GP Appointments In Spalding Are Appalling....A Moan Follows.
eastmidlandsman52
Member Posts: 27
Hello.When I'm on the American website and talking about my musical heroes,namely The Moody Blues,I always open with the line "Hi old duffer from England here..." before launching into reading or writing a thread.So I'm going to use this opening line here from now on as its most appropriate...
Hi,old duffer from England here...
On the 6th May,I rang my Practice (which supposedly has 6 GPs working in it) here in Spalding to book an appointment with a GP.I'd recently had an exceptional flareup,far worse than others,where the joint pain of 'arfur' and his mate 'fibro' had conspired together to make my life unbearable for five non-stop days.None of the painkillers worked and I couldn't walk very far or do very much.
The first available appointment to see my allocated GP was for Thursday 28th May some 22 days away which I declined.I asked if I could see anyone there this week and was told no,there were no appointments available.I then asked if I could have an appointment for the following week and was told, sorry, no I couldn't, because they weren't sure which doctors or locums were available.I was offered an appointment to see the Nurse but I declined on the basis that there was nothing he/she could do.In the end,I gave up and hung up in disgust.Had I accepted this,and had to go for a blood test,this would require a further 10/14 days before you could even get that as there is an appointment system! By the time the results would come back,a further 7/10 days,you'd be looking at a maximum of 46 days not to mention a further 22 days to get to see a GP to discuss the results.So,its possible that a full round trip from appointment to conclusion could take 68 days!!!
Despite moving Practices a year or so ago where the wait for an appointment was 43 days,and where you never saw the same GP twice (and this in another Practice with 6 GPs in it),and where for no reason the last GP had a go at me for no reason,I feel that I now will have to change Practices for the third time in 6 years in order to try and see a GP whose services are better than the current 22 to 43 days on offer to patients here in Spalding.
I've decided when I get to the end of my next flareup,I'm going to go to A&E at the Peterborough District Hospital which is 17 miles away.This will mean a 4-bus trip of over an hour each way,plus the waiting time in A&E,but at least I will get seen by a qualified GP.The whole ethos that I am neither an "Accident" or "Emergency" is something I find goes against the grain.But what else can I do?Its not possble to access any GP services in Spalding unless you're prepared for a long wait these days.
I self-medicate now with the help of my local Pharmacist.I currently have an old combo of Ibuprofen& Co-codomol/caffeine mix.I should've gone for a check-up last November when my review was due.Its not ideal,but it'll have to do.I'd love a check-up but that ain't gonna happen.
On the one occasion back then when I did get an appointment,I couldn't get a minicab from anyone of 8 operators in Spalding to get me to the surgery so I had to cancel the appointment.They were all too busy bringing in school-kids from around the area.What a complete shambles.So,no review,no blood tests,no GP appointments within 3 weeks,no local area facilities for help.In fact,nothing for this 55 year old sufferer.No wonder I self-medicate when this shambles of an NHS in Spalding is so dreadfully and woefully wanting in every area.
Thank you for letting me whinge and moan.
[/list][/i][/b]
Hi,old duffer from England here...
On the 6th May,I rang my Practice (which supposedly has 6 GPs working in it) here in Spalding to book an appointment with a GP.I'd recently had an exceptional flareup,far worse than others,where the joint pain of 'arfur' and his mate 'fibro' had conspired together to make my life unbearable for five non-stop days.None of the painkillers worked and I couldn't walk very far or do very much.
The first available appointment to see my allocated GP was for Thursday 28th May some 22 days away which I declined.I asked if I could see anyone there this week and was told no,there were no appointments available.I then asked if I could have an appointment for the following week and was told, sorry, no I couldn't, because they weren't sure which doctors or locums were available.I was offered an appointment to see the Nurse but I declined on the basis that there was nothing he/she could do.In the end,I gave up and hung up in disgust.Had I accepted this,and had to go for a blood test,this would require a further 10/14 days before you could even get that as there is an appointment system! By the time the results would come back,a further 7/10 days,you'd be looking at a maximum of 46 days not to mention a further 22 days to get to see a GP to discuss the results.So,its possible that a full round trip from appointment to conclusion could take 68 days!!!
Despite moving Practices a year or so ago where the wait for an appointment was 43 days,and where you never saw the same GP twice (and this in another Practice with 6 GPs in it),and where for no reason the last GP had a go at me for no reason,I feel that I now will have to change Practices for the third time in 6 years in order to try and see a GP whose services are better than the current 22 to 43 days on offer to patients here in Spalding.
