hi guys just need a rant. tried to get appointment with gp today. apparently you can’t request a specific doctor now and can only take who’s available. 5 minute appointment and only 1 complaint. come on is it just me or is that just the stupidest idea for someone with a chronic illness. iv seen the same gp since heart attack who knows everything that’s been going on. how can you tell doctor what’s going on in 5 minutes when they don’t know your history. after pleading my case for 20 minutes the receptionist was having none of it and said that’s how it works now. reluctantly i took appointment with totally unknown doctor only to be told it’ll take me too long to look at your history. i can’t help you ahhhhhh!!!!i still don’t know how to get round it. i’m so angry i can’t actually focus on finding a solution. rant over❤️shiona
gp woes: hi guys just need a rant... - British Heart Fou...
gp woes
Hi, I agree it is not good when you can't get an appointment with the doctor you want. Were I go it is still 10 minutes appointments. I saw a new GP about my angina, he said I don't think that is angina, had an ECG and blood tests, all ok. I had the same 12 months ago. Phoned for a follow up and to see the same GP, a 4 week wait, or 3 weeks for a different one. Or I could see the pharmacist less then a weeks time, I did that, he increased one of the prescriptions, try for 2 weeks, everything was fine. I can normally get an appointment the same day if I say it is urgent, did not feel this one was.
Not sure what you can do about your situation, but I wish you all the best, Anke
hi anke i don’t think i explained myself well. what i was trying to get was an appointment with MY gp. wasn’t looking to get one for a week or two as that’s normal wait for specific doctor but our practice has stopped specific doctor booking anytime? it’s the continuity of care that i feel is being jeopardised by doing this. how many potential serious problems are going to be missed because doc doesn’t have time to read your history
Hi, I understand your frustration but my mum found seeing the duty GP meant something got done rather than her usual one saying it’s just your asthma. After 3 visits the duty dr sent her for an X-ray which showed she had a partially collapsed lung (as a complication of pneumonia she had 4-6 weeks previously). A quick referral to a consultant and a couple of months of tablets sorted her out fortunately. So, it’s frustrating to see someone different but it can be useful to have someone with an open mind.
All the best.
At my practice you have to see a nurse practitioner unless it’s an existing complaint, in which case you can make an appointment to see your own doctor. Apart from my annual drug review I have only had to go a couple of times since my ops and I’ve seen the nurse practitioner both times as they can prescribe antibiotics (both times have been for chest infections) or refer you to the gp if necessary. They also do a couple of late nights a week, which are supposed to be for people who work full time, like me. Thankfully the receptionists have always been extremely helpful.
Wendy
Perhaps your doctor should be sent a copy of this:
nhs.uk/news/medical-practic...
I have to say with patient choice if you are prepared to wait to see a specific doctor that is your legal right.
The NHS service wed site says:
You have the legal right to ask to see a particular doctor or nurse at the GP surgery.
This is the link:
nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-se...
So insist on seeing the same GP, but you may have to wait longer.
My partner had two cardiac arrests 17 months ago he has seen the same GP every visit since. That continuity is so important.
Same day appointments are, I am sorry to say a thing of the post and yes I believe all surgeries limit the patient to just the one complaint. However "heart matters" has many facets and if they all need addressing, well thats what will have to be done. If I want an appointment the same day I will be offered an emergency appointment and to get to the surgery asap and wait. These appointments are usually given after 1030 once the mornings appointments have been seen. The wait could be five or 50 minutes depending on how many are to be seen. It is fine to demand to see your personal GP but bear in mind it might be their day off! If I want to see my own GP I will be offered an appointment sometime in the future but usually within a week or even a telephone one. If I NEED to see a doctor I know I will be seen that day, within the guidelines already mentioned. I really can't complain at that.
I do find that some of the rules however are those of the receptionist and not the practise or the GP - and am sure they just like to be bloody minded. It's not a nice job and everyone supposedly wants to see their doctor yesterday so perhaps it is stress.......I wonder
hi. i wasn’t expecting a same day appointment. was willing to wait whatever time to see my own gp but they’ve stopped that all together. lucky dip time. very frustrating
Complain to the practice manager in the first instance then NHS/E
might just do that fredbeare. i feel it’s crazy practice. more so for people who really need regular doctors appointments who are really ill. heaven help them
My idea exactly. Write to the practice manager saying you have a chronic ongoing problem and need to see the same doctor but it's being refused and tell her what the strange one said. Ask what they plan to do to make sure your care is more suitable and sustained
If I need a GP appointment more urgently, then I see the one allocated to more urgent appts that day.. they may choose to ring, rather than see me, but that seems v logical to me.
A routine appt, when all the details can be gone through does need planning, and I agree, can mean quite a wait.
I think they are only trying to deal fairly and effectively with big increases in demand, and especially from people like us with chronic conditions and complex issues.
