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Gp surgeries…
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"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. " Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... | |||
"Triage calls save people from dragging into surgeries. I’ve had three video calls with my GP, much more convenient for me. " Our surgery doesn’t do video calls, plus, I’ve needed to actually see a person, and ended up in hospital because they passed me from pillar to post. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ..." Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?!  | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?! "Yes .. i f@@@@@@g know ..my point being that its high risk for a dentist and dental nurse. Especially where AGPs are concerned. Aerosol Generating Procedures.. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. " afaik ours are open. Guess video calls make life easier for all... | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?!
Yes .. i f@@@@@@g know ..my point being that its high risk for a dentist and dental nurse. Especially where AGPs are concerned.
Aerosol Generating Procedures.. "Dentists and hygienist wear enhanced PPE for AGPs. Doing a standard dental check up is not considered an AGP. For things like full scale/polishes, fillings, root canals, extractions, you'll find the staff are wearing respirators. They also have to clean down the surgery in forensic detail afterwards. | |||
"Triage calls save people from dragging into surgeries. I’ve had three video calls with my GP, much more convenient for me. Our surgery doesn’t do video calls, plus, I’ve needed to actually see a person, and ended up in hospital because they passed me from pillar to post. " that sucks. Hope all is well x | |||
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"My GP receptionist was adamant that they could take bloods over the phone, I refused the appointment and said the nurse and myself have better things to do that make that phone call " You mean actually take blood from you? | |||
"My GP receptionist was adamant that they could take bloods over the phone, I refused the appointment and said the nurse and myself have better things to do that make that phone call " What? That’s nonsense, argh, it makes me mad! | |||
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"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. " Mines closed due to 4/6 doctors having covid | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?!
Yes .. i f@@@@@@g know ..my point being that its high risk for a dentist and dental nurse. Especially where AGPs are concerned.
Aerosol Generating Procedures..
Dentists and hygienist wear enhanced PPE for AGPs. Doing a standard dental check up is not considered an AGP. For things like full scale/polishes, fillings, root canals, extractions, you'll find the staff are wearing respirators. They also have to clean down the surgery in forensic detail afterwards. "Yes , and again... i know. Please tell me why GPs aren't seeing people... what risky proceedures stop GPs from seeing people? | |||
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"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?!
Yes .. i f@@@@@@g know ..my point being that its high risk for a dentist and dental nurse. Especially where AGPs are concerned.
Aerosol Generating Procedures..
Dentists and hygienist wear enhanced PPE for AGPs. Doing a standard dental check up is not considered an AGP. For things like full scale/polishes, fillings, root canals, extractions, you'll find the staff are wearing respirators. They also have to clean down the surgery in forensic detail afterwards.
Yes , and again... i know.
Please tell me why GPs aren't seeing people... what risky proceedures stop GPs from seeing people? "People go to their dentist once every six months, a year? They are not the hives of activity and constant to&ing and fro-ing that your average GP surgery or health centre is, especially one that provides ancillary services like physio and other therapies. I happen to agree that GP surgeries do need to stop the reliance on phone and video appointments because pretty much every call/video call for our family in the past year has resulted in a need to be physically examined, blood tests taken etc. Mr KC went three months with a large neck lump and was fobbed off by phone, until they finally saw him and suddenly shoved him on the 2wk pathway and whipped the lump out surgically pretty swiftly after that. However, comparing my GP surgery, catering to about 28,000 people, to my dentist, is not a like-for-like comparison. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?!
Yes .. i f@@@@@@g know ..my point being that its high risk for a dentist and dental nurse. Especially where AGPs are concerned.
Aerosol Generating Procedures..
Dentists and hygienist wear enhanced PPE for AGPs. Doing a standard dental check up is not considered an AGP. For things like full scale/polishes, fillings, root canals, extractions, you'll find the staff are wearing respirators. They also have to clean down the surgery in forensic detail afterwards.
Yes , and again... i know.
Please tell me why GPs aren't seeing people... what risky proceedures stop GPs from seeing people?
People go to their dentist once every six months, a year? They are not the hives of activity and constant to&ing and fro-ing that your average GP surgery or health centre is, especially one that provides ancillary services like physio and other therapies.
I happen to agree that GP surgeries do need to stop the reliance on phone and video appointments because pretty much every call/video call for our family in the past year has resulted in a need to be physically examined, blood tests taken etc. Mr KC went three months with a large neck lump and was fobbed off by phone, until they finally saw him and suddenly shoved him on the 2wk pathway and whipped the lump out surgically pretty swiftly after that.
However, comparing my GP surgery, catering to about 28,000 people, to my dentist, is not a like-for-like comparison."I know different in my area ... GPs should be there to save lives .. The next few years will show the true cost of shutting down the GP surgerys. | |||
"My GP receptionist was adamant that they could take bloods over the phone, I refused the appointment and said the nurse and myself have better things to do that make that phone call You mean actually take blood from you?" Yup needed a full blood count for my cholesterol after a finger prick test done through a work screening, eventually I got it sorted cholesterol is fine the receptionist was adamant a phone call appointment was sufficient  | |||
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"No Doctors in my area are seeing patients unless it's an absolute must, it's all done over the phone or video calls. What I do find strange is that you 'have' to keep wearing masks when you attend the Doctors and that is the government keeping that rule, yet any where else its a personal choice when you go shopping inside, still no Hospital visits either!! So what's that all about?...some thing we don't know? " "Masks are a personal choice" was a political move and the NHS don't have to do that and think it's a bad idea? | |||
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 for all a d sundry to hear! There wernt even chairs for old people to sit on b bit cold in winter waiting ! Those who have cars were waiting in them x | |||
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"Triage calls save people from dragging into surgeries. I’ve had three video calls with my GP, much more convenient for me. Our surgery doesn’t do video calls, plus, I’ve needed to actually see a person, and ended up in hospital because they passed me from pillar to post. " Mind u that's been happening a long while both my mum and dad may still b here if docs had acted sooner! On the day my mum died my stepdad called docs twice and they wouldn't come out said it was a bug why she was being so sick! Her kidneys were shutting down! Stepdad eventually called ambulance they tried pumping her with antibiotics but sadly to late she was at work day before fine! This was nearly 14 years ago x | |||
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"April 2020, an out of hours doctor sent me to A&E with sepsis. I had to go to the out of hours surgery because the GP refused to see me. The out of hours doctor called an ambulance and had to argue with the paramedic who arrived because the paramedic wasn't convinced!!! If the hadn't insisted, I would now be brown bread. An interesting conversation is yet to be had with the fucking tosser who wouldn't see me." Yes sepsis that's what was on her death certificate ! X | |||
"April 2020, an out of hours doctor sent me to A&E with sepsis. I had to go to the out of hours surgery because the GP refused to see me. The out of hours doctor called an ambulance and had to argue with the paramedic who arrived because the paramedic wasn't convinced!!! If the hadn't insisted, I would now be brown bread. An interesting conversation is yet to be had with the fucking tosser who wouldn't see me. Yes sepsis that's what was on her death certificate ! X" It's amazing how sepsis is one of the biggest killers and yet hardly gets any press. | |||
"No Doctors in my area are seeing patients unless it's an absolute must, it's all done over the phone or video calls. What I do find strange is that you 'have' to keep wearing masks when you attend the Doctors and that is the government keeping that rule, yet any where else its a personal choice when you go shopping inside, still no Hospital visits either!! So what's that all about?...some thing we don't know? " Sick people go to doctors. They don’t know what they’re sick with though..hence the caution. | |||
" Granted it's probably good value but if you pay private medical insurance you get a service that reflects that. " You can always see your GP as a private patient….and pay the fee. Which you would still pay even if you had health insurance. | |||
"My local GP surgery do not want anyone in and yet are happy to send you to the local medical centre. It’s almost as if they think GP’s are not to be risked but its okay to risk the lower ranks." You do know that many doctors help in hospitals? All the GPs’ in my local practise spend one day each week in a hospital, many others do the same. | |||
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"On the whole I like the phone appointments. I have 12 weekly B12 injections and apart from 1 that got delayed a few weeks I've still had them. As far as I'm concerned the gp is there to treat people and they don't always need you sitting at the side of their desk answering questions. Be greatful we have a health service. 12 months ago we were all on our doorstep clapping for the service that's now not up to scratch apparently. " I won’t be grateful for something that isn’t fit for purpose. I didn’t need to spend 4 days being ill, and then be admitted to hospital because the doctor wouldn’t see me. | |||
"On the whole I like the phone appointments. I have 12 weekly B12 injections and apart from 1 that got delayed a few weeks I've still had them. As far as I'm concerned the gp is there to treat people and they don't always need you sitting at the side of their desk answering questions. Be greatful we have a health service. 12 months ago we were all on our doorstep clapping for the service that's now not up to scratch apparently. I won’t be grateful for something that isn’t fit for purpose. I didn’t need to spend 4 days being ill, and then be admitted to hospital because the doctor wouldn’t see me. " Hospitals are NHS too! If I'd have felt as ill as you obviously were I'd have presented at A&E or a walk in centre. In actual fact my granddaughter aged 2 had a nasty cough and I was concerned enough to rock up at hospital and sit in a room for over 4 hours with her. If I hadn't she may have ended up in your predicament. Am glad too see you appear recovered now. | |||
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"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it!" I really hope people don't go to their GP to spout bollocks they read on the internet | |||
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"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it!" Utter balderdash (the Covid conspiracy bit). | |||
"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it!" Are doctors not NHS ? And where are you getting these stories from ? | |||
"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it! Utter balderdash (the Covid conspiracy bit)." Utter balderdash the previous forensic detail bit! | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?!
