Normally within a week, especially if being fussy on timings. The process OP's docs follow should at least rule out those people phoning on a weekly basis because they've picked up a mild cold. Unfortunately people these days don't use any common sense, and the first sign of something it's straight to the doctors.
How does your local Doctors appointment system work?
- Thread starter Things change I've changed
- Start date
i phone up in the morning and go in that morning, but that's usually to see a nurse, doctors might be later on in the afternoon but i rarely go to see them
i guess one of the doctors having a warning last year over a toddler dying from renal failure and dehydration has helped with the waiting times
i guess one of the doctors having a warning last year over a toddler dying from renal failure and dehydration has helped with the waiting times
Our surgery is hideously oversubscribed (expanding town and recent merger with another local surgery), typically what happens is
-Phone scrum at 8am to try and get to speak to a triage person
-If you are lucky enough to get through, and your appointment is deemed urgent, you will be seen later that day
-If your appointment is not deemed urgent, you get a date around 4-6 weeks in the future or told to go to a walk-in clinic (which are located miles away)
-If you aren't lucky enough to get through, you have to phone back the next day at 8am
They also do online bookings for non-urgent appointments, this is a bit better for non-urgent appointments as you can sometimes get an appointment only 3 weeks away.
General feeling in the community is that it is a disgrace that children with non-trivial conditions such as fevers etc have to wait a month to be seen by a doctor.
-Phone scrum at 8am to try and get to speak to a triage person
-If you are lucky enough to get through, and your appointment is deemed urgent, you will be seen later that day
-If your appointment is not deemed urgent, you get a date around 4-6 weeks in the future or told to go to a walk-in clinic (which are located miles away)
-If you aren't lucky enough to get through, you have to phone back the next day at 8am
They also do online bookings for non-urgent appointments, this is a bit better for non-urgent appointments as you can sometimes get an appointment only 3 weeks away.
General feeling in the community is that it is a disgrace that children with non-trivial conditions such as fevers etc have to wait a month to be seen by a doctor.
I just call and get a same day appointment.
But that's as much work as the reception/admin staff can handle, dare you ask them to do anything else and it's 100% guaranteed they will never follow through.
Absolutely scatter brained.
It annoys me, it shouldn't but it annoys me that people like that can stay employed.
Recently (within the last few months) I can never get them to answer the phone and there's no hold line or answering machine, but you can walk in with your mobile ringing and they'll be sitting there not doing anything. :|
I only work across the road from it as well so it's not a problem getting there.
But that's as much work as the reception/admin staff can handle, dare you ask them to do anything else and it's 100% guaranteed they will never follow through.
Absolutely scatter brained.
It annoys me, it shouldn't but it annoys me that people like that can stay employed.
Recently (within the last few months) I can never get them to answer the phone and there's no hold line or answering machine, but you can walk in with your mobile ringing and they'll be sitting there not doing anything. :|
I only work across the road from it as well so it's not a problem getting there.
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Feb 2004
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- 14,315
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- Peoples Republic of Histonia, Cambridge
The system at my GP surgery is...
You have to call on the day between 8-9am and speak to a very rude lady who will tell you if they have any appointments left. If their aren't, or you called late because you were for instance "travelling to ******* work", you can call back on the off chance they've had a cancellation, or if it's really urgent your told to visit A&E and sit around for 3 hours.
There no service quite like it.
You have to call on the day between 8-9am and speak to a very rude lady who will tell you if they have any appointments left. If their aren't, or you called late because you were for instance "travelling to ******* work", you can call back on the off chance they've had a cancellation, or if it's really urgent your told to visit A&E and sit around for 3 hours.
There no service quite like it.
Something like this:
1. Book next day off work
2. Phone up at 8.30 am
3. Get engaged tone
4. Increment time by 1 minute
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you speak to someone, then goto step 6.
6. Be told that all the appointments are gone and you'll have to ring again tomorrow.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 until you get fired/die of your illness.
Workarounds:
A) Plan to get ill 7-14 days in advance and pre-book an appointment
B) Skip the doctors and go straight to A&E/walk-in centre
****ing useless.
ARGH
Which ****ing idiot actually thought this system was a good (or even mediocre) idea!?
