I have found a way round the econsult, I have the medical centre's email so I send one for the attention of Dr ...... my GP and tell him my problem, if serious he sees me. Also our receptionists are called care pathway coordinators!!!! - you couldn't make it up
The main problem is that GPs are, and, to a large extent, have been for the past 20 years or so, little more than social workers for the bored, lonely, paranoid and abandoned elderly. Add an increasing waiting list from expanded catchment areas, surgeries closing, drain on the NHS as skilled resource moves abroad as soon as practically possible after qualifying and the unattractiveness of General Practice to newly qualified doctors in comparison with, say, a surgical specialisation or consultancy residency and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that somebody needs to act as a shit filter. Receptionists (who, in my experience have almost without exception been sour-faced, miserable old cows anyway) now have a much harder job to do - stands to reason they'd be even more ornery than they were before.
My sympathies - but all of this boils down to the same thing: Pay more tax if you want better services. It's not rocket science.
My GP is fantastic, have never struggled to get a telephone or face to face appointment when I've sporadically needed it.
My Son's GP (Registered at his Mum's Surgery) is f**king useless - Tried to call them on Monday as my Son has been unwell with a cough that wont go away, and has had a temp which kept him off school for a week.
My wife couldn't even get through to them, so I called 111, got through in six minutes, and was told I'd get a call later in the day from the GP - That didn't happen, so my wife called the GP on her lunchbreak to chase and ultimately I got told to get to the Surgery as soon as possible, and that the Duty Doctor would see him.
Now I had to fight through the afternoon school run and had to queue for ten mins upon arrival, but got told by the Receptionist that instead of needing to get there asap, I did in fact need to arrive my 3:40pm (It was 4pm by this point) - I commented that was both impossible, and that we hadn't been told that... I basically got "Well you've missed the appointment"
Few minutes of silence, and I finally replied... "Well what can we do about it", only to get the response from her... "What can I do about it, you've missed your appointment"
She then relented, and told me to take a seat with my Son, and would see if the Doc would see him - the same receptionist then came over a few minutes later confirming that the Doc would, and explained that there was a mix up when I arrived, as the notes hadn't been updated!!
GP himself was great.
Its just the jumped up gatekeepers you've got to try and get past!
The main problem is that GPs are, and, to a large extent, have been for the past 20 years or so, little more than social workers for the bored, lonely, paranoid and abandoned elderly. Add an increasing waiting list from expanded catchment areas, surgeries closing, drain on the NHS as skilled resource moves abroad as soon as practically possible after qualifying and the unattractiveness of General Practice to newly qualified doctors in comparison with, say, a surgical specialisation or consultancy residency and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that somebody needs to act as a shit filter. Receptionists (who, in my experience have almost without exception been sour-faced, miserable old cows anyway) now have a much harder job to do - stands to reason they'd be even more ornery than they were before.
My sympathies - but all of this boils down to the same thing: Pay more tax if you want better services. It's not rocket science.
And/or improve efficiency and reduce waste
Where's the efficiency/reducing waste in a service that has been cut repeatedly, again and again, for decades?
The Receptionist and staff are the equivalent of the Wall in GOT, ye shall not pass as we don't want your mucky germs in our nice clean surgery.
Its e consults only at 8am on the dot, and a few weeks ago I spent 10 mins completing it along with a picture of a rash which was shingles only then to find out because I'd answered one question honestly (should have lied!) that my form could not be accepted and i should ring the surgery at 8.30am!
By this time my blood pressure was boiling and that got worse when all the world and his mate were ringing at 8.30am. I finally got through only to meet Attilla the Hun on the other end who insisted on me completing another econsult over the bloody phone!
By this time I'd actually forgotten why I was ringing, it was infuriating.
I never saw a GP, only a phone call but when my wife went to the surgery to collect my prescription she said the car park was full but guess what... There was not one person in the waiting room! All the cars belonged to the staff.
I'd rather pay to see a Doctor and not get this dreadful service.
I think GP really means Generally Pointless!
