General Chat

After being at E R today to have a wound on my arm dressed I was advised to go to my gp nurse and have it re dressed on monday to check for infection .When I tried to get appointment was told earliest was next thursday !!!

To see a doctor is usually about 2 weeks but a nurse ?????

Same in your area ?

Question do I now go back to A& E and ask them to re dress on monday ( and sit up to 4 hrs )

Kathy

Sorry to hear that you've been in the wars.

Yes, there can be several weeks delay for a nurse run clinic or routine things like ear syringing. We've normally been able to book a week in advance for removal of stitches. It probably helps being in a semi-rural location.

For minor compaints that the Prescribing Nurse can deal with, the receiptionist has said to phone in the morning as they usually have a few slots they've kept back. They are fairly accomodating and might offer an appointment in the other surgery in the next village if there is something urgent or time critical.

If you can't sort something out, it does sound as if you'll have to go back to ER. A close relative needed to have an ulcer re-dressed. He found that if he went about 3am they tended to be quiet. Needless to say, he does keep funny hours!

Hope your arm gets better quickly. Unfortunately Yes we have the same waiting time up till about 18mths ago no problems but then they bought another Practice making 3 in all so doc's are divided between the 3 so I suppose that's why , just because the doctors are getting greedier and greedier me thinks! :-|

Normally with making an appointment for a nurse (I think we have 3 on duty at once) we don't have a problem and with stitches I have always so far been able to make an appointment a week in advance.
I think these days with suburban areas the problem lies with the building opf more houses, the occupants of which have to fit in to the existing doctors' practices, too few doctors, too many patients.

Looks like you will have to return to A&E, and then they wonder why A&E are overworked.

This is slightly different, but ..................


almost 2 years ago I had a mastectomy, stayed in hospital overnight.

Surgeon saw me about 9 am, said I could go home, and to make an appointment for 2 weeks later for Post-op exam.

OH phoned the surgeon's office .................. the only available appointment was 6 weeks later. No attempt to get in earlier worked.



I do know that part of the problem was the large number of younger women developing breast cancer, and the over-working of the best surgeon in town ................ but still!!!!


The surgeon was very apologetic when we did see her ..................... but my GP had had to do post-op checks!

I live in a really crowded part of South London (Woolwich). Yet my doctors is amazing. You can phone and book and appointment for the following day, and sometimes even phone in the morning for an evening appointment. Same with the nurse.

They used to have problems, but that was when the government had given out stringent guidelines, which I think have now relaxed.

I feel so lucky that I do not have the problems which seem to be the scourge of other areas. :-D

Like DC I'm lucky with our doctors. I live in a rural area with a small surgery in the local village a mile or so away. That surgery is an offshoot of the Health Centre in the nearest small town. Provided I ring about 8.30 am I nearly always get an appointment the same day and I don't think I have ever waited more than 24 hours for an appointment.

If I don't need to see someone urgently I can also book an appointment online for a few days ahead. Prescriptions are dispensed from the surgery so I don't need to drive to a chemist and I can order repeat prescriptions online.

I'm expecting to move house soon and the only thing that is worrying me is having to change to a different doctors' practice. I doubt if I'll find another as good as the one I have got.

Thanks for all of your replies .

Think I need to move to the country !!!!! or change my GP .

Kathy

our local centre has a "phone in slot" 9am-10am for appointments. and you can be hanging on, all that time ,and the "welcome" message is costing money........