Yes .. i f@@@@@@g know ..my point being that its high risk for a dentist and dental nurse. Especially where AGPs are concerned.
Aerosol Generating Procedures..
Dentists and hygienist wear enhanced PPE for AGPs. Doing a standard dental check up is not considered an AGP. For things like full scale/polishes, fillings, root canals, extractions, you'll find the staff are wearing respirators. They also have to clean down the surgery in forensic detail afterwards. "Yep agreed same at mine. Can’t compare with a gp surgery environment. | |||
"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it!" Spout that to your gp the next time you need to see one and please share your response here. I’d like to be a fly on the wall to that conversation | |||
"On the whole I like the phone appointments. I have 12 weekly B12 injections and apart from 1 that got delayed a few weeks I've still had them. As far as I'm concerned the gp is there to treat people and they don't always need you sitting at the side of their desk answering questions. Be greatful we have a health service. 12 months ago we were all on our doorstep clapping for the service that's now not up to scratch apparently. I won’t be grateful for something that isn’t fit for purpose. I didn’t need to spend 4 days being ill, and then be admitted to hospital because the doctor wouldn’t see me. Hospitals are NHS too! If I'd have felt as ill as you obviously were I'd have presented at A&E or a walk in centre. In actual fact my granddaughter aged 2 had a nasty cough and I was concerned enough to rock up at hospital and sit in a room for over 4 hours with her. If I hadn't she may have ended up in your predicament. Am glad too see you appear recovered now. " I did go to A&E, and was admitted there. It was two weeks ago, so yes I am recovering thank you | |||
"On the whole I like the phone appointments. I have 12 weekly B12 injections and apart from 1 that got delayed a few weeks I've still had them. As far as I'm concerned the gp is there to treat people and they don't always need you sitting at the side of their desk answering questions. Be greatful we have a health service. 12 months ago we were all on our doorstep clapping for the service that's now not up to scratch apparently. I won’t be grateful for something that isn’t fit for purpose. I didn’t need to spend 4 days being ill, and then be admitted to hospital because the doctor wouldn’t see me. Hospitals are NHS too! If I'd have felt as ill as you obviously were I'd have presented at A&E or a walk in centre. In actual fact my granddaughter aged 2 had a nasty cough and I was concerned enough to rock up at hospital and sit in a room for over 4 hours with her. If I hadn't she may have ended up in your predicament. Am glad too see you appear recovered now. I did go to A&E, and was admitted there. It was two weeks ago, so yes I am recovering thank you " good to hear!  | |||
"On the whole I like the phone appointments. I have 12 weekly B12 injections and apart from 1 that got delayed a few weeks I've still had them. As far as I'm concerned the gp is there to treat people and they don't always need you sitting at the side of their desk answering questions. Be greatful we have a health service. 12 months ago we were all on our doorstep clapping for the service that's now not up to scratch apparently. " I have the same injections every three months although I haven't had one now for over a year due to my surgery refusing to do them because of covid. They gave me tablets for one month which they told me would not be nearly as good for me, but better than nothing, and now I've got nothing. I was booked in for my b12 two weeks ago and they cancelled on the day. I'm now booked in again for this week and fingers crossed they won't cancel as I really need my injection. | |||
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"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it!" What Covid hoax? | |||
"I wonder, are private GPs seeing people face to face?" Yes. I don't know however if they are any better off that the NHS. Asked for an appointment and was told 3 weeks time. I kind of expected same day or next day, so not very impressed with Private. I kind of thought that was the point in a free-market economy. | |||
"I’m getting the implant Monday, the reason, my doctors have decided to move all those who have the depo injection onto self inject only, I can’t self inject, I’ve tried and I just can’t. Doctor told me I either self inject or don’t have it as nurses will be too busy in the futures I get injected 4 times a year but that apparently is too much. Absolute joke. Also I am getting the implant from an independent because when I phone my GP about it they said they were to busy to deal with me…… Lily " Oh I hope they don’t stop mine! I read the info and the home one was a lower amount than the one given by the nurse and a longer time frame between injections so I refused it based on it not being the same as what I’m currently getting, I’ve had the same injection since I was 15/16 due to heavy periods and only stopped it to have my children. I’ve heard too many horror stories about implants and coils and I suffer migraines and throw up from them making the pill no good either (and a terrible memory for taking pills) | |||
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"I’m getting the implant Monday, the reason, my doctors have decided to move all those who have the depo injection onto self inject only, I can’t self inject, I’ve tried and I just can’t. Doctor told me I either self inject or don’t have it as nurses will be too busy in the futures I get injected 4 times a year but that apparently is too much. Absolute joke. Also I am getting the implant from an independent because when I phone my GP about it they said they were to busy to deal with me…… Lily Oh I hope they don’t stop mine! I read the info and the home one was a lower amount than the one given by the nurse and a longer time frame between injections so I refused it based on it not being the same as what I’m currently getting, I’ve had the same injection since I was 15/16 due to heavy periods and only stopped it to have my children. I’ve heard too many horror stories about implants and coils and I suffer migraines and throw up from them making the pill no good either (and a terrible memory for taking pills) " Most surgeries are changing to self inject for the depo. This was all planned way before covid. The new one is a very tiny needle that you inject into your abdomen. We will still do it in surgery for people who don't want to self inject but you will still get the new injection not the old one in your bum. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Mines closed due to 4/6 doctors having covid " Mine closed for three weeks in March because all the nurses that volunteered to vaccinate people at different locations in town were told they were better off served in the surgery dealing with minor stuff from patients They were all happy to do this but then later found out that the GP’s in the surgery learnt they’d be getting £12 per jab and decided they needed the money more. 75 per cent of the nurses left the surgery within a fortnight disgusted and deceived by the GP’s behaviour of greed and the practice manager actually spinning a lie to the nurses on behalf of the GP’s who work there. They would have preferred if they told them the truth and not pretend to blow smoke up their arse as if it was the nurses that were desperately needed within the surgery at that time . | |||
" As for dentists most in my area are still only doing urgent treatments only you can't get a check up and they won't do a scale and polish at mine either. " Our NHS dentist has been back doing routine check ups since at least March, because we went as a family for regular checkups (child included). We could have made separate hygienist appointments if required (the practice literature says they are doing hygienist appts on certain days with gaps in between patients for cleaning). Neither of us NEEDED to see the hygienist so we just had the checkup, which included dental x-rays. | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. As for dentists most in my area are still only doing urgent treatments only you can't get a check up and they won't do a scale and polish at mine either. " Exactly this & the poster who said "the covid hoax" has really ticked me off! I work as admin in our city hospital and trust me there was no hoax happening when some of my colleagues got it and I believe 2 died. The long term affect on 1 colleague could well end in medical retirement. There is nothing fake about it | |||