Sorry to hear of your experience in Hythe PeterReeves. I have to admit that both surgeries are a shade of what they were when we moved down here 8 years ago, I imagine that it is the Oaklands Health centre, you are referring to, but Sun lane is owned by the same senior GP in any case. I have heard similar stories, and I posted on here the ludicrous hate of time that I had regarding my 2nd Cataract op a couple of weeks ago, and how the 'locum' requested me to wait 5 months , even though the specialist that they had referred me to the hospital in the first place. I then had to go back to see the consultant, he confirmed that I needed the procedure. that cost the NH more money, and was a waste of a day, going the 30 miles. I even had a letter stating I did not need to see the consultant, but NHS rules apparently demand this.? . Not that saw the locum, he has departed, for a better position I assume. He would probably bleat that he was following the local health trust treatment rules?. Still my wife went I for a blood test 5 weeks ago, and now has to have another, because the surgery has mislaid it, and have no return of the results? . So again, more time wasting and endless double booking, the surgery gets paid though, I would ask to speak to the practice manager in future, be firm but polite, I have noticed you never see the same receptionist down here these days, not that I would want to do the job myself. Anyway good to know of another 'lifer' down here, we are a rare species!.
I’m so lucky as my doctors are great. Easy to get an appointment, polite and courteous. My dad when he was alive, lived a mile and a half away and his doctors were the polar opposite. I do want to give a shout out to receptionists. I do accept they can be a bit curt but they spend most of the day dealing with stressed/sick/rude/ language challenged punters who expect a white glove service. Must be such a tough gig and no wonder they appear to generally be on the offensive!
GP kept passing off our daughter's earache as nothing to worry about, here we are two years on and two serious ear infections later getting a grommet fitted this Sunday.
In the words of the Consultant - I have no idea why she wasn't referred a year ago
The main problem is that GPs are, and, to a large extent, have been for the past 20 years or so, little more than social workers for the bored, lonely, paranoid and abandoned elderly. Add an increasing waiting list from expanded catchment areas, surgeries closing, drain on the NHS as skilled resource moves abroad as soon as practically possible after qualifying and the unattractiveness of General Practice to newly qualified doctors in comparison with, say, a surgical specialisation or consultancy residency and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that somebody needs to act as a shit filter. Receptionists (who, in my experience have almost without exception been sour-faced, miserable old cows anyway) now have a much harder job to do - stands to reason they'd be even more ornery than they were before.
My sympathies - but all of this boils down to the same thing: Pay more tax if you want better services. It's not rocket science.
so it can be siphoned off for profits in the private sector,plenty of money goes into the NHS to provide a good service but ends up in the wrong place
The main problem is that GPs are, and, to a large extent, have been for the past 20 years or so, little more than social workers for the bored, lonely, paranoid and abandoned elderly. Add an increasing waiting list from expanded catchment areas, surgeries closing, drain on the NHS as skilled resource moves abroad as soon as practically possible after qualifying and the unattractiveness of General Practice to newly qualified doctors in comparison with, say, a surgical specialisation or consultancy residency and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that somebody needs to act as a shit filter. Receptionists (who, in my experience have almost without exception been sour-faced, miserable old cows anyway) now have a much harder job to do - stands to reason they'd be even more ornery than they were before.
My sympathies - but all of this boils down to the same thing: Pay more tax if you want better services. It's not rocket science.
A system that is overburdened cannot possibly function properly, hence why people in more sparsely populated areas, get a far better service.
The service around the Romford area is a total disgrace. My poor late Mum didn't see her GP in over 3 years. She could never get through on the phone, and was deaf anyway, so phone consultations would have been a total waste of time. She required regular blood tests but was housebound, and there was no surgery nurse who would come home to take her blood.
As for 111, she was laying on the floor for 6 hours following a fall. Luckily I saw it all happen on the security camera from Thailand and managed to get a neighbour in to her, with me not knowing for a long time whether she was still breathing or not, and shouting at the poor neighbour, through the camera, to lift her chin and try to maintain her airway. And there the poor neighbour stayed for six hours waiting for the ambulance. Anyway she doesn't have to worry about any of that anymore, because she's now in a better place.
But when I tried to say that the NHS was a disgrace, over on the HOC boards a couple of years ago, I received the predicable pile on from the usual suspects who more or less called me an idiot. Now there at least appears to be some recognition that all is not well, but nothing to do with overpopulation of course, just pump more tax payer money into a broken system!
If you can get past the unqualified dragon on the desks good luck. I have a GP surgery 200 yards from where I live. From 2pm every day the car park to it is empty. There is a pharmacy attached to it where you can see the waiting room
No one in there. Where the hell are the doctors. My mother and father who both sadly died this year didn't have Internet access as they were incapable of using it.
