chancer2 Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Wife called the surgery today at 9.30am for an appointment. Earliest was 5th Sept. No wonder people go to A&E when they're a bit unwell!! Being good citizens we will wait in the queue. Unqualified "tin gods" at the public interface are too powerful for most of us to challenge. David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Do what I did and call first thing each morning to enquirer about cancellations; I got in two weeks prior to the date I was initially given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 I always think if you can rather than phoning them up I go in and ask they tend to be more helpful if they can see you in person also if you do it that way then there is less likelihood that if you put yourself out to get the appointment then it is not so lightly that you will not turn up as so many people do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFC Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 My wife, for an 'urgent' neurology appt has got 21st October. The best laugh is that,at 55 and with a hereditory condition, having attended hospital on a routine basis every 6 months and been an NHS nurse all her working life, she's got to take in her birth certificate and prove she's entitled to NHS treatment??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny thomas Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) Hurt my back at work a year or so ago phoned my surgery and asked for an appointment the receptionist asked how bad is it so I tell her I'm in a bit of trouble here i think, to that she says you'd better come strait in the doctor had moved her appointments around and was waiting for me Can't fault that service and I live in an inner city area Edited August 25, 2016 by jonny thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 My father waited 3 years for an Urgent triple bypass, In January After 3 years waiting they gave him a date roughly six months away On February 28th they called him up and told him it was good news, After only waiting 3 years, they could get him in 4 months early - next day ( how lucky was he) He had a massive heart attack and was dead before he hit the floor !! Still, that's one off their waiting lists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Normally they ask what for, or you state you want an emergency appointment and just come in and wait. I've done this every time, only ever waited upto 2 weeks for non urgent stuff. One time when staying far away from home I had terrible back muscle spasms and phoned NHS direct and they got me a doctors appointment at a hospital nearby at 10pm at night. Absolutely fabulous where ever I have been can't fault them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krugerandsmith Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Wife called the surgery today at 9.30am for an appointment. Earliest was 5th Sept. No wonder people go to A&E when they're a bit unwell!! Being good citizens we will wait in the queue. Unqualified "tin gods" at the public interface are too powerful for most of us to challenge. David. My surgery gets the doctor to ring me back ..... he or she then decides whether to call me in or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuji Shooter Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 You can't get in our doctors for the old folk who turn up week in and week out for their social meetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 It's a lottery isn't it, our Dr has empty emergency slots that are triaged by a practice nurse, not a receptionist/gate dragon. There are other ways, ringing 111 and explaining you can't get to see a Dr, in my experience, has always ended up with seeing a Dr that day in a emergency care clinic. More of who can afford it should use private doctors I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 You can't get in our doctors for the old folk who turn up week in and week out for their social meetings. In my local Dr's you'll respectfully refer to them as........Receptionists - Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Here's a good one. Note my doctor's surgery is next door to an almost new community hospital that's under threat of closure due to lack of use by the NHS. I have a hospital appointment that requires a blood test. I went to doctor's where I was told that all nurses doing blood tests are booked up weeks in advance. I was then told that if I went to the community hospital next door they'd do it almost immediately. I was then told that I shouldn't have been told that as the NHS pay the surgery to do blood tests and "we haven't had this conversation, have we." I duly went next door and was offered any appointment I'd like the very next day. So, the local NHS is paying real money to a surgery to do work that the NHS could do itself at an over resourced and under utilised hospital and, further, the surgery nurses are at overload due to taking on all this work. You really couldn't make it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Unfortunately doctors surgery are run as a private business with their main customer being the nhs which is why there is very little consistency between the quality, speed and level of care. I would like to know which university give out the medical degrees as it seems all you need to do is get a job as a receptionist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
