doctors

[uglyduck16]

Why oh why does it have to be such a battle to see a doctor?
I have my medication made up in a doset box by lloyds and i was taking amitriptyline and dihydricodine in liquid form after my op, so they did not put thoese tabs in...but now i am OK taking them, but they need it in the prescription saying it is now tablet form, i am also running low on my fast tabs.
I phoned the doctors today,hoping just to get an appointment because they now have this new system where you phone up on the day to book an appointment you are not allowed to book in advance. But blimey- getting past the receptionist!! She said i could go on the 'triage' list and a doctor can phone me after 3pm, but i find the phone very difficult- i am not very confident and really struggle with the phone. I tried to explain this to her, and at first she just she did not really get it, and said it was no different to talking to her (!), so i said forget and i would phone tommorow to try and make an appointment.
Then she said she could book me in with a doctor tommorow morning, i did not really understand this because i did not think you could book in advance, but i did not want to question it- i went for it!! It was with Dr.Chong, a lady doctor who i know is nice..... just had a phone call from the doctors and the receptionist was asking if i would see the locum doctor (no i bloody would not!!)- so i just said i would rather see i doctor i knew, she told me to hang on whist she asked Dr.Chong, then she asked if i could come at 9am instead of 8.50 which is ok....but why does it have to be so hard just to see a doctor?!!! I mean it serisouly could put some people off going (maybee that is what they want??) i dont know but gggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone else have this battle when they want an appointment with their GP???

 

[bridiegeorge]

Yes.. if you can get past the receptionist your fine. when i ring for an appointment for the same day, they want to know what its for, i now tell them when they are fully qualified i will gladly tell them my medical problems, but until then i would rather discuss it with my doctor. it doesnt endear me to them but hey.. hope you get it all sorted tomorrow. Bridie x

 

[IreneH]

hearing about this makes me realize how wonderful my doctors, nurses and receptionists are

Nothing is too much trouble
Irene x

 

[hopelesscase]

Thats awful. My gp and his reception staff are really nice and very accomodating. Occasionally you cant get an appointment on the same day but if it is an emergency they usually squeeze you in. He also does home visits if you really cant get there. Equally You can make appointments in advance no problem.

 

[Sambucca]

oh lizzie I know exactly what you mean. I always get myself worked up into a state when I need to go to the doctors. If you phone up with a non urgent complaint it takes about a week to get seen. If you want a same day appointment they always ask is it an emergency - I did have an argument with a receptionist once asking what she would class as an emergency. I think all the stupid targets they have to meet for waiting times etc dont help. I actually feel quite sorry for the receptionists. I dont think I could do their job.

 

[Alia]

I have to say my GP is fantastic, I would n't see any other doctor but him. He's fantastic with my son who's 12 months old who could be quite ill (waiting on a diagnosis to be confirmed by repeat tests.) He was poorly the other day and had a very high fever and I called to talk to him for advice and he told me to monitor him for an hour and if no change or he gets worse to take him straight to A&E. My son could be very ill if he gets any simple illness etc as he would require iv steroids at that time. Any how he rang me back 2 minute later, by now it was nearly 6 long after the surgery was closed and said infact he would be happier if I brought him down to him just to make sure, our surgery is just in the next street. That wasn't something he had to do but what he did out of commitment to my son.

He was totally supportive during my wls journey from start to finish. I've never had a gp like him and I'd hope I never have to change from him.

In our surgery you can be at the door at 8.30am and have an appointment right away. Call up first thing in the morning to get a morning appointment, or just book an appointment in advance, plenty of options and you can always get seen.

Hats off to them!!

 

[Brunetteandred]

If you want a same day appointment they always ask is it an emergency - I did have an argument with a receptionist once asking what she would class as an emergency.

If anyone ever comes across this, they might consider asking the receptionist if they have a medical qualification?

The public are the worst people to work for though. We can be horrible!

 

[phatgirl]

I actually changed my GP this month because I had really had all I could take with my GP's office staff and my GP herself. She wouldn't listen to me and required me to come in for an appointment for every pain med refill. It was mad! I also had a really hard time getting in to see her. The staff were always rude & unhelpful. So, I changed GP and I am happy as can be. My new doc does accupuncture so I a trying that out for pain management.

Maybe a change is in order for you too??

 

[tesmaralda]

There is 1 dr i specifically ask for at my surgey as he was the only one who took my weight problem seriously even though it took me having a little wobbly first. If he is not available there is 1 more i will see at a push if not i would rather go to the badger clinic or walk in centre. Having said that the majority of receptionist at all three surgeries are good and will try and accommodate you without to much fuss

 

[weight loss hopeful]

I can totally relate to you there Lizzie. My GPs receptionist is the worst person Ive ever had the misfortune to talk to over the phone. Every time I call for an appt for me or either of my kids she always says theres a two week wait for all 5 doctors on my side of the surgery. Once I rang at the required 8am for an emergancy appt for my son and she said they are all full and I should stop bothering her. I flipped my lid. I ended up taking my son to A&E and he got admitted to hosp 10mins later. You better believe she got the sharp end of my tongue that day! Im thinking of changing docs too! Regards R x