Its a disgrace and some GPS are not paid peanuts.
This government would get a thumbs up from me if they told them to get back in there and start seeing patients. They won't of course.
The system in America as far as I understand it is that some 30 million people have no health insurance at all, and for those that do you have to buy your GP a golf course in order to get an appointment. Sick people in America are left to rot is how I imagine it.
The system in America as far as I understand it is that some 30 million people have no health insurance at all, and for those that do you have to buy your GP a golf course in order to get an appointment. Sick people in America are left to rot is how I imagine it.
That's food for thought. It might be quicker to see a GP in America than the UK.
Obviously there will always be bad ones but the receptionists deserve sympathy if anything. They are literally just being used as a human sheild to absorb the anger towards a failing system with no means of actually improving it themselves.
Quite a few issues in the NHS could be solved with better organisation but sadly as a Civil Servant I know only too well how unlikely it is for those changes to be implemented effectively.
I took my mother to her doctors for a routine blood test and saw an old bloke who looked on death's door come in a go straight through. I said to her that he has pushed in but looks like he needs urgent help. She said no, he is the doctor.
Sympathy 🤣 They are just plan rude and if you don’t like your job, don’t do it. It’s not like they’ve taken 6 years of tuition to sit behind a desk, pick up a phone and be a wanker.
Sympathy 🤣 They are just plan rude and if you don’t like your job, don’t do it. It’s not like they’ve taken 6 years of tuition to sit behind a desk, pick up a phone and be a wanker.
They're doing what they're instructed to do which is try and push back on as many requests as possible. I hate it and like I said, you'll always get people who are unnecessarily rude, but on the whole I doubt it's their fault.
You have to take a course in being a miserable cnut to work in a doctors reception.
Totally agree mate, we had to deal with them when trying to look after the mother in law's dementia a couple of years ago.
Mate, as someone who looked after their dying dad through Parkinson’s and dementia, I have a deep seated hate for them and a fair amount of nhs staff. I pay to go private now so I have the least interaction as possible.
At the risk of being accused of repeatedly mentioning the new virus that came into circulation five years ago, we just can't ignore the effect that it has had on the health of the nation. The increase in sickness has had a dramatic effect on GP surgeries and hospitals, with more needing to access healthcare.
The Sars Cov-2 virus is known to reduce immunity to other infections and we have seen a huge increase in illnesses that had almost disappeared - Measles, TB, Polio, Whooping Cough and more. It is also known to affect the heart, liver lungs, kidneys, brain, vascular system, in fact most of the body.
Freedom to infect others has been prioritised over reducing ill health and this is the result of learning to live with Covid.
Thankfully through work I have access to "Doctor Care Anywhere" which is an app you can book a video GP appointment through.
You can often get same day appointments and max wait is 24 hours.
It's lucky for me but makes me wonder how many are NHS GPs not looking after there patients because they get a bit more £ through this app which is not good for the country.
If you can get past the unqualified dragon on the desks good luck. I have a GP surgery 200 yards from where I live. From 2pm every day the car park to it is empty. There is a pharmacy attached to it where you can see the waiting room
No one in there. Where the hell are the doctors. My mother and father who both sadly died this year didn't have Internet access as they were incapable of using it.
Its a disgrace and some GPS are not paid peanuts.
This government would get a thumbs up from me if they told them to get back in there and start seeing patients. They won't of course.
Working from home mate, you know the excuse. Cannot interact with patients face to face, far too risky 😱
I do feel sorry for GP receptionists sometimes. We've probably all been in a GP's office when someone comes in and starts screaming at the top of their lungs at the receptionist because they can't get their prescription that day, they missed their appointment or something else completely outside of the receptionist's control. I've seen receptionists trying to deal with angry patients with barely any grasp of English start screaming at them because they haven't been able to figure out the game of charades getting chucked at them. I've seen them get threatened, bullied and accused of all sorts. That really sucks for them.
The problem is far too many of them have internalised that and turned it into a situation where they treat every single patient like they're going to fling their shit at them before they've even had a chance to say anything. Working in customer facing jobs sucks, working in customer facing healthcare jobs sucks particularly and working in an essential service where you're going to get absolutely every type of person on this earth is about as bad as it gets. In the end though, if you've hit a point where you're ready to treat the first person who calls that day like they can absolutely get to fuck then you maybe need to start thinking about a new career. Why am I getting talked to like I'm a psychopath, I just want to book a medication review!
