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Developing a phobia for visiting surgery

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Northerner

Northerner

Admin (Retired)
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I've noticed on the last two occasions that I've had to visit my doctor's surgery that I have started to feel very uncomfortable about being there, more specifically about having to sit in the waiting room waiting for my appointment. I think this is due to the fact that I'm not actually ill, I'm pretty healthy generally, and it is the fact of having to sit amongst coughing spluttering people spreading all sorts of possible infections - particularly with all this norovirus going around. I feel that I'm more likely to become ill from going to the doctor's than by staying away! 😱

Anyone else feel like this, or am I just weird (as usual)?
 
I feel exactly the same. I hate sitting in the waiting room with the coughers as I'm susceptible to picking up their germs. 😡
 
Alan S, a member and infrequent visitor, lives in a town in Oz. When he has an appointment he gets the Receptionist to ring him exactly when his turn has come.
Mind you he has had a serious medical condition (CLL) and doesn't want to sit among the old wheezers.
 
I've felt like that for some time Alan - especially when appointment times shift and waiting times are impacted. I always try to book appointments early in the day to keep waiting times down.

The very worst is always A&E. I had to take my daughter recently (suspected appendicitis, but all clear in the end) and we were in the questionable soup that is waiting room soup for 8 hours! 😱
 
McDonagh I immediately thought of Alan S too, when I read Northie's post ! He's said numerous times he does that. But there again he travels all over the world (just got back from Burma) and you know yourself if one person gets on a plane with TB they say about 10 will have it soon after it arrives, yet that doesn't seem to worry him over much !

OTOH he is quite tall so perhaps he's usually breathing cleaner air than short arses? LOL
 
Like Mike, I always try and get the earliest appointment of the day, less chance of them running late (providing they turn up on time of course) ergo less time having to sit in the waiting room staring at the screen waiting for my name to appear!
 
Oh PS !

I went with eldest step-daughter the other week (cos doc weren't really listening to her - she has existing health probs so the new symptoms were being blamed on that instead of being investigated, I empathise with that - so I wanted to give her moral support etc - it worked) and in the waiting room were a mother and child who goes to the same school as her 8 yo. Daughter was talking to the little girl and gave her a hug when we went in to see doc.

2 days later - daughter rang to say she had nits ...... and none of her kids had had them for several years. (she's paranoid about em so Fat Chance in her house - but at least she had the shampoo immediately to hand ....)
 
Whenever I have had a 9,30 appoinmnet (because he wont start at 8,30 or 9am) he has turned up late by at least 20 minutes, but I am not allowed to be late by even 20 seconds....
 
Our surgery has about 4 chairs "round the corner" in what's basically a corridor. I always choose one of those as it's separated from the majority of the coughers and sneezers.
 
I don't like sitting in with all the germs either. Early appt seems to be the best way to try to avoid this and be in and out as soon as possible.
 
Caroline said:
Whenever I have had a 9,30 appoinmnet (because he wont start at 8,30 or 9am) he has turned up late by at least 20 minutes, but I am not allowed to be late by even 20 seconds....
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This is something that absolutely infuriates me, one rule for them and quite a different set for us, and the po faced looks you get if you dare complain.
It's as if our time is not as important as there's, aye right!
 
I have COPD so when I visited my GP I decided to wait in the children's area hoping to avoid the coughing/sneezing going on in the main area. The result was, I later developed shingles having caught chickenpox from one (or more) of the kiddies! I have now resorted to checking in at reception and then waiting in the foyer and watching through the glass for my name to appear on the screen.
 
I always ask at the desk for the waiting time for my particular doc., then come back in - my pride stops me acting like a herded animal!!
 
Jill said:
I have now resorted to checking in at reception and then waiting in the foyer and watching through the glass for my name to appear on the screen.
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Screen??? You have a screen??? Very 21st century! We still have a cranky old receptionist calling out your name, and woe betide you if you miss it. Never repeated!
 
Tina63 said:
Screen??? You have a screen??? Very 21st century! We still have a cranky old receptionist calling out your name, and woe betide you if you miss it. Never repeated!
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I remember going to Student Health (many years ago!) because I had gone deaf. I didn't hear my name being called - obviously! - and it took a while before someone came over and told me it was my turn. I was directed upstairs where there were three doors and had to wait until the doctor opened one of them before I knew which one was for me. I remember thinking how discriminatory it was at the time - what if you were permanently deaf? For me it was just that I needed my ears syringing. Even now though, I sometimes don't quite catch my name and there doesn't seem to be anything in place for people who are hard of hearing in the surgery :(
 
And with all the coughing and spluttering going on it's often hard to hear anyway.

I think sick people should be banned from the doctors!!!
 
Tina63 said:
And with all the coughing and spluttering going on it's often hard to hear anyway.

I think sick people should be banned from the doctors!!!
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Hopefully, before too long, you won't need to actually be there physically unless you have something that needs prodding or poking! 🙂
 
Tina63 said:
Screen??? You have a screen??? Very 21st century! We still have a cranky old receptionist calling out your name, and woe betide you if you miss it. Never repeated!
Click to expand...

If they spent as much money on patient care etc., as they do tarting up the surgery, I'd be a lot happier.
 
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