four-wheel-drive Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 I blame the governments of all flavours they have not bothered to train enough new doctors and nurses they are sending all of these young people to university to get pointless degrees when they should say to them if you will train to be a doctor or nurse and work for the NHS for ten years we will charge you nothing. that has to be a better deal than spending the time getting a degree in something that you will never get a job doing and ending up with a £50.000 milstone around your neck but what do I now I am just a tax payer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 I worked for a few years in the NHS dealing with GP Fundholding Practices and GP payments. Without giving too much away any GP once qualified is able/and do, carry out PGE ( Post Graduate Education) courses which are very well rewarded. Had I not ended up in Aviation then a career in Medicine was one of my choices, Certainly didn't not pursue it due to Course funding or the long hours to qualify A few friends are GP's and they consistently carry out 16hr shifts, yet they all say it's part n parcel of it and they knew what they were getting into. Certainly don't think the lack of Doctors/ GP's can truly be laid at the feet of our Politicians, more like the mis-management by Hospital Trusts....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFC Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 I blame the governments of all flavours they have not bothered to train enough new doctors and nurses they are sending all of these young people to university to get pointless degrees when they should say to them if you will train to be a doctor or nurse and work for the NHS for ten years we will charge you nothing. that has to be a better deal than spending the time getting a degree in something that you will never get a job doing and ending up with a £50.000 milstone around your neck but what do I now I am just a tax payer. Aaah! that's the trick you see. Make nurses go to university where they pay for their tuition or get grants then make supernumary placements on wards part of their course. Hey-ho, NHS gets nurses for free!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted August 25, 2016 Report Share Posted August 25, 2016 Aaah! that's the trick you see. Make nurses go to university where they pay for their tuition or get grants then make supernumary placements on wards part of their course. Hey-ho, NHS gets nurses for free!! Quite, stinging comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 My wife, for an 'urgent' neurology appt has got 21st October. The best laugh is that, at 55 and with a hereditary condition, having attended hospital on a routine basis every 6 months and been an NHS nurse all her working life, she's got to take in her birth certificate and prove she's entitled to NHS treatment??? Absolutely preposterous, have to say I've never heard of that before. Why for goodness sake ? your lady will be on the NHS computer that cost a gazillion £.............Oh sorry it never worked properly IIRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B25Modelman Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 (edited) and when you get there they only Google the symptoms anyway and hand you a print out. Edited August 26, 2016 by B25Modelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 Aaah! that's the trick you see. Make nurses go to university where they pay for their tuition or get grants then make supernumary placements on wards part of their course. Hey-ho, NHS gets nurses for free!! Then they trawl the world for nurses with unreadable or unverifiable qualifications from places you have never heard of and pay them £400 a shift on agency. At one time every hospital had a nurses school and it was a good career path for lots of girls on leaving school. Discounting the NHS issue for a moment, what about the jobs situation for our kids? how many more kids would become nurses if the entry level bar wasn't set ridiculously high? How many qualified nurses does this country actually turn out every year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 Then they trawl the world for nurses with unreadable or unverifiable qualifications from places you have never heard of and pay them £400 a shift on agency. At one time every hospital had a nurses school and it was a good career path for lots of girls on leaving school. Discounting the NHS issue for a moment, what about the jobs situation for our kids? how many more kids would become nurses if the entry level bar wasn't set ridiculously high? How many qualified nurses does this country actually turn out every year? The role of the nurse has changed so much it requires a high level of learning, I'd expect anyone doing such a job to be university educated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 Sadly my prediction is that we ain't seen nothing yet, give it 12 months? The good old health sec looking to save 22 billion means less doctors and hospitals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 The role of the nurse has changed so much it requires a high level of learning, I'd expect anyone doing such a job to be university educated. I don't disagree with that but they make up the numbers with foreign nurses who are anything but Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyska Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 (edited) I don't disagree with that but they make up the numbers with foreign nurses who are anything but Where is the evidence? Greek, Spanish,US and Indonesian etc nurses are higher skilled than our (at the moment) home taught nurses. Edited August 26, 2016 by kyska Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted August 26, 2016 Report Share Posted August 26, 2016 With you on that one Kyska Which tabloid / rag has its lead story of this today then? After all, we know we can believe everything that the press or Google tells us can't we? Where some of the misconception comes from is people's mis-understanding of comprehension of the spoken word- just because you might not understand the dialect/ spoken word of your Nurse does not mean that they are any less qualified but ignorance often means that Conclusions are jumped too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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