The main problem is that GPs are, and, to a large extent, have been for the past 20 years or so, little more than social workers for the bored, lonely, paranoid and abandoned elderly. Add an increasing waiting list from expanded catchment areas, surgeries closing, drain on the NHS as skilled resource moves abroad as soon as practically possible after qualifying and the unattractiveness of General Practice to newly qualified doctors in comparison with, say, a surgical specialisation or consultancy residency and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that somebody needs to act as a shit filter. Receptionists (who, in my experience have almost without exception been sour-faced, miserable old cows anyway) now have a much harder job to do - stands to reason they'd be even more ornery than they were before.
My sympathies - but all of this boils down to the same thing: Pay more tax if you want better services. It's not rocket science.
A system that is overburdened cannot possibly function properly, hence why people in more sparsely populated areas, get a far better service.
The service around the Romford area is a total disgrace. My poor late Mum didn't see her GP in over 3 years. She could never get through on the phone, and was deaf anyway, so phone consultations would have been a total waste of time. She required regular blood tests but was housebound, and there was no surgery nurse who would come home to take her blood.
As for 111, she was laying on the floor for 6 hours following a fall. Luckily I saw it all happen on the security camera from Thailand and managed to get a neighbour in to her, with me not knowing for a long time whether she was still breathing or not, and shouting at the poor neighbour, through the camera, to lift her chin and try to maintain her airway. And there the poor neighbour stayed for six hours waiting for the ambulance. Anyway she doesn't have to worry about any of that anymore, because she's now in a better place.
But when I tried to say that the NHS was a disgrace, over on the HOC boards a couple of years ago, I received the predicable pile on from the usual suspects who more or less called me an idiot. Now there at least appears to be some recognition that all is not well, but nothing to do with overpopulation of course, just pump more tax payer money into a broken system!
This is actually the opposite of what happens. Rural areas perform worse at almost every metric from response times, wait times through to outcomes.
The online triaging system that my GP surgery uses is excellent. You fill in an online form about the problem that you need help with and can add photos if necessary. You state whether you wish to be contacted by phone or text. On the occasions I have used it, I got a same day appointment and when less urgent I had an appointment 2 weeks later.
The system they used before the pandemic required you to go along to the surgery between 8.30 and 10.30 and you would be guaranteed to see a doctor that morning. They tried to give an estimate of how long you would have to wait, so you could go and have a coffee locally if you wanted to. However that system meant that the waiting room was often full of people with infections that everyone else had to breathe in.
I think the new system is far better, it means that there are fewer people in the waiting room and therefore reduces the chance of picking up a bug whilst there. It's not always necessary to see a doctor and if they can give you advice over the phone or prescribe medication without the need to visit the surgery, then that is surely much better for everyone.
We are lucky with our surgery and the comments on social media are always very favourable.
Comments
But hey, heart problems aren't serious. Are they?
My GP is fantastic, have never struggled to get a telephone or face to face appointment when I've sporadically needed it.
My Son's GP (Registered at his Mum's Surgery) is f**king useless - Tried to call them on Monday as my Son has been unwell with a cough that wont go away, and has had a temp which kept him off school for a week.
My wife couldn't even get through to them, so I called 111, got through in six minutes, and was told I'd get a call later in the day from the GP - That didn't happen, so my wife called the GP on her lunchbreak to chase and ultimately I got told to get to the Surgery as soon as possible, and that the Duty Doctor would see him.
Now I had to fight through the afternoon school run and had to queue for ten mins upon arrival, but got told by the Receptionist that instead of needing to get there asap, I did in fact need to arrive my 3:40pm (It was 4pm by this point) - I commented that was both impossible, and that we hadn't been told that... I basically got "Well you've missed the appointment"
Few minutes of silence, and I finally replied... "Well what can we do about it", only to get the response from her... "What can I do about it, you've missed your appointment"
She then relented, and told me to take a seat with my Son, and would see if the Doc would see him - the same receptionist then came over a few minutes later confirming that the Doc would, and explained that there was a mix up when I arrived, as the notes hadn't been updated!!
GP himself was great.
Its just the jumped up gatekeepers you've got to try and get past!
