Can't get a GP appointment

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Twinkie
Twinkie Member Posts: 13
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:10 in Living with arthritis

Hi I'm new to this forum. I have had osteoarthritis of the left knee for 12 yrs in February of this year I started having pain and swelling and severe stiffness in my healthy (or so I thought) right knee which became progressively worse, on top of this I had pain and swelling and stiffness of my right hand so bad I couldn't use it and then the same in both ankles and terrible neck stiffness. I was referred to the physio who ordered knee x-rays (I waited nearly a month for this ) . Meanwhile the pain was as bad I do the exercises wear knee support and have a tens .So I requested a drs appointment and was referred back to the physio for a twenty minutes telephone call ! IAM now waiting for blood tests on his suggestion.It is impossible to see a Dr I was hoping to get some treatment (maybe steroids?) But I've just got to put up with it it seems.

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  • Fran54
    Fran54 Member Posts: 180
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    Hi @Twinkie

    Yes I know how frustrating it is to try and get a Doctor's appointment. What I did do was write a letter to my Doctor stating all my symptoms physically and mentally and requested a face to face appointment and it worked! Sometimes you have to be a bit more forceful and keep persevering or more to the point pestering people to get anything done. Let us know how you get on.

    Take care.🙂

  • Moira
    Moira Member Posts: 88
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    Well done Fran but I did the same and was told off in no uncertain terms by a receptionist, and she said that if I did it again I would be removed from the list! I have to telephone on the morning of any appointment I want and you can't always get through so have to try again the next day. If I was working as a teacher I would have no chance of ever getting an appointment. No wonder folks turn up at A&E.

    I know that GPs are hard worked but then as a primary Deputy Head in London I was working 60-70 hours a week including w/ends - until I had an arthritic crisis and was signed off. Our GPs mostly work in the mornings. Don't know what they do the rest of the time. They don't even properly read your notes at an appointment and you only have 5 mons.

    My next appointment is by phone. I'm really cheesed off too.

  • jonr
    jonr Member Posts: 398
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    I think that is totally unacceptable Moira, some receptionists think they can play God with peoples' lives.

    My advice in your shoes would be to contact Connect Health, an organisation I hadn't heard of until I threatened to make a formal complaint when I went through what you are going through. Connect Health is a company which the NHS offloads certain work to of which MSK is one. They show up online with a Google search. Go to the bit for patient resources. From there yoi can find your nearest centre. Give them a call, explain you would like to self-refer as your GP is unsympathetic. You should be invited to a telephone or f2f consultation, I advise the F2F if possible. They will liaise with your GP surgery but ultimately can circumvent them. Please - lay it on thick, you will need to tick certain boxes to "pass Go".

    Good luck,

    Jon

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