"Quite simpl. Imagine the questions they would get asked about this covid hoax if they were at the office? The ones who have spoken against this BS have been struck off and most of these GPs like any other profession don't want to be unemployed. It's wrong and is a mockery to the NHS who are now having more people attending due to their doctor's not been at work. Sick of it!" Most GPs' are self-employed. Most GP premises are not owned by the NHS, but rented/owned by the practice. Many GPs' also do a days work in a hospital each week. Hopefully, no GP practices have been hubs of infection during this period. It's no wonder the "there is no covid it's a plot to make us into dog-meat" conspiracies are rife on the web/antisocial meeja..... "nobody ever died of covid". Another theory that happened [by accident] to be true! They died of other problems CAUSED by the initial infection. Got a new thing...if you don't believe what the medical profession is telling you....why bother ever going to a doctor/hospital....just go to the local shaman....a few incantations and your heart/lung/liver/bone problems will magically vanish. Sorted. Hopefully that will mean that, while some of you are murmering incantations in a fug of incense, I will be able to be treated in the doctors/hospital, and not wait in a queue. | |||
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"I’m getting the implant Monday, the reason, my doctors have decided to move all those who have the depo injection onto self inject only, I can’t self inject, I’ve tried and I just can’t. Doctor told me I either self inject or don’t have it as nurses will be too busy in the futures I get injected 4 times a year but that apparently is too much. Absolute joke. Also I am getting the implant from an independent because when I phone my GP about it they said they were to busy to deal with me…… Lily Oh I hope they don’t stop mine! I read the info and the home one was a lower amount than the one given by the nurse and a longer time frame between injections so I refused it based on it not being the same as what I’m currently getting, I’ve had the same injection since I was 15/16 due to heavy periods and only stopped it to have my children. I’ve heard too many horror stories about implants and coils and I suffer migraines and throw up from them making the pill no good either (and a terrible memory for taking pills) Most surgeries are changing to self inject for the depo. This was all planned way before covid. The new one is a very tiny needle that you inject into your abdomen. We will still do it in surgery for people who don't want to self inject but you will still get the new injection not the old one in your bum. " Truth be told I’m terrified, I have heavy painful periods and like yourself have been on the injection to get rid of them. I self injected once (my husband had to do it for me because I was shaking so much), 7-10 days later I had one of the heaviest bleeds I’ve ever experienced, I had to leave work it was that bad. I’m just fed up of being treated like a hinderance and that I don’t matter. I did phone the doctor and they confirmed the dose wasn’t the same and that I might not be covered. Queue panic from me as we don’t want children, they then moved me onto the pill despite me saying I had been on them before and the effected my mental health. They just didn’t care. | |||
"I’m getting the implant Monday, the reason, my doctors have decided to move all those who have the depo injection onto self inject only, I can’t self inject, I’ve tried and I just can’t. Doctor told me I either self inject or don’t have it as nurses will be too busy in the futures I get injected 4 times a year but that apparently is too much. Absolute joke. Also I am getting the implant from an independent because when I phone my GP about it they said they were to busy to deal with me…… Lily Oh I hope they don’t stop mine! I read the info and the home one was a lower amount than the one given by the nurse and a longer time frame between injections so I refused it based on it not being the same as what I’m currently getting, I’ve had the same injection since I was 15/16 due to heavy periods and only stopped it to have my children. I’ve heard too many horror stories about implants and coils and I suffer migraines and throw up from them making the pill no good either (and a terrible memory for taking pills) Most surgeries are changing to self inject for the depo. This was all planned way before covid. The new one is a very tiny needle that you inject into your abdomen. We will still do it in surgery for people who don't want to self inject but you will still get the new injection not the old one in your bum. Truth be told I’m terrified, I have heavy painful periods and like yourself have been on the injection to get rid of them. I self injected once (my husband had to do it for me because I was shaking so much), 7-10 days later I had one of the heaviest bleeds I’ve ever experienced, I had to leave work it was that bad. I’m just fed up of being treated like a hinderance and that I don’t matter. I did phone the doctor and they confirmed the dose wasn’t the same and that I might not be covered. Queue panic from me as we don’t want children, they then moved me onto the pill despite me saying I had been on them before and the effected my mental health. They just didn’t care." The dose is different as one is given into muscle and the other into subcutaneous tissue. If the whole dose is given correctly you should be covered and they both use the same hormones. One issue in your case also seems to be you were not even given any instruction or demonstration on how to do it. Where I work we do it once to show the patient and then at the next appointment we would watch you do it yourself to make sure it was done correctly. If you are not happy we would still allow you to come in and get it done. It doesn't sound like your surgery is very supportive. | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. " No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment | |||
"I work for the NHS and they are open. They won't see you unless they deem it nescessery to do so due to time and risk, if they can diagnose an infection over the phone and need to prescribe antibiotics or give advice, then that's much quicker for them to do so and less risk of transmission of Covid than seeing in person " I think the answers just within this thread, show that the approach isn’t working. | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment" This would require the provision of seating. My GP surgery was having people wait outside during the lockdown but they failed to understand that not everyone arrived by car and some old dears were being dropped off by taxi and standing in the freezing cold with no protection from the weather and no seating. They were also using fire doors to create a one way system but my wheelchair was precisely as wide as the opening and so I could not use my hands on the rim to push through. I had to yank myself through using the door frame and hope the door didn't blow shut on my fingers. At least I had a bring-your-own chair to sit in the snow on! | |||
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"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment" People don't just wait outside though. They winge, moan, complain, shout, swear and abuse staff when asked to wait outside. Seen it been there done that. I just wish people would understand we are also working under rules and advice set out by a governing body. Do you really think every GP surgery in the country suddenly decided to all go to phone triage at the same time by coincidence? It is for safety of patients at the end of the day but some people will always complain. | |||
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"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment People don't just wait outside though. They winge, moan, complain, shout, swear and abuse staff when asked to wait outside. Seen it been there done that. I just wish people would understand we are also working under rules and advice set out by a governing body. Do you really think every GP surgery in the country suddenly decided to all go to phone triage at the same time by coincidence? It is for safety of patients at the end of the day but some people will always complain. " A bad show when not even a chair out side for old people to sit and wait! And will b worse in winter! People will put of going then people will die!! But docs really dont care! X | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment This would require the provision of seating. My GP surgery was having people wait outside during the lockdown but they failed to understand that not everyone arrived by car and some old dears were being dropped off by taxi and standing in the freezing cold with no protection from the weather and no seating. They were also using fire doors to create a one way system but my wheelchair was precisely as wide as the opening and so I could not use my hands on the rim to push through. I had to yank myself through using the door frame and hope the door didn't blow shut on my fingers. At least I had a bring-your-own chair to sit in the snow on!" Arriving on time and asking for help with your entrance would have solved this | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment People don't just wait outside though. They winge, moan, complain, shout, swear and abuse staff when asked to wait outside. Seen it been there done that. I just wish people would understand we are also working under rules and advice set out by a governing body. Do you really think every GP surgery in the country suddenly decided to all go to phone triage at the same time by coincidence? It is for safety of patients at the end of the day but some people will always complain. " I wish people would understand that some of us think the service is not up to scratch and stop taking it personally. Stating the obvious is not complaining. I also wish some people would realise that we patients are not stupid and know why the system changed but can state that they are not getting the service we think we should be getting at this time The guidelines changed in May 2021 to wanting GP's to do more face to face appointments | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment This would require the provision of seating. My GP surgery was having people wait outside during the lockdown but they failed to understand that not everyone arrived by car and some old dears were being dropped off by taxi and standing in the freezing cold with no protection from the weather and no seating. They were also using fire doors to create a one way system but my wheelchair was precisely as wide as the opening and so I could not use my hands on the rim to push through. I had to yank myself through using the door frame and hope the door didn't blow shut on my fingers. At least I had a bring-your-own chair to sit in the snow on! Arriving on time and asking for help with your entrance would have solved this" Pmsl! Arrive on time! Yet still hav e to wait cos the docs never run on time! x | |||