I've decided when I get to the end of my next flareup,I'm going to go to A&E at the Peterborough District Hospital which is 17 miles away.This will mean a 4-bus trip of over an hour each way,plus the waiting time in A&E,but at least I will get seen by a qualified GP.The whole ethos that I am neither an "Accident" or "Emergency" is something I find goes against the grain.But what else can I do?Its not possble to access any GP services in Spalding unless you're prepared for a long wait these days.
I self-medicate now with the help of my local Pharmacist.I currently have an old combo of Ibuprofen& Co-codomol/caffeine mix.I should've gone for a check-up last November when my review was due.Its not ideal,but it'll have to do.I'd love a check-up but that ain't gonna happen.
On the one occasion back then when I did get an appointment,I couldn't get a minicab from anyone of 8 operators in Spalding to get me to the surgery so I had to cancel the appointment.They were all too busy bringing in school-kids from around the area.What a complete shambles.So,no review,no blood tests,no GP appointments within 3 weeks,no local area facilities for help.In fact,nothing for this 55 year old sufferer.No wonder I self-medicate when this shambles of an NHS in Spalding is so dreadfully and woefully wanting in every area.
Thank you for letting me whinge and moan.
[/list][/i][/b]
0
Comments
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The only things I can think of saying are not printalbe!!! :shock: :shock: Have you thought of moving? How do people manage? I feel so sorry for you. I asked the doctors for something and my GP is away so one of the others rang me just to find out what I was on about, very nice and amusing guy. I really don't know how lucky I am!
Love Sue 0 -
Hello Sue. Thanks for your kind reply. Most of the things I wanted to say aren't printable either
! I'd love to create an adult website where you could say all the unprintable things that can't be printed in here about the *&^%$£" and "£$%^&* NHS!woodbon wrote:The only things I can think of saying are not printalbe!!! :shock: :shock: Have you thought of moving? How do people manage? I feel so sorry for you. I asked the doctors for something and my GP is away so one of the others rang me just to find out what I was on about, very nice and amusing guy. I really don't know how lucky I am! Love Sue0 -
Hello Old Duffer Welcome to the site.
This sounds awful to me I don’t understand why they have this sort of system at the surgery. You should have asked for a call out from the Doctor then I bet they would fit you in.
I would still phone and call the doctor out and just explain you could not wait that long for an appointment. You should also write to the practice manager and tell them what you think. I’m pretty lucky with my doctors its also a large practice of 6 doctors and a nurse but as long as I am prepared to see any doctor I can normally get an appointment the same day if I name a doctor its normally 48 hours and that’s really good.
Now some serious talk to cheer you up if your going to Peterborough you better go now and I mean that from the bottom of my heart, you could be there for Tuesday Afternoon. Isn’t life strange I could see the story in your eyes and I don’t want to go on without you, have you heared the voices in the sky if you go now I’ll send you some nights in white satin to help you on your way. I’ll let you sort that lot out A truly great band. Take Care and keep your chin up. Try the chit chat forum to get to know people.
Colin0 -
Its all a question of balance really. I've been watching and waiting for a reply like this!Sadly,never comes the day when I'm playing my old blue guitar and sittin' at the wheel driving myself nuts! I guess you and me will have to visit new horizons as we ride my see-saw of life in our one lonely room! I'll have to go now and see what's on the other side of life as we pass through the house of four doors!!!colinone wrote:Hello Old Duffer Welcome to the site.
This sounds awful to me I don’t understand why they have this sort of system at the surgery. You should have asked for a call out from the Doctor then I bet they would fit you in.
I would still phone and call the doctor out and just explain you could not wait that long for an appointment. You should also write to the practice manager and tell them what you think. I’m pretty lucky with my doctors its also a large practice of 6 doctors and a nurse but as long as I am prepared to see any doctor I can normally get an appointment the same day if I name a doctor its normally 48 hours and that’s really good.
Now some serious talk to cheer you up if your going to Peterborough you better go now and I mean that from the bottom of my heart, you could be there for Tuesday Afternoon. Isn’t life strange I could see the story in your eyes and I don’t want to go on without you, have you heared the voices in the sky if you go now I’ll send you some nights in white satin to help you on your way. I’ll let you sort that lot out A truly great band. Take Care and keep your chin up. Try the chit chat forum to get to know people.
Colin0 -
Well Done Old Duffer you truly are a fan
Catch you round the site
Colin0
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