DOCTORS SURGERY

[welsh1]

They will see you if you insist, a few weeks ago i had a lump in my armpit, phoned docs ,got a call back described it and the doc told me that he didn't need to see me and not worry about it as it was probably just a cyst, i did tell him i felt worried about it and could he please just check it out, he responded by saying he would usually only check something like that out if there was a history of cancer in my family, so i told him he should read my notes as it clearly states about the cancerous lump cut out of my chest a couple of years ago, and my father dying of lukemia, and his brother having all his lymph nodes removed and eventually getting cancer on the spine which did for him.

A bit of a blustered excuse from the doc and he made an appointment for me the next day. Strangely when i went for the appointment i saw a female doctor who informed me the male doctor i had spoken to was a locum and not working today.

The lump was just a cyst after all that, but i like every lump to be poked and proded by a doctor before they make the decision.


 

[Graham M]

I insisted and kept on insisting but my wonderful doctor wasn't having any of it and told me to go to A&E.

My wife's nephew has been trying to get seen by his doctor for over a year because he has been diagnosed with mouth thrush, that won't go away. In the end he went to A&E and was sent off to see a cancer specialist as he has mouth cancer which has been spreading for over a year now.

It does make one wonder just how many thousands of other innocent over-the-phone diagnoses have turned out to be something more sinister. And just how many of those people have died, or will die needlessly in the future.

 

[Newbie to this]

Yes indeed, but don’t forget to clap 👏 

[Paul b28]

Strange how dentists have been working as normal or as near as normal can be through this pandemic.  When they examine you they are hands on , unlike doctors who sit at least 3 feet from you ( should you be lucky enough to get a face to face appointment) 

[sandspider]

Strange how it varies locally. Here I can see a doctor same day (if I can get through to the surgery on the very busy phone lines while there's still an appointment available) but can't see a dentist for love or money. Can't book doctor's appointments in advance, but think that's a Welsh thing anyway - same day appointments only so their waiting lists can't be seen to be too bad?

[Scully]

6 minutes ago, sandspider said:

Strange how it varies locally. Here I can see a doctor same day (if I can get through to the surgery on the very busy phone lines while there's still an appointment available) but can't see a dentist for love or money. Can't book doctor's appointments in advance, but think that's a Welsh thing anyway - same day appointments only so their waiting lists can't be seen to be too bad?

Indeed. I thought the ‘can’t book in advance’ thing was just an English policy, brought in by Cameron’s government, so they could claim that everyone who phoned would see their GP that same day. This just meant of course you had to call early to ensure you got in. 🙂

Have had no probs with dentists really, except perhaps when Covid was at its peak, but have had two six monthly checkups and a visit to the hygienist in that time.
Haven’t seen a GP in years. 

[WalkedUp]

I had been treated in A&E last week due to an unexpected injury and had some complications a few days later, a normal doctor would have sufficed but it was a Sunday so called thought about the walk-in. Except it is no longer walk in, due to covid you have to book via 111. No answer from 111 operator after 35 mins so I hung up and did it online. The questions do not account for the fact that it is treatment of existing injuries and so would not let me book a walk in slot and so sent me to A&E. I got fed up of the frustration so took a screenshot as evidence and went to A&E expecting to be downgraded to the walk-in upon arrival. I was treated on the spot by a top consultant, for something which could have been performed by a junior doctor or nurse practitioner. Good for me but what a waste of resource. 

[WalkedUp]

I was back in hospital for an appointment again today after emailing them to say I had not received the phone call expected. The doctor was a relatively young woman 28/32 of a south east Asian nationality with ESL, she was a little chubby but pretty and engaging. The doctor was accompanied by a British nurse practitioner in her 50s, who was “helping”. The doctor mostly knew what she was doing but struggled to find the English words to narrate the precise medical terms and got a little flustered. My highlight was when she asked if they had scanned to see if I had “fractured my brain”. The nurse and I looked at each other and laughed, before I responded that a fractured brain was not one of my known injuries but could explain a lot about my competency this last week, adding that the CT scan had also ruled out a fractured skull.

When I got home this evening there were two hospital letters inviting me to appointments, one for the examination I had already attend earlier that morning and the second was basically the same appointment but from another hospital in a completely different NHS trust. Both worthless to me.

It really is a mess. We need a proper national system for appointments and medical communication online rather than relying upon recall of oral instruction and hoping to receive a letter on time or get through on the phone. 

Edited October 20, 2021 by WalkedUp

[Vince Green]

Every time when I phoned our surgery the line was engaged. So I went down there and queued up to see the receptionist. Only to be told there are no appointments and if I was in pain I should go to A&E. Which I did the following day

A&E was absolutely heaving, I wonder why?

[toxo]

It's not just doctors, it's across the board. There's no accountability anywhere. The person you're talking to on the end of the phone know that if they don't like the tone of your voice they can simply put the phone down with absolutely no consequences whatsoever, that's if they can be ***** to answer you in the first place.

[London Best]

27 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

Every time when I phoned our surgery the line was engaged. So I went down there and queued up to see the receptionist. Only to be told there are no appointments and if I was in pain I should go to A&E. Which I did the following day

 

The last time I needed a doctor a similar thing happened to me. I told the receptionist I needed to see a doctor. I was told there were no appointments. Twice I had to tell her that she was not listening to me and I didn’t want an appointment and needed to see a doctor. Again she said we have no appointments so I said in that case I would just sit there until a doctor was available. I sat down and was seen in ten minutes, referred to a consultant the next day and in for an op eight days later.

[old man]

No appointments to be had at face to face now, all have to telephone in and wait in the queue, wonder if they cream a cut off BT as well. Can be 30 minute waits.

Progress, my donkeys near relative?

[Vince Green]

Ironically my mother has just received a letter for a hospital appointment in November. Only problem is she died six months ago. She died in a different hospital but within the same trust. That the other problem no communication

When she was alive she more than once had appointment letters arrive after the date of the appointment.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Vince Green

[Minky]

Our surgery was pretty much like these and poor service overall but recently it has gotten a lot better. Not perfect but better. Last year I slipped and suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon but because of covid couldn't get any treatment. A couple of months ago I rang up, spoke to the receptionist and got a face to face with my doc who sent me off for an mri on my spine and an appointment to see a private consultant. This happened along with x rays and an Mr I scan of my ankle.  So far so good.  A month later and I  am waiting on him to contact me with a date for a repair operation. Hopefully I  will be able to walk properly again instead of walking with a painful limp. So maybe light at the end of the tunnel.