" Pmsl! Arrive on time! Yet still hav e to wait cos the docs never run on time! x"Hopefully they have got better seeing as they don't see so many now  | |||
"The telephone triage and keeping people out is for your benefit not the staffs. I work in a gp surgery and we have been doing bloods and most other face to face appointments that cant be done over the phone. I have still been seeing between 20 and 30 patients per day. Doctors are mainly doing phone calls but will see face to face if needed. Do you really want to be sat in a full waiting room with people not knowing what they have while they cough and sneeze everywhere?? Most GP surgery waiting rooms would be full to capacity if running normally with every seat filled. I know I wouldn't want to be sat next to someone with covid. No they wouldn't. People could wait outside until the time of their appointment This would require the provision of seating. My GP surgery was having people wait outside during the lockdown but they failed to understand that not everyone arrived by car and some old dears were being dropped off by taxi and standing in the freezing cold with no protection from the weather and no seating. They were also using fire doors to create a one way system but my wheelchair was precisely as wide as the opening and so I could not use my hands on the rim to push through. I had to yank myself through using the door frame and hope the door didn't blow shut on my fingers. At least I had a bring-your-own chair to sit in the snow on! Arriving on time and asking for help with your entrance would have solved this" Patients did arrive on time and were told to wait outside until called in by the appropriate clinician. It's not the patient's fault if the clinician is late. Nor would clinicians provide physical assistance to patients but also wouldn't let family members cross the threshold. I got in, but having a fire exit that's barely wide enough for a wheelchair is not actually compliant with the DDA and never has been. The doorways are too narrow (admitted by the surgery). | |||
" I got in, but having a fire exit that's barely wide enough for a wheelchair is not actually compliant with the DDA and never has been. The doorways are too narrow (admitted by the surgery)." I would have thought this would be the first place to have wheelchair access or help even in a pandemic if they havn't | |||
" I got in, but having a fire exit that's barely wide enough for a wheelchair is not actually compliant with the DDA and never has been. The doorways are too narrow (admitted by the surgery). I would have thought this would be the first place to have wheelchair access or help even in a pandemic if they havn't" Through the main entrance - fine, no problems. The fire doors used in COVID with the main entrance locked and bolted? Nope. Too narrow. There are two consultation rooms that are too narrow for my chair entirely - one is the cupboard sized room used for phlebotomy and the second is room 10 (formerly the pharmacist's room but made into a consultation room about three years ago. I'm happy to provide the name of the practice via PM if you wish to visit and inspect. | |||
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"Ours you have to do an E-Consult and they’ll then ring you and discuss symptoms or invite you in to see a GP. Doors are locked and you are buzzed in where there is a one way system etc. In one way it’s been easier getting prescriptions for Epipens and asthma medication, but if you have anything wrong with you their first response is to go to the Hospital. I did see a pretty distressing incident last time I was there waiting with my son where a man had turned up begging to see a GP for help for his son who had attempted to take his own life. He was told by the receptionist (in front of me) to try the mental health unit at the local hospital. The man had just come from there as the hospital had referred him back to his GP. The receptionist wasn’t having any of it. It was awful seeing someone in that state, offered no privacy, no advice, no help. He was completely desperate. I feel he would have gotten a different reaction had the Surgery been open as normal. "My son was delisted by our GP because he "refused" to follow their advice and kept calling for an appointment, while suicidal. They told him to go to A&E and await the crisis team. The previous time he did that (go to A&E), he waited 8hrs, was eventually seen but sent away with just a phone follow up appointment. I had a call in the middle of the night to go and collect him from A&E. He'd been at a railway station with the intention of stepping off the platform. At the follow up call, he was not actively suicidal so he was discharged from the crisis team - no medication prescribed, no counselling recommended. Nothing. All my son wanted was a phone appointment with a GP in May, but this was denied over multiple phone calls by the reception team. After several attempts to get an appointment (any kind of appointment), he was delisted. He didn't know he'd been delisted until he tried again at a suicidal point and was told he was no longer a patient. I was party to that phonecall and to see my son like that was beyond heartbreaking. I booked him a same day private GP video appointment just so he could get some advice (they gave us a phone number for counselling but he's not actually got anywhere with it). I am not a mental health specialist, nor can I make my 19yo son go to A&E against his wishes. I had no idea how to help him, to be honest. He registered with a different GP who did make a phone appointment about his mental health..... | |||
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"Ours you have to do an E-Consult and they’ll then ring you and discuss symptoms or invite you in to see a GP. Doors are locked and you are buzzed in where there is a one way system etc. In one way it’s been easier getting prescriptions for Epipens and asthma medication, but if you have anything wrong with you their first response is to go to the Hospital. I did see a pretty distressing incident last time I was there waiting with my son where a man had turned up begging to see a GP for help for his son who had attempted to take his own life. He was told by the receptionist (in front of me) to try the mental health unit at the local hospital. The man had just come from there as the hospital had referred him back to his GP. The receptionist wasn’t having any of it. It was awful seeing someone in that state, offered no privacy, no advice, no help. He was completely desperate. I feel he would have gotten a different reaction had the Surgery been open as normal.
My son was delisted by our GP because he "refused" to follow their advice and kept calling for an appointment, while suicidal. They told him to go to A&E and await the crisis team. The previous time he did that (go to A&E), he waited 8hrs, was eventually seen but sent away with just a phone follow up appointment. I had a call in the middle of the night to go and collect him from A&E. He'd been at a railway station with the intention of stepping off the platform. At the follow up call, he was not actively suicidal so he was discharged from the crisis team - no medication prescribed, no counselling recommended. Nothing. All my son wanted was a phone appointment with a GP in May, but this was denied over multiple phone calls by the reception team. After several attempts to get an appointment (any kind of appointment), he was delisted. He didn't know he'd been delisted until he tried again at a suicidal point and was told he was no longer a patient. I was party to that phonecall and to see my son like that was beyond heartbreaking. I booked him a same day private GP video appointment just so he could get some advice (they gave us a phone number for counselling but he's not actually got anywhere with it).
