At last I was discharged from hospital on Friday after 3 weeks .
And now the stress begins. I called my GP surgery this morning to make a GP appointment. As usual my request is met with resistance. It seems my surgery does not accept advanced bookings to see the GP. I'll have to make and E consult. I explained I was unable to do this, experienced the usual cross examination as to why not and couldn't someone help me.
The receptionist reluctantly filled in the e consult for me which will be reviewed by and administrator in the next two days to determine if The GP will call me.!!!
I despair ... How do we get the much needed face to face appointment with the GP??? 😫
Written by
LindaLittleBear
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Brilliant news you are now back home take it easy and hope your recovery goes well
Not so good news about trying to get an appointment with your GP I had to smile though as it seems no matter where you live the procedure seems to be so much the same
I would hope that you will get one so fingers crossed and let us know how you get on x
You have more chance of getting a ticket to see elvis then a face to face with GP ,the receptionist is always quoting something to me , then i ask her a question and get well im not a medical specialist ,no your not karen so make me an appointment with someone who is please 😁 i do get one in the end good luck with yours
having just said how brilliant your reply was, I think I might use that when I try and book an appointment with the doctor, and when they say no, I shall ask to speak to Elvis, as I might stand a better chance of seeing him! you have made my day………🙏
When you do get to speak to your doctor make sure you tell him how difficult it is and ask if your records can clearly say that you must see him face to face. I did this about needing to speak to one specific doctor if ever my pain meds need altering and it worked. They put a note on the front of my records. No more arguments with bolshie receptionists.
I get very decent medical care but I don’t need to see my GP. Telepresence appointments were fine.
Now you are a cardiology patient, things might improve. Down here in deepest rural Essex, cardiology has sorted itself out beautifully. My last check up was unbelievable fast and efficient. Just scans. But the senior nurse gave me results minutes after the scans were complete. Wow oh wow. Isn’t that brill ?
I presume the stitches were taken out whilst you were in hospital.
My scar faded fast and now I need a bright light to find it.
Rehab/recovery was lengthy, like 3 months, but I felt a bit better every couple of days. I am now 3 years and have no problems with heart issues. Medication still heavy, but I can see a specialist at my surgery or make an appointment with the local pharmacy.
I also got to see a physiotherapist. Again, no waiting and excellent advice.
I like my GP but I don’t need to see him. My better half needed to see him and she got a face to face.
So good to see you are out of hospital and back home. I understand your frustration with the GP's receptionist or guard dogs as they are so hard to get past. Hope you can get to see a doctor asap. I hope the road to recovery goes smoothly x
Glad you have finally been discharged! Sorry about all the bother with the GP, did you mention you just come out of hospital surely that warrants an appointment with your doctor?? Is it for medication?? Or just a check up x
Ah that's even worse you was told by the hospital to make an appointment and there still refusing! Definitely call the hospital that just discharged you, you just had heart surgery and there treating you like this it's disgraceful!!! GPS aren't in the good books at the moment are they, it's a miracle that the gp I see I can get one the same day between 8-10 in the morning and if I try to make one in advance it's weeks you have to wait x 💔
When I was home after having a heart attack and angioplasty I received a phone call from one of the cardiology nurses. She asked me some questions and wanted to know if I had made an appointment with my GP. , I said I hadn’t been told to. She then rang my GP, made the appointment and rang me back to let me know when it would be.
I agree that LindaLittleBear should contact the hospital cardiology department to see if they can intervene on her behalf.
You need to go into the GP reception and then collapse dramatically. You will need to judge how dramatically, as rolling over and over on the floor whilst moaning loudly might get you a trip back to the hospital. Some light whimpering and staggering might be more effective in getting you the desired appt.
You’re not. Lady came in to the surgery the other day gasping for breath, four weeks after ha and stents. No-one took the slightest notice until I drew her to their attention
I had the same problem a few weeks ago and can only say the receptionists are only doing as instructed and when I did finally get to speak with a GP I said to him I thought this was a dangerous practice to expect the receptionist to screen what they consider to be a genuine reason to see a GP, my problem was a swelling on my neck and queried how is a receptionist qualified to say whether or not this could be potentially serious problem.I even said to the receptionist so my GP can see down the phone now? Clearly I was talking stupid but wanted to put my concern over that it's a swelling not a graze on my arm! My GP said we're one of the better practices in the area. I understand that some patients may make appointments that do waste time but again I have to say who decided when this new ruling was rolled out that the onus falls on the receptionist.
One of the many problems I see with this new way of screening is it will force many people to attend A+E when they are already working at dangerous levels and what happens when the patient who doesn't get to see a GP or have a telephone appointment and doesn't know how to access the internet and it ends up being a litigious scenario because the patient was deemed not ill enough to warrant seeing a GP. I expect they also have an answer to that scenario too.
You have been through major surgery and I sincerely hope this valid stress gets resolved for you.
Thank you for your support. I agree the receptionist is acting on orders from the practise partners and managers. Even when she reluctantly filled out the e consult she substitute the word operation for heart surgery. By this time I had lost the will to engage in further discussion.Scary times!!😱
Very scary times for people like you who have had major surgery and those people with on going serious health issues.I guess it's something we will all have to adapt to.
Thank you. I wasn't given much time to reflect on my procedure (6wks) so I can imagine you have been going through a stressful wait.Know you will be in good hands and then you can't start your road to recovery!
