john banks

You'd think I was a policeman the morning I've had not a GP! I cannot believe the sheer amount of aggravation and inappropriate demand and confrontation!

All the people that wanted to be seen this morning who rang this morning were seen because they had "emergencies". Most of them didn't and those that thought they did but didn't wanted all their long term problems sorted in a 5 minute emergency slot which they had been given at very short notice specifically to deal with their emergency. I was more unwell myself than at least half the patients [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] and I am NOT on antibiotics FFS! You can usually see a Doctor of your choice within a week, and as I say we see everyone that needs to be seen that day on the day. They all complain about access, and the same ones tend to miss their appointments. One person left in a huff because they walked in without notice and were told there would be a 15 minute wait!

All this in a fairly "middle class" area

I am actually very accommodating to folk, but so many of them come in with very strange non-medical demands to try and skive out of their responsibilities or to defraud the benefits system.

You are made to feel by them like you are a lazy bar steward that can't be bothered when in fact the opposite is the case.

Meanwhile most of the decent folk are far more reasonable and get a far more reasonable hearing. Maybe I should think about them more.

Thanks for listening

ProperCharlie

john - on one hand i have great sympathy for anyone who works in the nhs, on the other hand i am profoundly dissatisfied as a user. i haven't even bothered to register with my local gp since moving - what's the point? basically i would not go to a gp unless i was seriosuly ill, and then if i was that ill i would go straight to hospital as i would not want to wait a week for an appointment. the last time i went to a gp it was honestly like a trip to the third world. my consultation lasted less than a minute and i was prescribed drugs that made me horribly depressed, although i was given no warning whatsoever. i thought i was having a nervous breakdown as i didn't realise it was the drugs that were causing the depression. my wife is pregnant and the standard of care she has received at the local hospital is IMO lamentable.

I have met, during my many visits to hospitals , many very dedicated and professional people, but down here at least, the system is falling apart.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

I know someone who goes to see the doc every week because of some ailment or the other, none of which actually exist except in her mind, then all she does is moan about the doctor and the fact that she can't get an appointment quickly enough. Maybe if all these people who went to the docs with imaginairy ailments or at at the slightest hint of a sniffle didn't go then there's be more appointments available for geniune patients?

Group hug for John everyone?

Old_Fart

Sorry bloke, you have my sympathy.
I'm on the flip-side, I see a doctor once every 8 years, last time I went the buggers ripped my kidney out , even then the guy made me feel like I was a hypochondriac (ok I can't spell)
But it's easy to understand their point of view when soo many obvious sicknotes attend (especially with the symptoms I presented LOL)
Rgds
Chuck

AlanG

Tell them about your scooby project John.

That'll soon ease your workload!!

Alan

messiah

It's about time fines were introduced for missed appointments.

john banks

Thanks guys. It is galling when you do provide a service which is highly rated by the vast majority in surveys we've done and very accessible - how many of you would be kept waiting as little as 15 minutes if you turned up with a sore throat without an appointment?

One patient who rang at 9.10 and was seen at 9.30 without obstructions put in the way complained about how difficult it is to get an appointment! WTF?

AlanG

How many are in your practice John?
Would it possible on a rota basis that one doctor can have consultations for those that do require to be seen " at short notice"?

Obviously this wouldn't be something that is common knowledge because then people would abuse the system and jump the normal appointment system.

I dont use doctors that often so not really clued up on how practice is run on a daily basis.

Alan

Old_Fart

On the other hand you are generally only seeing people when they are at their worst/crankiest...ie when they don't feel well and are going to be at their least courteous and most self-obsessed.
Tough old job you got, I'll stick to whoring in a bank and helping society via the gift of £xxxxx's of tax each year
Rgds,
Cman

LG John

LOL, not very often we see you go off on one John He's human after all

I actually find I'm scared to go to my doctor because I know how p!ssed off they get with timewasters. Generally I won't go unless I've got something hanging off. That said, I've had a feeling in my throat for 2 weeks now (like there is food stuck there) so I'm thinking I might want to bite the bullet and get it checked out I've always said serving the public directly is a horrific job to have. You won't believe the hassle we get in the Planning Department and to make matters worse nobody respects us and everyone blames us for everything!

*Sonic*

John

I really wish your Practise was down here where I live, one week appointments to see a Doctor of your choice !

I have to wait an absolute minimum of 3 weeks to see any GP, let alone my own GP, even for accidents etc

So I havent been to my docs for many years now (and I should go more than most due to previous etc) the last time I did go, they made me wait there while they fetched an ambulance and admitted me to hospital instantly

You do have my sympathy though

john banks

Alan, I am full time, one is 3/4 time, one is half time. For 4200 patients, so not a bad ratio by English standards, but Scottish people consult average 5 times a year compared with 4 in England

So I was "on call" this morning, so take all the crap. Unfortunately in a small practice you are on call a lot.