I am not a mental health specialist, nor can I make my 19yo son go to A&E against his wishes. I had no idea how to help him, to be honest. He registered with a different GP who did make a phone appointment about his mental health....."It’s awful isn’t it. We need mental health services more than anything right now and they’re one of the hardest areas hit by cutbacks. But in the meantime a bit of empathy by those who should be there to help wouldn’t go amiss. Just read your other post and you sound like you have a lot going on right now, hope everything works out ok. | |||
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"I had a Mum in this morning, worried about her daughter, who was with her, got them seen within 5 minutes, please, please give us a break, we are working as hard as we can, and delivering the vaccination rollout, all weekend, every weekend since last December " You're doing a great job! | |||
" I got in, but having a fire exit that's barely wide enough for a wheelchair is not actually compliant with the DDA and never has been. The doorways are too narrow (admitted by the surgery). I would have thought this would be the first place to have wheelchair access or help even in a pandemic if they havn't Through the main entrance - fine, no problems. The fire doors used in COVID with the main entrance locked and bolted? Nope. Too narrow. There are two consultation rooms that are too narrow for my chair entirely - one is the cupboard sized room used for phlebotomy and the second is room 10 (formerly the pharmacist's room but made into a consultation room about three years ago. I'm happy to provide the name of the practice via PM if you wish to visit and inspect." Why would I do that? I am guessing you are assuming I don't believe what you say and I am not sure how you would get that from my post so I can only repeat what I said So to clarify, whoever decided which way the wheelchairs come into the GP's could have thought it out better or made sure someone was there to help if needed, whether there was a pandemic or not. | |||
" I got in, but having a fire exit that's barely wide enough for a wheelchair is not actually compliant with the DDA and never has been. The doorways are too narrow (admitted by the surgery). I would have thought this would be the first place to have wheelchair access or help even in a pandemic if they havn't Through the main entrance - fine, no problems. The fire doors used in COVID with the main entrance locked and bolted? Nope. Too narrow. There are two consultation rooms that are too narrow for my chair entirely - one is the cupboard sized room used for phlebotomy and the second is room 10 (formerly the pharmacist's room but made into a consultation room about three years ago. I'm happy to provide the name of the practice via PM if you wish to visit and inspect. Why would I do that? I am guessing you are assuming I don't believe what you say and I am not sure how you would get that from my post so I can only repeat what I said So to clarify, whoever decided which way the wheelchairs come into the GP's could have thought it out better or made sure someone was there to help if needed, whether there was a pandemic or not." Perhaps I'm over sensitive, but the default response to many of the issues I (and many others) encounter are along the lines of "surely it can't be that bad/hard/somebody must have thought of XYZ." People who go everywhere on foot don't think about people who don't, including GP practices and other similar establishments. The pandemic has made access to many venues for disabled people much, much harder but despite feedback etc, few organisations actually seem to care. If I misconstrued the nature of your comment then I apologise. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. Still closed round here too. I dont think GP surgerys will ever return to the old normal. There's something fishy going on .. Can see a dentist no problem and guess what ? You take your mask off ... Why do you think dentists ask you to remove your mask when you're in the chair? Hmmmmm, I wonder?! "Not quite got the concept of irony yet,have you. | |||
" I got in, but having a fire exit that's barely wide enough for a wheelchair is not actually compliant with the DDA and never has been. The doorways are too narrow (admitted by the surgery). I would have thought this would be the first place to have wheelchair access or help even in a pandemic if they havn't Through the main entrance - fine, no problems. The fire doors used in COVID with the main entrance locked and bolted? Nope. Too narrow. There are two consultation rooms that are too narrow for my chair entirely - one is the cupboard sized room used for phlebotomy and the second is room 10 (formerly the pharmacist's room but made into a consultation room about three years ago. I'm happy to provide the name of the practice via PM if you wish to visit and inspect. Why would I do that? I am guessing you are assuming I don't believe what you say and I am not sure how you would get that from my post so I can only repeat what I said So to clarify, whoever decided which way the wheelchairs come into the GP's could have thought it out better or made sure someone was there to help if needed, whether there was a pandemic or not. Perhaps I'm over sensitive, but the default response to many of the issues I (and many others) encounter are along the lines of "surely it can't be that bad/hard/somebody must have thought of XYZ." People who go everywhere on foot don't think about people who don't, including GP practices and other similar establishments. The pandemic has made access to many venues for disabled people much, much harder but despite feedback etc, few organisations actually seem to care. If I misconstrued the nature of your comment then I apologise." You did yes. I was actually saying you would think GP's of all places would be wheelchair friendly. No apology needed, I just wanted to clarify | |||
"I had a Mum in this morning, worried about her daughter, who was with her, got them seen within 5 minutes, please, please give us a break, we are working as hard as we can, and delivering the vaccination rollout, all weekend, every weekend since last December " I’m sure you are doing a great job, but unfortunately not all surgeries are. Some practices are failing their patients. | |||
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"I work in an opticians, we've been routine testing since June last year, close contact in the test room and pre and post test area...... Can't see my GP though for something that needs examined in person without a fight " It’s very bizarre | |||
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"My mum had a hearing test via telephone recently. I find it very odd that she could go to a football match, wedding or funeral and stand next to a stranger but can't have face to face medical tests "Exactly! Everything else is open, why aren’t GP surgeries. | |||
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"My mum had a hearing test via telephone recently. I find it very odd that she could go to a football match, wedding or funeral and stand next to a stranger but can't have face to face medical tests
Exactly! Everything else is open, why aren’t GP surgeries. "I'm starting to get suspicious | |||
"My mum had a hearing test via telephone recently. I find it very odd that she could go to a football match, wedding or funeral and stand next to a stranger but can't have face to face medical tests
Exactly! Everything else is open, why aren’t GP surgeries. "I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face, reached 150k vaccinated at our site this week, on top of the day job and flu clinics are a couple of weeks away, 600 a day then, in a safe one way environment, it is so demoralizing to read all of these comments and the GP bashing in the media when some of us have had no annual leave for 18 months and never stopped, no wonder so many are choosing to retire | |||
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"It must be the lottery of where you live. Personally I can’t fault the service we received this last 18 months and a huge improvement on what we had before, glad it’s staying the way it is, rather than knowing you might be ill in two weeks time do book an appointment just in case! Now you complete your online triage form, a doctor calls you and if deemed necessary, will also do a video chat or told to come into the surgery. Every time we’ve had to use them all of this has taken place before 11.30 on the same day. Only once was medication prescribed without being seen in person and that was because it was a reoccurring issue. We’ve had on the spot tests taken, full examinations, hospital referrals when needed (which again all quicker than before) and all our routine checks / tests have continued. Same experience for my widely spread family & friends, all in different areas and trusts and no issues at all with access, diagnosis or treatment receive, whether new or continuous from pre covid times. " Yay, a satisfied customer, thank you for the positive, we are doing our absolute best | |||
"My mum had a hearing test via telephone recently. I find it very odd that she could go to a football match, wedding or funeral and stand next to a stranger but can't have face to face medical tests
Exactly! Everything else is open, why aren’t GP surgeries.
