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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Having to fight off a nasty eye infection after being hit on the eyeball by a piece of wood while bruscutting i finally relented and rang our GP surgery this morning to book an appointment for tomorrow morning.
I was told i can't do this and have to ring at 8am to book an appointment for the same day. This seems like a ridiculous system but as i only bother them once in a blue moon i don't know if this is the norm.
Has anyone else had this?  |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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That's the norm
They will release any cancellations/spaces and it will be first come first served at 8am.
Then they will have emergency appointments that need to be released by the GP on a triage basis
Try nipping into any opticians, most GP's will reccomends this for any eye issues (you can have an emergency eye test in any opticians) |
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That is the norm I'm afraid. Start ringing them as soon as they open and prepare for a lengthy time on hold before hopefully getting an appointment that afternoon or if you are reeeeally lucky at some point that morning. It is a ball ache these days but you'll get seen eventually. I live in an area of dense population being served by a very small surgery staff so can sometimes take a week to get an appointment to be seen unless I am actually on death's door and turn up and wait in reception until they get a cancellation. That can take hours though so would only recommend if you really need to be seen that day. Appointments are made for those who are there ready and waiting before the phone lines open though so can sometimes be worth it if you have several days of there being no appointments left by the time you get through. Alternatively; find your local drop-in centre if your eye is really gross |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Most surgeries have a number of pre-bookable appointments which are taken weeks in advance and the rest are same day appointments.
I doubt there's a surgery in Britain you could ring up and book an appointmemt for the following day. Demand for appointments outweighs avaliable doctors tenfold |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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I find it strange that i can book an appointment for the dentist months in advance but not the surgery. I'm self employed and work 6/7 days a week so this is a massive inconvenience. |
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OP does your local hospital have an eye casualty department? If it does you can just rock up there and get it checked out.
I had an eye problem a couple of years ago and popped into an opticians. They had a quick look and sent me off to boots to buy some eye drops. They did sort the problem but it recurred a couple of times. When I saw my GP he prescribed similar treatment with the instruction that if it occurred again I was to go straight to the eye hospital and I did. It turned out i had a cut on my cornea which needed more specialist treatment.
BTW it is normal practice for GP surgeries to say phone up at 8am on the day for an appointment. My surgery has an online booking system and there are no doctors appointments available for the next month, only nurse appointments. I tried to call this morning but by the time I actually got through at 8.30 there were none left. It looks like a trip to the walk in centre for me today as I have an ear infection  |
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"I find it strange that i can book an appointment for the dentist months in advance but not the surgery. I'm self employed and work 6/7 days a week so this is a massive inconvenience."
Same; a few hours sat in the waiting room or 30 mins on the phone every morning for a week is time I am not earning :/ plus the time that whatever plague I currently have is deducting from my work pace. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Same at our drs, have to ring at 8 for same day appointment or go to the walk-in sessions there in the morning where we get seen by either a nurse or dr. I think it’s pretty good thing to have and the wait is normally about half hour - better than having an appointment in a few days and then the dr is normally running late! Ours also offer phone consultation with a dr who will then decide if you need to be seen, just have a prescription sorted out or just some advice on what to do! |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"OP does your local hospital have an eye casualty department? If it does you can just rock up there and get it checked out.
I had an eye problem a couple of years ago and popped into an opticians. They had a quick look and sent me off to boots to buy some eye drops. They did sort the problem but it recurred a couple of times. When I saw my GP he prescribed similar treatment with the instruction that if it occurred again I was to go straight to the eye hospital and I did. It turned out i had a cut on my cornea which needed more specialist treatment.
BTW it is normal practice for GP surgeries to say phone up at 8am on the day for an appointment. My surgery has an online booking system and there are no doctors appointments available for the next month, only nurse appointments. I tried to call this morning but by the time I actually got through at 8.30 there were none left. It looks like a trip to the walk in centre for me today as I have an ear infection "
We have a small local hospital with an A+E department, should i give that a try? At the moment it's more of an irritation than anything else and i feel that it's getting better (much less painful) but it is starting to affect my vision. |
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By *oddyWoman
over a year ago
between havant and chichester |
"OP does your local hospital have an eye casualty department? If it does you can just rock up there and get it checked out.