Spent 30 mins this morning ringing to try and get an appointment, finally get through;
Me: Do you have any appointments this evening after 5.30?
Them: Sorry they are all gone
Me: Ok, no problem, it's not hugely urgent, can I book one later on then please?
Them: They're all taken.
Me: You don't have any appointments after 5.30 at any point in the future?
Them: We have some, but only same day appointments, you can phone up in the morning and try to book one.
Me: Well, I could be trying to phone up for the next 6 months then... so you're saying you don't have any in the future at all? Until the end of time?
Them: No, we only book 2 weeks in advance.
Me: Thanks, that's really helpful.
Honestly, what's the point - make it virtually impossible to get an appointment on the day, and then only book advance appointments 2 weeks in the future?!
Is it actually possible to get some inhalers without having to go to my doctor, other than having to mess around with NHS direct and sit in a walk in centre for 5 hours in the middle of the night when this exact scenario occurred last year because my surgery are ****ing ****?!
We changed surgeries when we moved, and I'm now looking down the barrel of a 6-7 day wait for an appointment each time.
The gauling thing? When I get to the lavishly large, recently refurbished surgery there's only ever 1-2 people in the waiting room.
Oh and the docs are always running late.
The gauling thing? When I get to the lavishly large, recently refurbished surgery there's only ever 1-2 people in the waiting room.
Oh and the docs are always running late.
That would basically mean wasting a day off work on the gamble that I would actually be able to get an appointment that day
There's another local surgery that does late appointments every Weds, so looks like I'll be picking up some new patient forms later
Or... (hopefully not classed as a medical question)... has anyone used an online doctor?
All I need is a prescription for a couple of salbutamol inhalers, unfortunately I'm pretty sure my current surgery can't just issue a repeat as I've not had them from there before (due to having the same issue last time I needed them).
We changed surgeries when we moved, and I'm now looking down the barrel of a 6-7 day wait for an appointment each time.
The gauling thing? When I get to the lavishly large, recently refurbished surgery there's only ever 1-2 people in the waiting room.
Oh and the docs are always running late.
Don't get me started on that - if you're 5 mins late for your appointment, you don't get seen, your doctor is 30 mins late for your appointment? Deal with it.
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I just refuse to discuss my medical problems over the phone, they just give you an appointment then at my surgery.
they want you to tell a receptionist what is wrong so she can transfer your call to a doctor or a nurse.
No thanks.
![[FnG]magnolia](/styles/overclockers/avatars/9.png){kind=avatar}
Caporegime
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- 29 Aug 2007
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- 28,763
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- Auckland
"Hi, can I make an appointment please?"
"Sure, is tomorrow okay or do you need to see someone today?"
"Tomorrow is fine. Quite early or later on is easier for me."
"8am?"
"Yes, great. See you at 8am tomorrow."
"Bye."
This is non-private healthcare which is available to everyone, even non New Zealanders (although there's a small charge for that if you need GP services). I imagine the logistics of managing a population of 4M versus 62M are pretty different though and I say that as a strong defender of the NHS.
"Sure, is tomorrow okay or do you need to see someone today?"
"Tomorrow is fine. Quite early or later on is easier for me."
"8am?"
"Yes, great. See you at 8am tomorrow."
"Bye."
This is non-private healthcare which is available to everyone, even non New Zealanders (although there's a small charge for that if you need GP services). I imagine the logistics of managing a population of 4M versus 62M are pretty different though and I say that as a strong defender of the NHS.
Soldato
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- 19 Jun 2012
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- 5,474
Call up at 8:30, cant get through. Spend 20 mins trying, then finally get to speak to someone, barely any appointments left. No late PM appointments at all, they have to be booked 4 weeks (yes 4 weeks) in advance.
You can, however, turn up at the surgery at 8AM, stand outside the door for half an hour and be sent in to see someone straight away. I tend to use this option to be honest.
Arrive at 8AM, normally on my way by 8:50.
You can, however, turn up at the surgery at 8AM, stand outside the door for half an hour and be sent in to see someone straight away. I tend to use this option to be honest.