I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face, reached 150k vaccinated at our site this week, on top of the day job and flu clinics are a couple of weeks away, 600 a day then, in a safe one way environment, it is so demoralizing to read all of these comments and the GP bashing in the media when some of us have had no annual leave for 18 months and never stopped, no wonder so many are choosing to retire"People can only go by their own experiences. Our Docs barricaded themselves in a year last March and nothing is normal anymore. There are no blood tests, no nurse appointments no vaccinations, they are all farmed out to other places. There is also a big long list on the website of what you can't ring for, it really isn't a patient friendly place anymore | |||
" I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face" I don't think it is a misconception. My GP used to have a walk in surgery every morning. Arrive between 8am and 10.30am, queue and you could see a doctor. That stopped and hasn't restarted. Routine nurse appointments eg B12 injections were cancelled. No smear tests. Blood tests were referred to the hospital. Surgery door locked. | |||
" I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face I don't think it is a misconception. My GP used to have a walk in surgery every morning. Arrive between 8am and 10.30am, queue and you could see a doctor. That stopped and hasn't restarted. Routine nurse appointments eg B12 injections were cancelled. No smear tests. Blood tests were referred to the hospital. Surgery door locked. " i have to agree with a lot you have said. | |||
" I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face I don't think it is a misconception. My GP used to have a walk in surgery every morning. Arrive between 8am and 10.30am, queue and you could see a doctor. That stopped and hasn't restarted. Routine nurse appointments eg B12 injections were cancelled. No smear tests. Blood tests were referred to the hospital. Surgery door locked. " I am sorry some of your surgeries appear to have let you down, I can only speak for my own, we had to manage footfall in the waiting room, so there was always going to be less patients and more spaced out, we just changed our appointment times to accommodate this. The telephone triage was ordered by NHS England and works for a lot of patients and conditions and if it doesn't, we bring you in, but I appreciate not everywhere operates in the same way, we are not working for the NHS, are individual businesses who deliver on behalf of the NHS, so not every area or even surgery will be the same... | |||
"My mum had a hearing test via telephone recently. I find it very odd that she could go to a football match, wedding or funeral and stand next to a stranger but can't have face to face medical tests
Exactly! Everything else is open, why aren’t GP surgeries.
I'm starting to get suspicious"It’s Bill Gates and the new world order that are to blame. | |||
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" I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face I don't think it is a misconception. My GP used to have a walk in surgery every morning. Arrive between 8am and 10.30am, queue and you could see a doctor. That stopped and hasn't restarted. Routine nurse appointments eg B12 injections were cancelled. No smear tests. Blood tests were referred to the hospital. Surgery door locked. I am sorry some of your surgeries appear to have let you down, I can only speak for my own, we had to manage footfall in the waiting room, so there was always going to be less patients and more spaced out, we just changed our appointment times to accommodate this. The telephone triage was ordered by NHS England and works for a lot of patients and conditions and if it doesn't, we bring you in, but I appreciate not everywhere operates in the same way, we are not working for the NHS, are individual businesses who deliver on behalf of the NHS, so not every area or even surgery will be the same..." Telephone triage does not work for elderly people who live alone and are pretty much completely deaf. My Dad has dementia too so the combination of trying to understand what's being said, to hear his phone and the fact that telephone appointments are not attached to a specific time, but rather a range of times (often as broad as "morning" or "afternoon") - he gets incredibly stressed and cannot convey what he needs to discuss, if he DOES manage to hear it ring. I don't always know if he's been given a phone appointment (e.g about medication) nor can I travel an hour each way, every single time, on the off chance someone might (or might not) phone him, unfortunately. Some patients waste more of your time by trying to do phone appointments than just asking them in person, at a specific time (that can be conveyed in writing/email/text for them to refer back to). My Dad is one of those patients. You'll simply phone him over and over, he won't hear his phone. Then he'll call your reception staff two hours later and won't understand why he can't speak to Dr Bloggs immediately, then he'll just turn up, unannounced and without an appointment, and will get all agitated in reception until someone comes to see him. | |||
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" I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face I don't think it is a misconception. My GP used to have a walk in surgery every morning. Arrive between 8am and 10.30am, queue and you could see a doctor. That stopped and hasn't restarted. Routine nurse appointments eg B12 injections were cancelled. No smear tests. Blood tests were referred to the hospital. Surgery door locked. I am sorry some of your surgeries appear to have let you down, I can only speak for my own, we had to manage footfall in the waiting room, so there was always going to be less patients and more spaced out, we just changed our appointment times to accommodate this. The telephone triage was ordered by NHS England and works for a lot of patients and conditions and if it doesn't, we bring you in, but I appreciate not everywhere operates in the same way, we are not working for the NHS, are individual businesses who deliver on behalf of the NHS, so not every area or even surgery will be the same... Telephone triage does not work for elderly people who live alone and are pretty much completely deaf. My Dad has dementia too so the combination of trying to understand what's being said, to hear his phone and the fact that telephone appointments are not attached to a specific time, but rather a range of times (often as broad as "morning" or "afternoon") - he gets incredibly stressed and cannot convey what he needs to discuss, if he DOES manage to hear it ring. I don't always know if he's been given a phone appointment (e.g about medication) nor can I travel an hour each way, every single time, on the off chance someone might (or might not) phone him, unfortunately. Some patients waste more of your time by trying to do phone appointments than just asking them in person, at a specific time (that can be conveyed in writing/email/text for them to refer back to). My Dad is one of those patients. You'll simply phone him over and over, he won't hear his phone. Then he'll call your reception staff two hours later and won't understand why he can't speak to Dr Bloggs immediately, then he'll just turn up, unannounced and without an appointment, and will get all agitated in reception until someone comes to see him. " We are a family, traditional small surgery and would know those things about your dad and treat him accordingly, bowing out now as I find the negativity about general practice and primary care too depressing, we can hold our heads up and that's essentially what matters to us and our patient population, being in the same practice for over 20 years affords that luxury | |||
"As well as difficult for the elderly, I don't understand how phone appointments are supposed to work for people in the multitude of jobs that can't always access their phone eg teachers, checkout staff, bus drivers etc " When we fill out our triage form we have to state the best hours to contact us. | |||
" I just don't understand where this misconception comes from, we have been open the whole pandemic, never stopped seeing patients, especially for screening, bloods, examinations and face to face I don't think it is a misconception. My GP used to have a walk in surgery every morning. Arrive between 8am and 10.30am, queue and you could see a doctor. That stopped and hasn't restarted. Routine nurse appointments eg B12 injections were cancelled. No smear tests. Blood tests were referred to the hospital. Surgery door locked. I am sorry some of your surgeries appear to have let you down, I can only speak for my own, we had to manage footfall in the waiting room, so there was always going to be less patients and more spaced out, we just changed our appointment times to accommodate this. The telephone triage was ordered by NHS England and works for a lot of patients and conditions and if it doesn't, we bring you in, but I appreciate not everywhere operates in the same way, we are not working for the NHS, are individual businesses who deliver on behalf of the NHS, so not every area or even surgery will be the same... Telephone triage does not work for elderly people who live alone and are pretty much completely deaf. My Dad has dementia too so the combination of trying to understand what's being said, to hear his phone and the fact that telephone appointments are not attached to a specific time, but rather a range of times (often as broad as "morning" or "afternoon") - he gets incredibly stressed and cannot convey what he needs to discuss, if he DOES manage to hear it ring. I don't always know if he's been given a phone appointment (e.g about medication) nor can I travel an hour each way, every single time, on the off chance someone might (or might not) phone him, unfortunately. Some patients waste more of your time by trying to do phone appointments than just asking them in person, at a specific time (that can be conveyed in writing/email/text for them to refer back to). My Dad is one of those patients. You'll simply phone him over and over, he won't hear his phone. Then he'll call your reception staff two hours later and won't understand why he can't speak to Dr Bloggs immediately, then he'll just turn up, unannounced and without an appointment, and will get all agitated in reception until someone comes to see him. We are a family, traditional small surgery and would know those things about your dad and treat him accordingly, bowing out now as I find the negativity about general practice and primary care too depressing, we can hold our heads up and that's essentially what matters to us and our patient population, being in the same practice for over 20 years affords that luxury" That's lovely for your practice, but the reality in a town centre polyclinic is very different unfortunately (he's been a patient for about 15yrs there). I have emailed them to ask for him to be offered in-person appointments but they have continued to use phone appointments. The last time, he caused quite a disturbance by refusing to leave the clinic. He turned up on spec, having missed multiple calls from the GP (who didn't leave a voicemail) and he was convinced that because multiple missed calls were present, that meant he HAD to be seen/spoken to that day. I volunteer in the vaccine centres as a volunteer vaccinator, so I'm trying my best to do my bit, but I have to say not all GP practices have managed things as well as others. I don't dispute some may have done brilliantly, by the way. | |||
"As well as difficult for the elderly, I don't understand how phone appointments are supposed to work for people in the multitude of jobs that can't always access their phone eg teachers, checkout staff, bus drivers etc When we fill out our triage form we have to state the best hours to contact us. " This is not a feature of the online form we have. Our form also cannot be used for what is deemed "urgent". If you tick "yes" to "are you having suicidal thoughts" when completing the form about mental health problems, it doesn't let you submit it. It worked fine for a suspected UTI, however. | |||
I phoned back and said it is for a smear test so I need to be seen and the receptionist said all consultations are done over the phone and you will only be seen by a doctor if necessary. So I said it's for a smear test it can only be done in person she got a bit shitty with me and said well that's the rules but then went to check and came back and said "yes sorry it's a face-to-face appointment I didn't know what a smear test was"! | |||
"I had a text to book my smear test. Called the surgery and they booked an appointment. Got a text an hour later saying "your appointment is booked for (date/time) this is a telephone appointment do not attend surgery" Now I know technology is good but its not that good!
