Come back Thursday for a Drs appointment

[Berberis 10]

All Doctors surgerys embargo appointments for pressing issues on the day. They will either make them available to patients when they call first thing, or via their online booking systems. Normally between 8-8:30am. Then if all appointments are taken, further more urgent time slots are also kept so that the Drs can call patients and either diagnose over the phone or call them into the surgery for further discussion.

 

Being told to come back thursday would mean your pal didn't book early enough and they probably do not have an ailment that requires urgent attention. If they are unhappy with this they can always go to the drop in centre and wait for an appointment there.

[Jim Hardie 524]

Trotsky:| he ended up wi a brick hammer in his head and still couldn't get an appointment:hihi:

 

:hihi: :hihi:

Now that did make me laugh.

[ANGELFIRE1 10]

E-mail her and ask?

 

Here is a good way to contact your MP. I have used it several times and received a reply every time. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/user/changepc/

 

Angel1

[Puggie 10]

A few months ago I struggled to get an appointment at my local practice so I decided it was finally time to explore what non-NHS options were available.

 

I had absolutely no idea you could download an app and have a face to face consultation with a local GP on your smartphone for a relatively small fee.

 

It felt like I was cheating the system because I was in the comfort of my own home having a facetime chat with genuine GP!

 

Anyways she knew what was wrong with me and my prescription was sent directly to my local pharmacy for collection.

 

Why in God's name is this not happening within the NHS?

[samssong 10]

My pals been back but its training day and has been told to ring in the morning if condition serous .

I dont know if not being able to walk properly due to constant pain is urgent or not.

[gomgeg 10]

When I had a blood test a while back I had to wait a couple of weeks for the appointment.

When I said to the receptionist 'I could be dead by then', to be fair to her she said 'well you won't need an appointment then'.

When I said 'yes but I don't want to appear as a missed appointment statistic',

She said I would be let off just this once.

Nothing like some of the dragons that have been on the reception. She was absolutely brilliant.

[samssong 10]

My pal stood by phone then!! at 8pm on the dot phoned the reception as instructed yesterday . A recorded message told us that the phone system was down (even though the message was loud and clear) and to try again later, Six phone calls later the same message is being repeated as at 10 to 10.

 

Its a bleddy disgrace .

[sgtkate 10]

A few months ago I struggled to get an appointment at my local practice so I decided it was finally time to explore what non-NHS options were available.

 

I had absolutely no idea you could download an app and have a face to face consultation with a local GP on your smartphone for a relatively small fee.

 

It felt like I was cheating the system because I was in the comfort of my own home having a facetime chat with genuine GP!

 

Anyways she knew what was wrong with me and my prescription was sent directly to my local pharmacy for collection.

 

Why in God's name is this not happening within the NHS?

 

It is. Trials of 'telehealth' have been running for ages. Some people even have a machine in their home that measures basic health signs like blood pressure, blood sugar levels and so on and sends that through to their GP who can review follow ups quickly if any problems are shown.

 

https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/research/the-impact-of-telehealth-on-use-of-hospital-care-and-mortality

 

Used to work in this field from the IT side. Hasn't been pushed enough but the main blockers why it's not being rolled out quicker were around resistance from GPs believing it would lower standards of care for patients and around patients either not trusting the system and using it or struggling to operate it. I was involved in it back in 2010 so technology has moved on a long way since then and perhaps it's time for the NHS to start using apps on smartphones and the like rather than putting expensive and large pieces of technology into peoples homes?

[tinfoilhat 11]

Every time a thread like this pops up I thank my lucky stars I live where I live. I can get an appointment that evening 8 times out of 10 and next day every time bar once in 17 years. Admittedly I'm as fit as a butchers dog but a friend of mine isn't and the longest she had to weight to see her GP (as opposed to any gp there) was 4 days. And that only happened once.

[Puggie 10]

I was involved in it back in 2010 so technology has moved on a long way since then and perhaps it's time for the NHS to start using apps on smartphones and the like rather than putting expensive and large pieces of technology into peoples homes?

 

I used an app called Push Doctor for my consultation. It was just like having a FaceTime conversation. I just can't see that happening anytime soon on the NHS.

[charmingman 10]

Hey Trotsky - I agree a 3 week wait time is ridiculous. Surely this must be Margaret Thatcher's fault as well eh?

 

Tell your mate that if he/she is ill there are ways of being seen by a doctor the same day. One is to go to an NHS walk-in centre, another is to go to A&E at the hospital, and another is to phone your GP surgery and tell them you need a home visit. (That usually does the trick!)

 

Another consideration is whether it is necessary to see a doctor, or whether another healthcare professional may be able to help. Many pharmacies offer consultancy now and most GP practices have Nurse Practitioners who can diagnose and prescribe certain medications for illness.

 

If all else fails though - blame the Conservative government.

 

---------- Post added 28-06-2017 at 07:50 ----------

 

 

Why do they train as doctors then if they don't want to take the job on?

 

The bold being a major contributing factor to the pressure on A&E's, sound advice that, not!

 

---------- Post added 30-06-2017 at 16:10 ----------

 

My pals been back but its training day and has been told to ring in the morning if condition serous .

I dont know if not being able to walk properly due to constant pain is urgent or not.

 

Obviously a condition which warrants a 111 call as it is prolonged and obviously something needs doing if only pain management.

 

I completely disagree when people state that access to a health professional isn't available because it is despite the pressures, maybe people just need educating better on the options that are available to them. I am sorry but in this instance that is how it appears to me because alternative options for immediate access to health professionals and treatment are available to your friend, however for whatever reason they haven't accessed them.

Edited June 30, 2017 by charmingman

[samssong 10]

The bold being a major contributing factor to the pressure on A&E's, sound advice that, not!

 

---------- Post added 30-06-2017 at 16:10 ----------

 

 

Obviously a condition which warrants a 111 call as it is prolonged and obviously something needs doing if only pain management.

 

I completely disagree when people state that access to a health professional isn't available because it is despite the pressures, maybe people just need educating better on the options that are available to them. I am sorry but in this instance that is how it appears to me because alternative options for immediate access to health professionals and treatment are available to your friend, however for whatever reason they haven't accessed them.

My pal has not accessed alternative treatment because she is 82 and at the end of her tether if you know what that means.