Arrive at 8AM, normally on my way by 8:50.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 17 Feb 2003
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- 29,640
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- Chelmsford
It really is a case of see what happens on the day.
They reserve some days for walk in and others for appointment only but over the years they have been winding the surgery up sending people to a central GP
They reserve some days for walk in and others for appointment only but over the years they have been winding the surgery up sending people to a central GP
If you call your GP and cannot get an appointment that day then make sure to tell them that you will be going down your local walk in centre.
I think the walk in centre's actually re-charge the GP surgery for every patient that comes in.
I think the walk in centre's actually re-charge the GP surgery for every patient that comes in.
This would be fine if I a) worked locally, and b) started work at 9am.
Unfortunately I'm currently working on a customer's site, at least 1hr away, starting at 8am
[FnG]magnolia;27909111 said:
I can understand that the logistics aren't particularly straightforward.
I can see the sense in reserving a proportion of appointments for same day "emergency" appointments.
What I don't understand is the logic in only booking 2 weeks in advance.
I'm supposedly being sensible in trying to book an appointment before I run out, but it's looking like I'm going to end up running out in a few weeks, and having to go to a walk-in centre, wasting both my and their time, when the walk-in centre resources could be used better to see a patient who does actually need to see a doctor then and there.
Caporegime
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- 20 Oct 2002
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- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
Call and see the same day.
Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Jun 2012
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- 5,474
This would be fine if I a) worked locally, and b) started work at 9am.
Unfortunately I'm currently working on a customer's site, at least 1hr away, starting at 8am
I can be working anywhere in the country, but I spend every other week working on a site an hour away.
I just get in a bit later and stay over. Thankfully my employer, and the client we work for allow us that kind of flexibility. But I appreciate not everyone is lucky enough to be in the same boat.
To see the GP you have to call at 6pm every night for an appointment for the next day, then when you do ring its the **** hold music and "Your call is in a queue", "Your call is number...6...in the queue" etc to be told they have nothing or only have something at 1pm
Alternatively, you can queue (see a theme here?) out side the reception of the actual doctors to do the same thing. If you turn up at 17:58, they wont book you in until the clock reads 18:00...
Horrible service
When booking in for cervical screening I can pre book, but only if they have availability in the next 4 weeks. The nurses only work 2 days a week so they get booked up quite fast. If there is nothing within the next 4 weeks, I have to call them back the next week to see if there are any open appointments and so on until I can get booked in.
The last time it took nearly 3 months after receiving my reminder letter to be screened...and they wonder why woman dont bother to be tested!?!?!
Edit: the nurses dont just do screening, they do blood tests etc. and they only work 9.30-1pm, 2:30pm-5pm on the 2 days per week that they are in the sergery
Alternatively, you can queue (see a theme here?) out side the reception of the actual doctors to do the same thing. If you turn up at 17:58, they wont book you in until the clock reads 18:00...
Horrible service
When booking in for cervical screening I can pre book, but only if they have availability in the next 4 weeks. The nurses only work 2 days a week so they get booked up quite fast. If there is nothing within the next 4 weeks, I have to call them back the next week to see if there are any open appointments and so on until I can get booked in.
The last time it took nearly 3 months after receiving my reminder letter to be screened...and they wonder why woman dont bother to be tested!?!?!
Edit: the nurses dont just do screening, they do blood tests etc. and they only work 9.30-1pm, 2:30pm-5pm on the 2 days per week that they are in the sergery
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Haha, my partner has a similar, slightly amusing story - she's been wanting to get the contraceptive injection since our son was born, but since it needs to be done at a certain point in the cycle, she needs to be able to get an appointment within a 2-3 day window, and that needs to coincide with a day the nurse is working (which seems to be about once a week)... This hasn't proven easy. Our son is now 3 years old, and she hasn't been able to get a suitable appointment yet.
Yes I appreciate that this isn't exactly a life threatening/urgent "condition", but it certainly shows how well the system "works"
My theory is that the doctors/nurses have shares in Durex
I either ring up and get an appointment that day or I can ring up and get one in advance or else I can do the same online. And that is whether I require an appointment with the GP or the nurses. Fail to see how they could make it any better really. They text me the night before a prebooked appointment and again 1 hr before as a reminder.