OUR SURGERY NOW DOING FACE TO FACE CONSULTATIONS FROM 24th OCTOBER!

[Desanthony]

At last! Got a text to say that our surgery is back with face to face consultations! I have managed to make an appointment to see a real Dr - my favourite lady on Monday. I wonder if she will know me and I her or if we have changed beyond recognition in the last 3 years?

[sassy59]

Such good news. Wish our surgery would follow suit.

[Desanthony in reply to sassy59]

I really never expected this to happen here.

[Hidden]

Well all I can say sir, is ..................... may the force be with you.

John😂😂😂

[Desanthony in reply to Hidden]

I have to say I was wondering if we were ever going to get back to face to face here and it is welcome news! I am quite excited by it - how sad eh?

[jeanjeannie50]

That's an absolute disgrace Des. My surgery carried on seeing people if they thought it necessary. It's just as well all supermarket shelf fillers and checkout assistants didn't do the same and refuse to do their job. If they could carry on working, then why not doctors.

Jean

[Desanthony in reply to jeanjeannie50]

The nurses never stopped working and it was always possible to see a nurse or senior nurse practitioner who could refer you to a Doc just not seen a GP in all that time - did see a locum once.

[cicek]

Great news for your area. I still have to wait four week for a telephone appointment!!! I know GP's are all busy but so are many other professions.

[Gumbie_Cat]

I think ours has been doing them for quite a few months now, though you can also request a phone consultation. Managed to get an urgent one this morning too, which has set my mind at rest after a very fraught visit to A&E. (Had been told to go for a cardioversion if my ‘pill in the pocket’ didn’t work. Hours of waiting, it didn’t happen, and despite having the instructions in the letter I definitely felt that they didn’t think I should be there.)

Not prepared to even try that route again unless I’m desperately ill, so back to trying a daily medication while I wait for my ablation.

[Desanthony]

Nurses are giving our flu and Covid Injections not GP's. Makes me think they look on nurses as almost second class - "C" Stores as we used to say in the military as we have always been able to see a nurse or senior nurse practitioner.

[wilsond]

yay! Us too,have to book in advance but YES a real DR!!! Best wishes Des. Me too,25/11!

[Frances123]

Even at the height of covid our surgery saw face to face if it was absolutely essential. We went back to almost normal face to face appointments about a year ago and then being able to make your own appointments online again and everything up and running as normal a couple of months later. I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

[Desanthony in reply to Frances123]

Yes that sounds great! I wish we could e mail.

[Singwell]

 I think ours might be. I believe there's a COVID clinic time too. But like others all my consults have been via the phone.

Big news at our surgery however we have EMAIL! Yes we're in the 21st century at last. Rural Wales...

[Desanthony in reply to Singwell]

We used to be able to go on line to request repeat prescriptions but they stopped that a week or so into the first lockdown??? so we were back to ringing the pharmacy who then take the prescriptions into the GP. I have not tried to get online since as once again forgotten my pass word for on line - after all it's now nearly 3 years since I last went on line. didn't make sense stopping the online requests in lockdown but there you are? We are in Wales also.

[bassets]

Lucky you

[Janey1955]

let’s hope it’s the first of many

[Desanthony in reply to Janey1955]

Well I'd rather not see the GP too often!

[ETHEL103]

Ours did see me twice during Covid as i developed Atria Flutter however I don't think we can book appointments it's 8.30 call to the reception and if your deemed worthy enough you get a call which is what happened to me yesterday.Had ear problem obvs that couldn't be sorted over the phone.Still hardly anyone in the waiting room tho.

[Desanthony in reply to ETHEL103]

Last time my wife went to the surgery to see the nurse practitioner about an asthma exacerbation back in June that was not clearing up there was only two in the waiting room. and all the chairs had been taken out and just two left there - so at the time it must have been their policy to only have two people in the waiting room.