I phoned back and said it is for a smear test so I need to be seen and the receptionist said all consultations are done over the phone and you will only be seen by a doctor if necessary. So I said it's for a smear test it can only be done in person she got a bit shitty with me and said well that's the rules but then went to check and came back and said "yes sorry it's a face-to-face appointment I didn't know what a smear test was"! " bloody hell | |||
" bloody hell"I second that . | |||
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"As well as difficult for the elderly, I don't understand how phone appointments are supposed to work for people in the multitude of jobs that can't always access their phone eg teachers, checkout staff, bus drivers etc " I know. I complained about my GP about this. Its completely unacceptable. They give a 48 hour window when they might call (and sometimes don't call for a week). It's fine for office workers but for anyone else who has a customer facing job where they cant just leave or driving or construction it's impossible. | |||
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"I had a text to book my smear test. Called the surgery and they booked an appointment. Got a text an hour later saying "your appointment is booked for (date/time) this is a telephone appointment do not attend surgery" Now I know technology is good but its not that good!
I phoned back and said it is for a smear test so I need to be seen and the receptionist said all consultations are done over the phone and you will only be seen by a doctor if necessary. So I said it's for a smear test it can only be done in person she got a bit shitty with me and said well that's the rules but then went to check and came back and said "yes sorry it's a face-to-face appointment I didn't know what a smear test was"!
bloody hell" Our docs have now put a notice up saying they are carrying on with Receptionist doing Triage from September and the Receptionists are trained in what to triage. I hope they know more than your receptionist | |||
"I’m not sure people realise just how short staffed GP surgeries are these days. We are well over a thousand GPs short of where we need to be with approximately 42% of GPs planning on retirement or leaving primary care over the next five years. Many doctors don’t want to take the financial risk of becoming a partner in a surgery these days which has resulted in well over 500 practices closing in the last 6 or 7 years. These practices provided primary care for 1.9 million people. Our health system has been massively underfunded and stripped to the bone by the government since 2010 and it is showing. If GP practices were struggling before the major pandemic how do you think they are doing now? If you want better healthcare stop voting for the party that is ideologically opposed to a National Health Service." | |||
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"This situation is beyond a joke couple of weeks ago I had a kidney infection, rang up surgery spoke to receptionist who said they would ring back which they did a couple of hours later telling me to take a urine sample in, when I took it receptionist said it will be dip tested by the nurse and forwarded to the lab and they would phone next next if there was anything wrong, A week passed and I receive a call from receptionist saying I have an infection and there’s a prescription waiting at my chemists, At no time at all did I speak to a doctor during all this..... utter madness!" did you need to? It feels like you got the answer. | |||
"This situation is beyond a joke couple of weeks ago I had a kidney infection, rang up surgery spoke to receptionist who said they would ring back which they did a couple of hours later telling me to take a urine sample in, when I took it receptionist said it will be dip tested by the nurse and forwarded to the lab and they would phone next next if there was anything wrong, A week passed and I receive a call from receptionist saying I have an infection and there’s a prescription waiting at my chemists, At no time at all did I speak to a doctor during all this..... utter madness!" Sounds like the system is working fine then | |||
" As for dentists most in my area are still only doing urgent treatments only you can't get a check up and they won't do a scale and polish at mine either. Our NHS dentist has been back doing routine check ups since at least March, because we went as a family for regular checkups (child included). We could have made separate hygienist appointments if required (the practice literature says they are doing hygienist appts on certain days with gaps in between patients for cleaning). Neither of us NEEDED to see the hygienist so we just had the checkup, which included dental x-rays." I had an appointment booked for check up and scale/polish early January last year. That got cancelled due to 2 out of 3 dentists in the practice falling ill. So a replacement appointment was made for June. Which was cancelled obviously due to COVID. I telephoned the practice at the start of July this year to try make an appointment for the check up etc, only to be told to call back in September to see if they were doing check ups as they were busy doing catch up on other kinds of necessary dental work until then. | |||
"I work for the NHS and they are open. They won't see you unless they deem it nescessery to do so due to time and risk, if they can diagnose an infection over the phone and need to prescribe antibiotics or give advice, then that's much quicker for them to do so and less risk of transmission of Covid than seeing in person " Several GP practices in my area still are not open for face to face consultations. Some do not even do over the phone consultation for whatever reason. At one in particular, the doctors dragon takes the call and a practice nurse phones back takes details from the patient of whatever they're phoning about and gets back with advice from a GP. Sorry, but some GP practices are causing a lot of anger, anxiety and frustration amongst their patients. One person very close to me has type 2 diabetes and blood pressure problems and other medical problems. She cannot get a face to face with her GP, instead she gets call backs several hours later. The last time she called the GP and he called he back said to her to go to A&E for immediate attention. She was told by the A&E doctor there that if she had gone there another half an hour later she could have died and that the problem could have been sorted out by her GP in the surgery had he seen her face to face hours earlier. | |||
"I had a text to book my smear test. Called the surgery and they booked an appointment. Got a text an hour later saying "your appointment is booked for (date/time) this is a telephone appointment do not attend surgery" Now I know technology is good but its not that good!
I phoned back and said it is for a smear test so I need to be seen and the receptionist said all consultations are done over the phone and you will only be seen by a doctor if necessary. So I said it's for a smear test it can only be done in person she got a bit shitty with me and said well that's the rules but then went to check and came back and said "yes sorry it's a face-to-face appointment I didn't know what a smear test was"!
