised by my pharmacy to see a doctor asap. As the surgery was next door, I went in and was told "there is no doctor on duty at the moment."
Thankfully, the receptionist was able to put me on the phone list for the afternoon and texted me a link to upload photos so I spoke to a GP a few hours later.
I was disappointed how unprepared she was - she had not looked at the photos and had no clue I had diabetes. After I had pointed these out and she had diagnosed the problem, when she was completing the prescriptions, she said, "You can continue to take your insulin with these tablets." I am not sure se realised the implications if I stopped my insulin for the course of the drugs (a week).

Still, I am grateful I had an appointment, diagnosis and prescription within a few hours without hanging on the phone for hours.

 

[SueEK]

What a nightmare, do your surgery not have EConsult that you can fill out online, it is a sure way to get a reply/phone call from your GP, if I need an appointment or advice I always use this system and it is great. Working in a surgery myself please believe it is not that the drs dont want to see you, they definitely do and want to return to all face to face consultations but because of the enormous strain on resources they cannot always do this. I hope you are all sorted now x

 

[trophywench]

We don't have eConsult, and when you rang the surgery as long as you used a mobile phone, you could press 1 on the keypad and save your position in the Q and they rang you back once you got to No2, but when I rang this afternoon, I was No 7 and just had to wait, no instruction to dial X to save the place. You could not do that if using a landline. Should you ever have tests that are sent off to the hospital, only if they are high or low so they need to prescribe something to correct whatever, do they contact you, otherwise if you want your results, you must ring on a Tuesday between the hours of 12.30 and 2pm. You cannot ask them for repeat prescriptions (must be done by phone to the POD or online via the NHS App) and if they wish you to have a blood test a receptionist rings you and says Dr Bloggs wants you to have a blood test so how do you want the request - email, post or will you call in and collect the request? You will need to arrange the test via Swiftqueue. Because the surgery has stopped doing tests where you need to send samples off to the lab. Various places have phlebotomists you can book with. No idea whether you can still get an ECG, what you do with urine samples, or a diagnostic ultrasound, or for what reason you'd ever be allowed to actually see a doctor.