[Bingofox007]

I work in a GP surgery and we never refused to see anyone face to face ever, all grades of staff, even had an isolation room to see Covid positive patients, had ultra violet cleaning thing after each one. The choice was given to the patient :f2f, video or telephone. If they were known or suspected Covid then we’d collect them from their car, still the case now. We have never stopped wearing masks, aprons and gloves to see patients but it is rare that a patient turns up in a mask these days as they all think it’s ‘gone away’ I wish you well. Take care 🦊

[Outtheresinger]

At my surgery you can only get an appointment by ringing at 8:00am. Yesterday I had to redial the number 124 times before I my call was connected. I was number 7 in the queue I hung on for 20 minutes but when I finally spoke to the “Health Navigator”all the appointments had gone and Iwas told to try again on Monday! I said that I had had an accident and had wounds that needed re dressing and that I was on Apixaban so after 6 days they were still bleeding so they fitted me in. The only thing was they didn’t have any tubular bandage or micropore tape to fasten the non adhesive dressing. I would have been happy to buy my own dressings but you can’t buy specialist dressings of the right size and I can’t walk or drive until I heal a bit more. I can’t change practice as none of the local doctors are taking on new patients but this really isn’t acceptable given how much money the NHS receives. So I am very jealous of a face to face appointment with someone you have actually met before!

[Desanthony in reply to Outtheresinger]

I had a bad toe as I have arthritic toes and this toe was rubbing against my shoe - this would be about a year ago and it went septic. The Chiropodist said I should see the Doc and get antibiotics and get it dressed. Antibiotics were easy - just rang and the prescription was delivered to my door and given appointment to see a nurse for dressing - absolutely no dressings - we had better dressings at home and could have bought better - we were in town to see the chiropodist and it was no bother buying the dressings then but nowhere to buy them in the village. Apparently they hadn't been able to get dressings delivered at the surgery for 9 months due to various problems to do with production, the supply chain etc. Although it was good to be able to see the nurse and get the toe looked at I think the chiropodist could probably have done a better job if we had bought the dressings in town and asked him to put the dressings on.

[Outtheresinger]

Gosh it’s not just here then. I wonder if anyone is looking at the overall supply situation.

[Desanthony in reply to Outtheresinger]

Who knows? Thankfully I haven't had to see anyone for dressings since, glad not to have to if there seems to be such problems still. We have a good supply of dressings at home as my wife is allergic to quite a few types of dressings - it seems to be the adhesive on adhesive dressings that are the problem so we have melanin(spelling?) (gauze dressings) and micropore always in stock! Manage to get the micropore quite cheaply from Tesco the melanin we get from larger Boots - sometimes Superdrug. These days you could also probably get most things online though I have never looked - apart from having to get some tegaderm dressings urgently for a friend of mine who while staying with us hurt himself over a weekend and is diabetic - as usual he hurt himself on Saturday pm so we were lucky to be able to get delivery the following day.

[Karendeena]

Our surgery has just started doing the same

[Desanthony]

Really annoyed today as I have just had a call from the surgery asking if I forego my appointment this afternoon and have a blood test before I go - first blood test appointment is next Monday so I wait a week and then another week probably for the result and then I may get an appointment - I did ask for a blood test when I rang for my appointment but they just made an appointment to see the GP - which was fine I just wished they had made the blood test appointment when I rang them last week as I might have been able to have the blood test this week and get a little nearer to having a chat with the GP! Thing is I am due routine blood tests once a year in October and dare say they will not have included this on the form so will have to go again for another blood test for those and then another for my PSA in a month - I asked them to try and put all these together last year and they wouldn't then when I saw the nurse for the bloods she said there was no problem doing them all together it was just that one would be a month or so earlier than was needed. Then of course the result didn't get to my consultant when I spoke to him so had to chase it up and see him again! Admin is always a problem it seems to me. My wife had a CT Scan last May - actually went in on a Sunday for it - brilliant. When we get to see her consultant in August they still had not received it. She had a phone call a few weeks ago to say they had finally received it. I know they are over worked but it is a little annoying. I was actually thinking of making a private appointment to get the blood test done - but daresay now that wouldn't be any sooner than my appointment on Monday. I suppose this isn't going to get any better.