Whats wrong with the NHS???

AARRGGGHHHHH

sorry just had to get that out.

I am feeling really unwell, on and off for a while, had blood test etc and everything was normal - thinkg is still feel crap, so just phoned the doctors to make an appointment to see somebody asap, as think might have kidney infection or something. No appointments now til Thursday and you cant book any appointments for Thursday until tommorow morning from 8am - when you call you cant get through as everyone else is calling at that time to get the appontments so will probably not get an appointment now til Friday possibly monday !!!!!!!!!!!!

good job i dont think I am seriously ill huh ???

Why do they have such a stupid policy of not allowing you to book an appointment on the first phonecall - they surely know what they have free if they havent released any of the appointments AARRGGGGHHHHHHH

sorry for the rant - is this all doctors or just my ridiculous ones ??

Ours is the same but if you state it is an emergency they will see you the same day.

They are bloody crap!!
I tried to get app at docs and was told couldnt get one for two weeks. I could however get an emergency app if I went by the automated phone system, so gave that a try and guess what, it didnt recognise my phone number so that didnt work.
So phoned back up to speak to human being and they wouldnt give me an app as werent allowed to book emergency apps themselves, you had to do the automated way! Good eh?
It actually really upset me at time but luckily symptoms cleared up, but what if someone was really ill?
CRAP!!

Hope you are ok now

Ours is not like that (we must be very lucky area) I phoned this morning. (need to see doc for a repeat of hormone patches) got one for Thurs morning. When you ring our surgery you can book up to 1 month in advance. God if I had to wait more than a week for my beloved patches I would go insane, kill the OH and when they come to cart me off all they would find would be a bloody big puddle on the floor!!! (sweats. . .for all the men here) I'm sure there are a few women here who understand.

Our docs have just changed from the system where you had to go down there in person from 8.00 am. to make an appointment FOR THAT DAY and for that day only. You had to go in person coz although they were open from 8.00 am. the phone line was constantly engaged!! Funny that, coz one morning as I sat outside waiting, I rang them on my mobile, walked into the surgery with it still giving me the engaged tone, and yet NONE of their phones were ringing and the two receptionists were standing there twiddling their thumbs?????!!! Funny eh!!! I didn't go there though, I was too ill to argue, I just wanted the appointment.

Anyway, we now have an even better system on the go, which I knew nothing about until making a recent appointment for Dave and went down there as I normally would at 8.00 am. I then got told "oh no, you can't make an appointment for today!" eh? "no, you have to tell ME what your problem is, then I pass it on to the doctors, and they ring you back to make an appointment for you IF they think you need to see a doctor"!!!!!! Oh, right!!! So in front of a queue of peops you have to tell them what's WRONG with you??? Yeah right!

I really can't say which is worse, the old system or this new one, or Dani's or any other come to that! They're all rubbish, and they don't really want to see you anyway, they're far too busy with everything else than to see actual patients, so they'd rather you got ill enough to phone 999 maybe, but then you have the problem that your local A & E has been closed down, so they send you to another one an hour and a half away, and if you've survived all of that, you then have to wait for maybe 4 or 5 hours! Is it worth all this??? Nah, just go back to bed and HOPE you get better!

Have to say though, if you DO get through the whole obstacle course, give them their due, you get every test going if you need it, coz I now have about 5 hospital appointments for my o/h to check him all out. Maybe it's an effort to weed out the hypercondriacts (sp?), but it isn't working It all needs putting in a big bag, shaking all about, and spilling it back out again, hopefully in some kind of organised chaos.

Hope you get better on your own Dani

well am glad to know its not just my stupid surgery then !!!

I feel awful and if this gets worse tonight I will be phoning NHS 24 .

The thing is I know that were I to phone and say it was Luca that was unwell then they would find an appointment for him NOW..... But because its an adult we just have to get on with it. Its a ridiculous system.

wish you could order antibiotics on the internet for yourself - just diagnose myself and self medicate - its effectively what they want you to do isnt it !!!!

I hardly ever go to the docs, but when I do, and they don't have appointments, I always tell them it's an emergency, and I always get one for that day.
I hate it when the receptionist asks me whats wrong......I always say "I don't know, thats why I need to see a doctor"

i must be lucky i can call my doctor, i only have to say its for me or my son and i get an appt there and then, even if its at 6pm they will fit me in, i can make an appt upto 4mths in advance, i call and ask to speak to my doc and they call me back as soon as they have finished with person in with them. there is only 2 docs where i go and i have never had a problem getting into see him. why can't all docs be like that.

i was really worried as we are moving and i am not changing my docs even thou i will be out of there area as scared of going throu all this again with someone diffrent. told my doc that and he said as long as i had a friend who was happy to have my gp letters go there etc ithat would be fine... i love my doc really cant fault them .....

My doc isn't like that. We can phone and get an appointment any time in the next three weeks, but no further in advance than that, unless the doc has said come see me again in 3 months - then you can.
you can ask to see the doc the same day and the receptionist will say ok, you come at 11.30 and wait, but if you are not an emergency he will refuse to see you.
They don't decide that, he does once he sees you.

I know how you feel Dani. Ours have recently changed though and thankfully for the better. They've also extended their hours til 6 every night and anything between 4 and 6 is ONLY for people who work. Much better I must say. They still aren't perfect though and I don't know how many times I've been in and they've messed up my appointment. Ring them and tell them it's an emergency. They'll see you then! Good luck hun, there is nothing worse when you're ill as you just can't be bothered with faffing about xxxxx