90% of cases are dealt with entirely in GP, with only 10% involving a hospital.

For pet insurance, it is c.£6 per month for a cat and £8 for a dog I hear.

For GP services, the NHS funding is c.£4.80 per patient per month.

To get a service where everyone is not fed up on all sides I think it needs to go private, and the NHS just drags the quality and resources down for everyone.

[Edited by john banks - 11/20/2003 12:48:54 PM]

Scooby96

John, I do hope you have been using your tea breaks to post on here

Scooby96

I say levy a charge of £5 or £10 per visit - then just sit back and see your lists shrink by 80%

Alternatively the government should re-introduce tax relief on PMI as some the ins co's are piloting private gp's

ProperCharlie

why not make it £50? That would cost me all of about £100 every 10 years for myself, and maybe £100 a year for the other half. Like i said in an earlier thread, the biggest problem with Bupa is they don't have their own GPs.

JackClark

Every time I visit my GP - which isn't very often - I end up asking him if he's OK, poor bugger.

Chelspeed

What about a no claim bonus if you don't go in for a year?

Last time I went to try and see my GP the receptionist hadn't heard of him, she asked the other lass there and turned out he'd retired 7 years ago....

Scooby96

NCB's I think could have an adverse affect - putting people off who are genuinely ill as they cant quite afford the fee this month..

£50 I think is too much - I'd have paid about £500 for my kids in the last 2 years if it were that much. When they're young they cant tell you whats wrong.

Insurers will probably never have their 'own' GP's but they could utilise NHS ones and pay them a handsome price just like they do with surgeons / consultants.

I think there are a couple of walk in gp thingys in London (train stations???) who charge £50 a go - not sure how popular they are though - they probably are with the toffs as they can make an appointment to suit them but I wouldnt pay £50

kend

John,
you have my full sympathy. Am a GP in central Birmingham, and have also just done the on call morning surgery. Have also seen lots of 'emergencies' who seem more well than most of our staff and docs. We also see anyone who feels they have an urgent problem on the same day. Average of 40 urgents a day, despite usually having routine appointments within 2 days.
As you say, not more than about 1 in every 5 or 6 of the urgents truly are, and many are of the 'I forgot to order my prescription and so need seeing now' school of thought.

Spoon

I have a woman doctor who is absolutely gorgeous and because of this I need to go and see her once a week.

I suffer terribly from genital warts, well I don't actually but I get through a box of rice krispies a fortnight specifically to reproduce the "wart" effect on the morning of my appointment.

One day she WILL want me!

ProperCharlie

I wouldn't be in favour of charging for kids, expectant mothers or things like that. If i have to take a day off work cos I can't get an appointment to see a GP an a convenient time, and then end up waiting 1.5hrs for a 45 second consultation, the "cost" of that to me is more than £50. I would happily pay £50 to see someone if there was a place local to me. Bupa costs loads but in the 2 years i have had it i have never used it. I would rather not pay Bupa but pay to see a good GP in a nice environment, at a convenient time and at the time stated.

Scooby96

With genital warts I doubt she'll EVER want you - shes probably got a mental image of you regularly fornicating with animals hence the warts!! You are a dirty dirty barsteward

Spoon

S96- Point taken, I'll try something else.

sherlocks

My surgery has introduced a new system whereby you have to ring the surgery to speak to the receptionist (you can't pop in and speak to them though) and they take your number and pass it on to a Doctor. He calls you back to find out what you want/what your symptoms are and then you might get an appointment.

I suppose it weeds out the malingerers, but it's damned insulting to the rest of us. What a palavar!

Scooby96

Spoon - try the "I've only got 2 weeks to live routine" - might only work for a few months though

Crapaud62

In Jersey it used to cost me £20 each and every time I had to visit the doctor. Same for my kids who have asthma.

I couldn't believe that there no no charge at all for seeing a doctor in the UK. So presumably there is nothing to stop people seeing the doc every week if they feel like it?

Fair enough make it free for the low paid etc but why on earth is it free if you can afford to pay for it. Unfortunately, nobody ever values anything if it is given for free.

Anyway, I'll add a big thanks to good doctors everywhere as my life has been saved by some so I appreciate them.

Leslie

I can understand just how you feel John. There are some who are only too quick to take advantage of the system to their own advantage as you say. I also think that no notice missed appointments should be charged for. It really should not be that difficult to tell the surgery if you can't get there rather than just forget about it and do nothing. It is usually down to pig ignorance and sheer bad manners.

Les

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

In London I'd be glad if I only had to wait 15 mins past my appointment time to see a Doctor. It really does depend on luck of the draw when it comes to signing up to surgerys when moving into a new area. Me and the very pregnant GF changed GP's 6 months ago, the new one has provided excellent levels of service - even the receptionists are courteous unlike the little hitlers at the last clinic

I wouln't mind waiting a few extra mins if it meant the Doc could update his Jpegs in the project forum