I'm sending you supporting hugs and best wishes for the best possible outcome!
One trick others have used is to say, when asking for a f2f is to say it’s very personal and can’t be dealt with by phone. We have to fill in a form online and pinpoint the area of the body-but it’s often Better to say it’s a new problem rather than an ongoing problem- the gp will be more likely to see you or at least talk to you then! Problem is that if we all do that they are going to suss out what’s happening- but then it MAY make them look at the system more closely!! 🙄
I know exactly how you feel as I had a face to face argument with the receptionist at my surgery four days after being discharged. I even had to be quite direct on the day I was discharged when I took my discharge letter in to be greeted with “do you want the doctor to read this”.
Recently I’ve been asked to complete a feedback form for a more recent ‘encounter’, I suggested that they stop using Little Britain videos to train the receptionists.
To see your GP you need to see your MP and kick his or her a**e ask them when they are starting to take your GP Practices Payments down as they are not seeing patients !!
US the people who are paying for or have paid for a Service we are no longer receiving are close to saying enough is enough. Time someone took a Practice to Court and challenged the Practices Insurance for either Physical or Mental suffering. That will make them jump when they think it is going to cost them with increased premiums.
Lets face it they are taking the p**s nothing much has changed since the pandemic we are all really back to pre pandemic practices, except the idle Medical Profession "We are burnt Out" won't wash anymore, they are just doing a job, and that Job is to Care for the Sick and to try to make them Better, But at the end of the day it's just a Job albeit skilled !
The NHS needs to be taken off it's Pedestal I never thought I would agree with a Labour Health Minister but he has that part of his remit right in my opinion.
Oh dear!!!I'm do sorry this has been your experience. My GP surgery is fantastic. We are very lucky to have such a great practice in our village. I do hope you get to see a GP
I was discharged from hospital on the 26th September. Discharge letter among other things listed two referrals needed and a time sensitive blood test. I filled in an E form including a photo of the discharge list. Was told to monitor my blood pressure and given a telephone appointment on the 23rd October .
Two further forms and two phone calls, I was finally able to have blood test last Friday and managed a repeat prescription for the meds the hospital gave me two days after I’d run out. Still got to wait to talk to dr in 23rd, they are meant to be monitoring effects of new medication and I’m struggling with them.
Have since spoken to practice manager who apologised but they are at breaking point. She said the organisation that the gov has inflicted on them has made it worse and she is wanting the practice to change back to system that worked well two years ago but not sure that they can 😞
Hi Linda, not sure if this will help but I find that sending a message to my gp surgery via my NHS account using either the NHS app (on my mobile phone) or via the NHS web site (via my pc) is much more effective than using eConsult, as it seems to me that eConsult does not ask the appropriate questions to allow me to request help. However, the NHS route allows me to send a fairly simple message, e.g. Please may I have an appointment to either see or speak to a gp as I am experiencing pain since being discharged from hospital on xx/xx/xx. You should have been given a discharge letter by the hospital that was also sent to your gp so they should have a record of your situation.
Everyone has an NHS account but you need to be able to log in to it to access the facilities offered.
I think the best way to start is to log into your NHS account on the internet using a computer via this link nhs.uk/
and then set up the NHS app on your mobile phone.
This will by no means guarantee you getting a face to face appointment with your gp as these once familiar situations seem to now be very rare.
I hope this helps but I can understand it all being gobbledy-gook if you are not familiar with computers or smartphones. If you are not familiar with them maybe a friend can help you with this?
Glad you are out of hospital , what is happening to our GPs services, is it still covid or have they got into a routine on carrying out a service that isn’t up to the usual service we had before, this happens all over the country, something should be done about it.
Our surgery answers the phone with "If it's an emergency hang up and dial 999." When you eventually speak to them to request an appointment they ask "Is it an emergency?" When they prattle their arrant nonsense and you respond by disagreeing, or, heaven forbid, being sarcastic, you are met with, in a long suffering tone, "Please don't be rude to me, I'm trying to help you."Oh boy, I could go on but it will only raise my blood pressure.
It would appear that the NHS is wanting people to go down the private route which is the one I go through. A GP appointment might cost you between £50-£100 but what price is too high for your peace of mind and indeed your future health.
I totally share your opinion of the current contact control systems employed by GP surgeries and simply flatly refuse to 'play their game'. They call it TRIAGE! If they think that I am prepared to join a telephone queue of 15 to 25 people, then cloud cuckoo land beckons. It is all about saving their costs and not employing sufficient call acceptors. The surgery systems work so much better with fewer patients AND fewer staff! Fortunately, my surgery is suficiently close to 'drop in' to reception and a face to face with me can be very difficult to refuse. You can't beat the sealed letter direct to the GP. I DO NOT WANT nor EXPECT preferential treatment, but I will not be ignored if I have a genuine need.
Glad you are home As you have just been discharged your GP should be willing to see you I suggest you insist on one as the hospital had told you to and say you will be ringing the hospital to inform them That might do the trick It is becoming a joke now
Good morning really please that you are now home but I am really shocked reading that you are struggling to get an appointment
Maybe have a word with the doctor when you do eventually get to see them or ask to speak to the practice manager and explain your situation, keep us updated good luck with the appointment 😊
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Six week post surgical discharge appointment 
Advice been discharged 3 weeks tomorrow 
Discharged from cardiology 
discharge from hospital 
