Doctors surgeries

What are your Doctors like.? Do you have a favourite Doctor,are you able to see a specific Doctor ?My Doctor has got two surgeries,you can be seen at either,But its nott easy to get an appointment , people start ringing at 8am, but often there are no appointments free, and you have to ring back after 1pm to try for the afternoon,if not you have to repeat the effort the next day,They are always running late,and notices come up on a screen to tell patients appointments are for 10 minute only, if you want longer you must book a longer appointment time. There are long waits to see a specific Doctor ,

Re: Doctors surgeries

I've got three nice ladies I see depending who is free we have several other doctors but I've never seen any of them myself.

I try to take Gracie to one of the ladies I see as they are brilliant with her.

I too have the ring at 8am theory but it's rare you get one first day you ring it took me five days of ringing last time.

One of the ladies runs very late over an hour most days because she cares and doesn't take any notice of ten minute rule. The other two also run late but by only 15 minutes or so.

The surgery has an electric board says which GP and who next but it's not worked in years so the doctors walk along the corridor to the waiting room to call us. That wastes time too IMO .

We have a self checkin machine that is pretty good.

One of our nurses is IMO dangerous the others are angels absolutely lovely. Our phlebotomist is particularly nice.

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Loathe doctors in general, and stay away unless absolutely vital.

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I wish I could, but long term problems plus cancer have meant visiting rather too often

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I've had the same doctor since 2011 - she normally spends around half an hour with me every 4 weeks. This means that she knows me and my health conditions very well.

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I seldom went but must go now every few weeks for an injury.

I sign in at 7:30 am then go for coffee till she comes in around 9:15 because if you are not at the top of the list you can wait hours and hours.

When I first started going to her I did not care for her but only went as she was my hubby's doc. Now I find her caring, considerate and a great doctor.

Re: Doctors surgeries

For the last few years I've been with a really good practice. Prior to that it was challenging. I used to be with a practice where the GP thought it was ok to turn up at 10.30 am for a 9 am clinic. Thankfully he has retired.

The reception staff where I go now are amazing. They are friendly and cheerful despite having to do somersaults to deal with all the different demands.

The best thing is that if you don't have an urgent appointment you can book this online and you can also order repeat prescriptions online. You can speak to a GP if you need an urgent appointment, they will try to fit you in if you need to be seen or they have an out of hours service.

So I cannot complain and the GP's have always helped me. I only wish all practices were the same.

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If I can walk..........I go to see the local pharmacist!

If I can't............I phone early and ask for a telephone appointment.

If I don't get through...........I dial 101.

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I think we are very lucky with our Doctor, very rarely try to see him same day but if its urgent we can usually get in,even considering here the surgery is only 8am to 3.15pm. No problem in getting in next day, and appointments are for 20 mins, or if no patients he is quite happy to chat about anything, especially Man. Untd. 2 Doctors and 3 ladies that act as receptionists , Blood Takers, injection givers, ECG takers, money takers.
It is a far cry from what the U K was even 12 years ago. One thing that they dont do here is home visits. If you cant get to surgery you will either have to get a taxi to hospital or the Ambulance, and surprisingly unless it is a blue light you have to get in touch with the acute dept first .

Re: Doctors surgeries

I have finally lived somewhere long enough that I can easily get an appointment in the same day. My doctor is an excellent, stoic, all-business sort, though his assistant did give me a faulty EKG during my annual wellness exam that ended up sending me to the emergency room for a likely heart attack. That was a fun day .

Anyhow, my doctor is in a new building with an waiting area looks like a five star hotel lobby - large, well-lit paintings, expensive upholstered chairs, and muted, elegant paint colors. No wonder it's 144 pounds (US $200) for a twenty minute appointment. I can't figure out who talked him into this - most likely his other partners...

That said, he broke down in tears when I asked him whether or not he felt sentimental about razing the mid-century building to make room for the new one.