PeterReeves. I have to admit that both surgeries are a shade of what they were when we moved down here 8 years ago, I imagine that it is the Oaklands Health centre, you are referring to, but Sun lane is owned by the same senior GP in any case. I have heard similar stories, and I posted on here the ludicrous hate of time that I had regarding my 2nd Cataract op a couple of weeks ago, and how the 'locum' requested me to wait 5 months , even though the specialist that they had referred me to the hospital in the first place. I then had to go back to see the consultant, he confirmed that I needed the procedure. that cost the NH more money, and was a waste of a day, going the 30 miles. I even had a letter stating I did not need to see the consultant, but NHS rules apparently demand this.? . Not that saw the locum, he has departed, for a better position I assume. He would probably bleat that he was following the local health trust treatment rules?. Still my wife went I for a blood test 5 weeks ago, and now has to have another, because the surgery has mislaid it, and have no return of the results? . So again, more time wasting and endless double booking, the surgery gets paid though, I would ask to speak to the practice manager in future, be firm but polite, I have noticed you never see the same receptionist down here these days, not that I would want to do the job myself. Anyway good to know of another 'lifer' down here, we are a rare species!.
In the words of the Consultant - I have no idea why she wasn't referred a year ago
The service around the Romford area is a total disgrace. My poor late Mum didn't see her GP in over 3 years. She could never get through on the phone, and was deaf anyway, so phone consultations would have been a total waste of time.
She required regular blood tests but was housebound, and there was no surgery nurse who would come home to take her blood.
As for 111, she was laying on the floor for 6 hours following a fall. Luckily I saw it all happen on the security camera from Thailand and managed to get a neighbour in to her, with me not knowing for a long time whether she was still breathing or not, and shouting at the poor neighbour, through the camera, to lift her chin and try to maintain her airway. And there the poor neighbour stayed for six hours waiting for the ambulance.
Anyway she doesn't have to worry about any of that anymore, because she's now in a better place.
But when I tried to say that the NHS was a disgrace, over on the HOC boards a couple of years ago, I received the predicable pile on from the usual suspects who more or less called me an idiot.
Now there at least appears to be some recognition that all is not well, but nothing to do with overpopulation of course, just pump more tax payer money into a broken system!
No one in there. Where the hell are the doctors. My mother and father who both sadly died this year didn't have Internet access as they were incapable of using it.
Its a disgrace and some GPS are not paid peanuts.
This government would get a thumbs up from me if they told them to get back in there and start seeing patients. They won't of course.
Sick people in America are left to rot is how I imagine it.
It might be quicker to see a GP in America than the UK.
You have to take a course in being a miserable cnut to work in a doctors reception.
Quite a few issues in the NHS could be solved with better organisation but sadly as a Civil Servant I know only too well how unlikely it is for those changes to be implemented effectively.
The Sars Cov-2 virus is known to reduce immunity to other infections and we have seen a huge increase in illnesses that had almost disappeared - Measles, TB, Polio, Whooping Cough and more. It is also known to affect the heart, liver lungs, kidneys, brain, vascular system, in fact most of the body.
Freedom to infect others has been prioritised over reducing ill health and this is the result of learning to live with Covid.
You can often get same day appointments and max wait is 24 hours.
It's lucky for me but makes me wonder how many are NHS GPs not looking after there patients because they get a bit more £ through this app which is not good for the country.
Cannot interact with patients face to face, far too risky 😱
The problem is far too many of them have internalised that and turned it into a situation where they treat every single patient like they're going to fling their shit at them before they've even had a chance to say anything. Working in customer facing jobs sucks, working in customer facing healthcare jobs sucks particularly and working in an essential service where you're going to get absolutely every type of person on this earth is about as bad as it gets. In the end though, if you've hit a point where you're ready to treat the first person who calls that day like they can absolutely get to fuck then you maybe need to start thinking about a new career. Why am I getting talked to like I'm a psychopath, I just want to book a medication review!
The system they used before the pandemic required you to go along to the surgery between 8.30 and 10.30 and you would be guaranteed to see a doctor that morning. They tried to give an estimate of how long you would have to wait, so you could go and have a coffee locally if you wanted to. However that system meant that the waiting room was often full of people with infections that everyone else had to breathe in.
I think the new system is far better, it means that there are fewer people in the waiting room and therefore reduces the chance of picking up a bug whilst there. It's not always necessary to see a doctor and if they can give you advice over the phone or prescribe medication without the need to visit the surgery, then that is surely much better for everyone.
We are lucky with our surgery and the comments on social media are always very favourable.