Apparently it takes 48hrs to “register” at the surgery nearest to where I live to get a new GP.

Also I am unable to make any “in the future” appointments at the surgery as they operate on a lottery system of who can ring up for what few appointments they have each day.

I can do without that level of excitement every morning until I strike it lucky and get to see a quack, who will undoubtedly palm me off with a box of pills to treat the symptoms and not want to deal with the actual underlying problem. Thus resulting in the need to get another consultation at a later date with another GP who actually knows what he/she is doing, and yet more time off work (Although I am in bed right now.)

The catchment area for this surgery has a population of approximately 14000 and is also covered by 4 other surgeries. The population are mainly young professionals and students, so hardly particularly sick (in an ill sense)

I used to live in a town with a population of 10000 of predominately old people or inbred mutants (I fitted in well…), served by just 1 surgery of equal size (GP & nurse wise) to the one I’ve just registered with, and never had a problem getting an appointment when I was ill.

So why does moving into a city mean poorer access to a Dr?

I feel like crap, and am not happy (I’ve yet to decide which of the other remaining dwarves I want to be today) Thank you for reading, rant over.

Man Flu dan1980?

Walk in centre?

Is it the GP’s fault that you didn’t bother registering with them until you got ill?

I think that maybe you’re not starting off with the right attitude –

until I strike it lucky and get to see a quack, who will undoubtedly palm me off with a box of pills to treat the symptoms and not want to deal with the actual underlying problem

I am glad I’m not a doctor at that surgery you are going to. Zero respect for them, slagging them off. You only have a cold or at worst flu which thy can’t treat anyway. Grow up.

@s: No, not anything as serious as Man-flu.

@anotherdeadhero: I don’t think they’d be able to prescribe any suitable treatments.

@FunkyDunc: It’s the fault of the surgery manager that they have a stupid appointments procedure, and I have no idea why it would take 48 hrs to put me on a computer system. They have my NHS number, contact details for my last GP, proof of my address etc. They say it will take over 10 days to get my notes shipped across from the last place, so its not like they’re waiting on them. This 48 hr period doesn’t seem to serve any useful porpoise unless it compensates for slow typing by a secretary.

I suppose at least you will be palmed of with some pills, as you say. I’ve had to fight tooth and nail to get referred properly for treatment and, even once clinically approved for surgery, I’ll then have to apply again to the trust in order for them to fund it.

Consider yourself lucky.

Rachel

Ours had the same thing but when my wife was ill she was seen same day in an “emergency registration”. If you’re genuinely ill and have something you think is debilitating (rather than a cold or pulled muscle) then I’m sure they’ll help. Either that or go to an NHS walk-in centre.

If you were “seriously ill” wouldn’t you go to the hospital?

@ Robdob: I love the way you assume that I have man-flu or similar without me actually providing any symptoms at all. You are wrong, but I’m not going to give out my full medical history to you. Suffice to say that this problem has been ongoing for a long time, and doubt I’ll be surprised when I eventually get to see a GP. It’s easier for them to hand out pills like sweets than actually do something about my problem.

@Robinbetts: Fortunately, I’m not seriously ill, so I don’t need a hospital. I’m just venting because I’m frustrated and feeling rubbish.

This 48 hr period doesn’t seem to serve any useful porpoise unless it compensates for slow typing by a secretary.

You’re correct the secretary has nothing else to do but wait for people to register and input their data. They wil not have any other other to do.

Have you tried the NHS direct line dan1980?

If it is something, sort of urgent, they might be able to book you into your local priamry care unit?

dan1980, thought i would bother to reply but the waiting room is filling up.. busy, busy, busy..

I don’t understand, you say you haven’t been to this doctors yet (if you haven’t had an appointment yet as your registration isn’t complete so you can’t have) but you say all they do is hand out pills like sweets. Err how do you know this if you haven’t been? If it was an emergency that didn’t need casualty they would see you asap like if you were On holiday – so it can’t be that bad. But you are annoyed because you can’t get a standard non urgent appointment at a doctors where you aren’t registered immediately?
Every doctors must have a split between book in advance appointments and on the day appointments. If you can’t be bothered to ring up on the day you want to go at near the time the surgery opens (too exciting????) then you’ll just have to wait.
Q. Has your “underlying problem” been diagnosed yet?

This 48 hr period doesn’t seem to serve any useful porpoise unless it compensates for slow typing by a secretary.

look, I know you’re upset, but blaming Dolphins will get you nowhere

Why is it that people always beleive that they can get what they want, when they want from the NHS?

If you really are that unhappy go and pay to see a GP privately, or have your surgery done privately.

GP Practices only receive their funding from PCT’s based on a formula of how many people are registered to the Practice and demographic of the population. Basically they do not get funded for every patient they have. Its a viscious cycle. Practices want to employ more GP’s but they dont get the funding to do unless they increase their list size, if they increase their list size, then they cant deal with the patients. Its a vicious cycle.

There have been so many colds/flu going round recently that the NHS has struggled, and you will struggle to get an appointment.

What can you do? Tell your fellow patients who dont bother turning up for appointments to get their act together. Ask those who visit their GP just for a chat to stop doing so. And if you cant get in at your local Gp get off your bum and go to the local walk in centre/central health clinic.

look, I know you’re upset, but blaming Dolphins will get you nowhere

Well spotted that man.

dan1980 – Member
<snip> Suffice to say that this problem has been ongoing for a long time <snip>

So again, why did you wait so long to register with your GP? After all its not like they’re busy at this time of year is it?
Sorry you feel rubbish, but you’ve been caught out and don’t like waiting. MTFU

@robdan: I’m annoyed that firstly it takes 48hrs to register before you can make an appointment at all, then secondly that they don’t have a facility to make an appointment in the future, and you have to ring up on the day to get one.