I’m going to change my name to Ms Reasonable!
hi kristen i totally agree with you and don’t have a problem with that. what i’m talking about is stopping you booking a specific gp at any time which chronic disease patients like really need sometimes.
It took me 7 weeks to see my own GP for 10 minutes! Also needed a Gynocology consultation, a 4 week wait for a phone consultation.
Also our very efficient blood clinic has been taken over by the GP surgery, it’s now a shambles trying to book. The NHS is there for emergencies but for routine stuff it just can’t cope.
totally agree but when they stop you booking your own gp (whatever the wait time)i believe is downright negligent and potentially dangerous when the gp they send you to “can’t help”as they don’t have time to read your file. just as an example. iv recently had a stress test done which resulted in me being put on bisoprolol and ramapril and being sent for angio 6th june. only wanted to know what test showed to result in this action being taken. not only did she not have time to read my notes but she didn’t even take pulse or bp. now if your patient had just been put on these drugs for high bp and hr should that not be the first thing you’d check to see if they were working???
Well - you think you have problems - this was handwritten and taped to our receptionists desk as the only notice of changes to our booking system!!
“Routine GP appointments - appointments released Monday at 2pm for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning for the following week.
Appointments released Wednesday at 2 pm for Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday the fol- lowing week.
Nurse appointments can be booked approx 1 month in ad- vance.”
You have to phone at 2pm and join the queue and then the doc will maybe see you or phone you to decide.
Aaaargh! Just adds to the stress of whatever was wrong.
really feel your pain. i’m just getting angry with it all which doesn’t help our conditions
It can take several weeks to get an appointment with a specific doctor at our practice. Our bookings can be done on-line and that shows appointments for individual doctors and relevant nurses. Alternatively if we ring before 9 am we are guaranteed a same day appointment. Because my wife and I want to see the same GP because of ongoing heart issues we ring at 8:30 and if we aren't offered a slot with 'our' GP then we leave it and try again the next day. Also there is a triage system where every day one of the GPs is available on the phone. We ask reception which day our GP will be on triage and ring him that day. There are always appointment slots at the end of the day that the GP will offer if they feel they need to see us.
You could always change the practice that you go to, assuming there is more than one that serves your area. The NHS website, search for a surgery, shows which surgeries offer which facilities.
Right, having said all that off the the docs now for an 11 am appointment for 10 minutes!
Don't stress too much over it - it isn't good for the heart!
Good luck
If a GP has effectively refused to deal with you because it would take too long to read your history, that is grounds for a complaint.
i agree osidge but it seems to be the new system. might try different practice but it doesn’t change a ridiculous system❤️
I feel it's a symptom of GP care falling apart. I haven't done it yet but I'm going to write to my MP about the situation locally. We can still wait for an appointment with a specific doctor but the last time I waited 8 weeks. I don't think anything much will improve unless there's a change of direction from the politicians. If sufficient people write to the MPs it will begin to register that this is an issue which voters are concerned about.
Our GP surgery has apps where you can book appts online, in advance. You might have to wait a few days to see the doctor you want. One of these apps is called MyGP. The surgery has to give you access to it.
Can you not ask for telephone consult? Or leave a message for one of the doctors to give you the test results. I wouldn’t ask for an appt with a gp to discuss results, unless they ask me to! In this instance they’ve referred you for the angio, your results obviously met the criteria for a chest pain clinic so they’re giving you drugs to hopefully protect you against anything that might be going on. I believe unless something is super urgent they normally leave you on the tablets for a bit as they don’t work instantly.
Hope everything goes right for you and you get all your questions answered at your angio.
thanks❤️
Oh how I agree with your rant. I can get to see a specific doctor but not for about 5 weeks l; made more difficult because I'm disabled and can't physically get here on a morning. JUst once I got a phone call from a different one who had to cut me off mid consultation because he didn't have time. He just read out a letter from the cardio about going on some dreadful tablets for angina even though my regular GP is convinced I do NOT have angina. I just couldn't make this new chap understand. IT's not only frustrating, it's downright dangerous. You need continuity of care by someone who knows your history.
I completely, totally and utterly agree with you it’s unacceptable. We all feel apologetic for being critical but none of these rules are beneficial. The frustration of starting from the beginning with a GP who hasn’t had time to read through your notes is hugely stressful. I have had excellent care from my GP and have seen the same one but it’s wrong that this should be unusual. I would write to the practice - maybe to your original GP directly, they do have appointments they can pre-book. What a sorry state we seem to be getting ourselves into - hope you get sorted soon
X
GP 
Update from Fridays post can just a virus make me feel so unwell , were my symptoms put down to anxiety 🤔
Bicuspid Aortic Valve and suffering from being light headed 
I’m done with GP’s and Hospitals