I had an eye problem a couple of years ago and popped into an opticians. They had a quick look and sent me off to boots to buy some eye drops. They did sort the problem but it recurred a couple of times. When I saw my GP he prescribed similar treatment with the instruction that if it occurred again I was to go straight to the eye hospital and I did. It turned out i had a cut on my cornea which needed more specialist treatment.
BTW it is normal practice for GP surgeries to say phone up at 8am on the day for an appointment. My surgery has an online booking system and there are no doctors appointments available for the next month, only nurse appointments. I tried to call this morning but by the time I actually got through at 8.30 there were none left. It looks like a trip to the walk in centre for me today as I have an ear infection
We have a small local hospital with an A+E department, should i give that a try? At the moment it's more of an irritation than anything else and i feel that it's getting better (much less painful) but it is starting to affect my vision."
yes go there as they can always give it a wash out in case there is anything in it |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I find it strange that i can book an appointment for the dentist months in advance but not the surgery. I'm self employed and work 6/7 days a week so this is a massive inconvenience."
But you are seeing your dentist for a check up. Dentists do hlittle that isn;t routine and can;t wait. It;s not quite the same as a GP where people want to see them ASAP because they are unwell.
If your time is that precious go to an NHS walk in centre, you'll have to wait but you'll get seen |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Having to fight off a nasty eye infection after being hit on the eyeball by a piece of wood while bruscutting i finally relented and rang our GP surgery this morning to book an appointment for tomorrow morning.
I was told i can't do this and have to ring at 8am to book an appointment for the same day. This seems like a ridiculous system but as i only bother them once in a blue moon i don't know if this is the norm.
Has anyone else had this? "
Yep. Ours moved to this last year. Absolute
PITA! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Currently suffering badly with sinusitis, nerve damage in the hands, migraines, and anxiety attacks. Every time I ring the sugery to make an appointment(s) they say they are fully booked for the next few weeks. |
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Unfortunately mine is exactly the same. I can't even make an appointment for a future date. Saw my GP a few weeks back and he said he wanted to see me again in 3 weeks, so I walked straight over to the reception desk to make an appointment only to be told they can't unlock any that far in advance, I will need to phone on the Monday morning of the week I need the app. and arrange one then. I'm sorry to say my exact words to the poor woman, who I apologised to instantly were - are you fucking serious? Do you have any idea how fucking difficult it is to get the phone answered let alone get an app?
I felt so bad, but I did get a mini round of applause from those in the queue behind me 
I got told, after my apology, that they do internet booking and prescription refills, maybe your surgery does as well. |
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By *amissCouple
over a year ago
chelmsford |
We are very lucky and are put on a triage system and a doctor or nurse will ring back and if you need an appointment, will get you in straight away. OP I would have thought with an eye issue they would have got you in straight away. But all above advice sounds good. Good luck  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Incidentally you can buy chloromycetin antibiotic eye ointment OTC now, so your pharmacist could advise too. I would not leave an eye for long, that can go wrong on you."
It's not bothering me over much but i had expected it to sort itself out by now. Trouble is i'm off to Crete next week and i don't want to risk it suddenly getting worse while i'm there. |
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By *amissCouple
over a year ago
chelmsford |
"Incidentally you can buy chloromycetin antibiotic eye ointment OTC now, so your pharmacist could advise too. I would not leave an eye for long, that can go wrong on you.
It's not bothering me over much but i had expected it to sort itself out by now. Trouble is i'm off to Crete next week and i don't want to risk it suddenly getting worse while i'm there."
All the more reason to get someone to look at it, it could turn nasty |
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Dont waste resource by just tipping up at a hospital A&E or similar...
Call 111 ... they will run through some questions and do an assessment on what is the best course of action for your symptoms/severity of injury.
It really is an excellent system/service if only more people would learn to use it correctly...
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Dont waste resource by just tipping up at a hospital A&E or similar...
Call 111 ... they will run through some questions and do an assessment on what is the best course of action for your symptoms/severity of injury.
It really is an excellent system/service if only more people would learn to use it correctly...
"
I hadn't thought of that, thanks.  |
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I live in an area where there is no walk in centres and the nearest a&e is 25 miles away unless its for something minor. We have a ring at 8am system however, oddly if you want a non emergency appointment you can pre book. But our doctors also have a call back system and some times they will prescribe over the phone.
When i had my last lot of blood tests instead of ringing me to make an appointment they just sent me a prescription through the post. |
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