Ringing up on the day doesn’t bother me, I’m not that lazy, but it effectively turns it into a lottery as to whether you get an appointment or not for day. It baffles me why they can’t have appointments for non-urgent cases that you can book in advance. I don’t actually mind waiting, I’m just frustrated by the system these people have in place. I’d much rather know I had an appointment next Tuesday than gamble that they have one tomorrow. My boss is fairly understanding, but a large part of my job involves booking people in to visit me, so I can hardly dive off to a Drs appointment if someone has come halfway across the country to see me, or leave my diary empty “just in case” I get an appointment. (My diary is currently empty hence I’m at home, but I have a visitor on Thursday, so come hell or high water I need to be in.)

I have undergone a course of treatment with my last GP/PCT and it took a long time to get anyone to do something that actually worked rather than just give me something that deals with the symptoms. Now I’ve moved, and my problem has returned I’m expecting to have to go through it all again to get appropriate treatment. I may well be surprised but past experience says otherwise….

its not **** twitter we don’t need the @ sign perpetually!!

My surgery operates the same policy, you need to ring up in the morning 1st thing to secure an appointment for that day. So you wait until 8am when they open and then spend 30 minutes trying to call them but just get an engaged tone. When you do finally get through, if you’re lucky enough to get an appointment they usually won’t offer alternative times to the one they offer you. I agree it’s a very frustrating system.

Apparently it’s all down to a target from central government that was set around patients being able to secure an appointment with their GP for the same day. Hence my surgery doing away with being to book an appointment in advance. I’m just lucky that my employer is flexible.

That said, you should have registered with your GP when you moved to the area. 🙂

Usualy if you phone up and ask for an appointment with Dr XYX (insert your Docs name here) to discuss ABC (insert your embaresing symptoms here) then you can make an appointment for whenever you like, if you phone up, tell them you have the flu they wont book you one for next week becasue they know dam well you’ll probably be better (or dead) by then, wont inform them and waste the appointment slot.

My experience yesterday was sum what different,although I had filled in the form and handed it in last year sometime after much nagging by the breadknife when I rang they had no record of me .So instead they set me up as an unregistered patient and got all my details of illness and had the triage Doctor ring me back. After a chat he wanted to see me and in 1/2 an hour he did.

The receptionist filled in the form for me as apparently she could tell I was ill as I was grey.

You can tell how well a place is run and what drives people when things go wrong and how they are corrected

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbmbMSrsZVQ[/video]

Someone had to link it

@anotherdeadhero: I don’t think they’d be able to prescribe any suitable treatments.

so why are you bothering going in the first place if they can’t won’t treat you? Isn’t there a chinese herbal place near you? Or a starbucks where you can have a nice cup of tea and a sit down?
seena s you can tell what kind of treatment you will get without ever having visited the place, I can assume yur psychic aura is intact – may some spiritual healing is needed?

Well, that’s exactly the same booking system as my GP has. It’s terrible, really terrible. I phoned them at about 8:45 this morning and got an appointment for 10:45. Usually works like that too 😀

To get an appointment on the day go there just before they open the doors and be first in! Simples!

You are wrong, but I’m not going to give out my full medical history to you. Suffice to say that this problem has been ongoing for a long time

Ahhhh……it’s back again eh Dan.
Slap some yoghurt on it

To get an appointment on the day go there just before they open the doors and be first in! Simples!

not that simples : the O.A.P rings up to get all those left over appointments so even if your stood at the door by 8am : all the ruddy appointments have been fully booked by your friends the O.A.P,s..
lol..
walk-in centre is ya best bet 😉

Gps are private contractors to the NHS. If you don’t like the way they work register with another one

I can understand some of the frustration. My old surgery used to operate a same day appointment system only, even when a doctor has requested to see you as a follow up to test results or similar, it was very annoying. Wondering whether you should go to work only to ring at 8 and get an appointment at 9am or stay at home until 8 and then not get an appointment until 4pm.

Luckily current doctors you can either turn up and wait, phone up for a same day appointment or get one in advance. Seems much more sensible. No appointments for blood tests though, you have to sit and queue for that one and even when you turn up at 8 there’ll be 10 people in the queue in front of you and they don’t start seeing people until 8.30am.

I think you’ll find that in the stw dictionary, sympathy is between s**t and syphilis at the mo,
If your feeling crap ring another one, or go to bed an ring them tomorrow

@Bigbutslimmerbloke: If you aren’t going to read the whole thread, at least read the comment from the person I was replying to. I was responding to anotherdeadheros comment about going to a walk in centre, which I’m not doing because I don’t think that they will be able to prescribe anything, and will re-directed me to my GP.

I went to a walk in centre when I was coughing up blood, and I was diagnosed with a chest infection that needed antibiotics, and was told to go see my GP as they couldn’t prescribe any there. If they can’t do that, I’d be surprised if they would be willing to prescribe a treatment that in the past has involved a heart trace, blood pressure checks, and regular monitoring via blood tests.

Jebus. I’d have registered with them before I moved if I needed medical monitoring like that.

I agree their appointments procedure is rubbish. If you can’t register at another GP, walk in at 8am, insist on an appointment, and sit in their waiting room if rebuffed. Then keep asking every half hour.

While you are waiting, draft a letter of complaint at the procedure.