bloody hell
Our docs have now put a notice up saying they are carrying on with Receptionist doing Triage from September and the Receptionists are trained in what to triage. I hope they know more than your receptionist "I hope so too. In fairness I don't normally have any issues and on the whole get good treatment. I'm not sure if she was new but to not know What is involved in a smear test being a woman let alone a doctors receptionist is quite concerning. | |||
"I had a Mum in this morning, worried about her daughter, who was with her, got them seen within 5 minutes, please, please give us a break, we are working as hard as we can, and delivering the vaccination rollout, all weekend, every weekend since last December " I think everybody understands that frount line staff are working as hard as they can but when anoperation has been cancelled for a 5th time, and you have to watch somebody you love deteriorate and lose mobility because they cannot get the treatment they need and used to be able to access its heartbreaking and feels like time is not on there side. It's not true that the NHS is open for business unless it's an emergency. Unfortunately for a lot of patients to have on going medical needs if they where given the treatment they need it wouldn't get urgent. | |||
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"It's very frustrating for those who cannot get a face to face appointment at the moment but genuinely, what do you think GPs are doing?" Not seeing patients for one ... | |||
"It's very frustrating for those who cannot get a face to face appointment at the moment but genuinely, what do you think GPs are doing?" I genuinely don't know. If I did it might help me understand | |||
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"You can usually get a private appt easily." And that's beyond the reach of most people. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. " They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not" Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true." I suggest you look at what hours your GP does at your surgery and see how much of his time he spends doing other private work. It could be true yours works full time at your practice but its becoming a thing of the past. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true. I suggest you look at what hours your GP does at your surgery and see how much of his time he spends doing other private work. It could be true yours works full time at your practice but its becoming a thing of the past. " So long as a GP works the hours they are paid for is there a problem with them doing private work too? I’m not a fan of private healthcare, and I’m really not sure why you would pay to see a generalist, but so long as it doesn’t cut into their salaried hours what’s the issue? | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true. I suggest you look at what hours your GP does at your surgery and see how much of his time he spends doing other private work. It could be true yours works full time at your practice but its becoming a thing of the past. So long as a GP works the hours they are paid for is there a problem with them doing private work too? I’m not a fan of private healthcare, and I’m really not sure why you would pay to see a generalist, but so long as it doesn’t cut into their salaried hours what’s the issue?" GP's are not salaried, they are self employed and there lies the problem | |||
"You can usually get a private appt easily. And that's beyond the reach of most people. " £25? Fairly necessary nowadays. Currently seeing about getting cataracts sorted. On the NHS, about 1/2/3 years? Privately (same hospital as the NHS sends me to) it will be £800/eye. Waiting time = 1 month private. Waiting time hip replacement = years NHS 6 weeks NHS paying patient. Not my fault. I didn't vote for this shower of crooked clapheads | |||
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"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true. I suggest you look at what hours your GP does at your surgery and see how much of his time he spends doing other private work. It could be true yours works full time at your practice but its becoming a thing of the past. So long as a GP works the hours they are paid for is there a problem with them doing private work too? I’m not a fan of private healthcare, and I’m really not sure why you would pay to see a generalist, but so long as it doesn’t cut into their salaried hours what’s the issue? GP's are not salaried, they are self employed and there lies the problem " Many GPs ARE salaries. GP partners are self employed. Locums may be salaried or via an agency. Many early career GPs are salaried via the GP partner organisation that employs them. | |||
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"I went down the private route for my mother's care and it costs nearly £1000 a month since I had to increase the amount of visits. The service is very good and mum has the house cleaned, she is feed 3-4 times a day. It gets really expensive if I need a doctor to visit her. But it's mum, and she deserves the best" Just to be clear that social care and it's associated costs are not part of the NHS and never have been. They are the responsibility of local authorities. Just making the distinction on a thread about GPs. Yes, social care is an absolute minefield! | |||
"I went down the private route for my mother's care and it costs nearly £1000 a month since I had to increase the amount of visits. The service is very good and mum has the house cleaned, she is feed 3-4 times a day. It gets really expensive if I need a doctor to visit her. But it's mum, and she deserves the best Just to be clear that social care and it's associated costs are not part of the NHS and never have been. They are the responsibility of local authorities. Just making the distinction on a thread about GPs. Yes, social care is an absolute minefield!" The service my mum was getting at first was just not good enough so I felt in her best interests to get people in who would look after her. The first lot were in and out the house in 5 minutes leaving her hungry and not clean. The team now sit with her and she is enjoying the company and feeling much better. Yiu can't put a price on that | |||
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"I went down the private route for my mother's care and it costs nearly £1000 a month since I had to increase the amount of visits. The service is very good and mum has the house cleaned, she is feed 3-4 times a day. It gets really expensive if I need a doctor to visit her. But it's mum, and she deserves the best Just to be clear that social care and it's associated costs are not part of the NHS and never have been. They are the responsibility of local authorities. Just making the distinction on a thread about GPs. Yes, social care is an absolute minefield! The service my mum was getting at first was just not good enough so I felt in her best interests to get people in who would look after her. The first lot were in and out the house in 5 minutes leaving her hungry and not clean. The team now sit with her and she is enjoying the company and feeling much better. Yiu can't put a price on that " Oh definitely, totally agree with you there. With my Grandad, he managed on his own with family support right to the end but I can see my Dad needing support I cannot provide very soon. I'm not looking forward to having to get in all in place. I'm glad you've found suitable support for your mum. | |||
"I went down the private route for my mother's care and it costs nearly £1000 a month since I had to increase the amount of visits. The service is very good and mum has the house cleaned, she is feed 3-4 times a day. It gets really expensive if I need a doctor to visit her. But it's mum, and she deserves the best Just to be clear that social care and it's associated costs are not part of the NHS and never have been. They are the responsibility of local authorities. Just making the distinction on a thread about GPs. Yes, social care is an absolute minefield! The service my mum was getting at first was just not good enough so I felt in her best interests to get people in who would look after her. The first lot were in and out the house in 5 minutes leaving her hungry and not clean. The team now sit with her and she is enjoying the company and feeling much better. Yiu can't put a price on that Oh definitely, totally agree with you there. With my Grandad, he managed on his own with family support right to the end but I can see my Dad needing support I cannot provide very soon. I'm not looking forward to having to get in all in place. I'm glad you've found suitable support for your mum." Thank you. Take care | |||
"You can usually get a private appt easily. And that's beyond the reach of most people. £25? Fairly necessary nowadays. Currently seeing about getting cataracts sorted. On the NHS, about 1/2/3 years? Privately (same hospital as the NHS sends me to) it will be £800/eye. Waiting time = 1 month private. Waiting time hip replacement = years NHS 6 weeks NHS paying patient. Not my fault. I didn't vote for this shower of crooked clapheads" Well I'm glad that you think 25 pounds to see a GP is affordable because for most it certainly isn't. Its fine if it's a one off at bed if you have a lot in term health conditions that is absolutely ridiculous. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true. I suggest you look at what hours your GP does at your surgery and see how much of his time he spends doing other private work. It could be true yours works full time at your practice but its becoming a thing of the past. So long as a GP works the hours they are paid for is there a problem with them doing private work too? I’m not a fan of private healthcare, and I’m really not sure why you would pay to see a generalist, but so long as it doesn’t cut into their salaried hours what’s the issue? GP's are not salaried, they are self employed and there lies the problem " Being salaried is by far the preferred option for GPs these days, people just don’t want to take the financial risk of being a partner. | |||
"Anyone know why they aren’t fully open again? It seems odd, when everything else is? Most I’ve heard of are still doing mainly telephone appointments. They aint open because GP's are lazy bastards, they get paid if they see you or not Despite my gripes about the GP service here recently, I know the above not to be true. I suggest you look at what hours your GP does at your surgery and see how much of his time he spends doing other private work. It could be true yours works full time at your practice but its becoming a thing of the past. So long as a GP works the hours they are paid for is there a problem with them doing private work too? I’m not a fan of private healthcare, and I’m really not sure why you would pay to see a generalist, but so long as it doesn’t cut into their salaried hours what’s the issue?" I use private because it’s fast ,easy and far better than nhs and my health is important. You see a generalist for only 2 reasons , to get prescription only drugs or a referral. I can book a GP in the next 2-3 hrs 247/365 using virtual care app, they call back, you tell them the drugs you want , the prescription is ready in 5mins on your phone. You need a referral you have the letter on your phone in 10 mins and book the appointment usually within 2-3 days. No waiting , the best treatment ,MRI, XRay any type of scan, all urine and blood tests done quarterly so any problem is found quick no waiting , everything covered, in any country. It costs a lot yes, but less than some people spend on cars or alcohol per year | |||
