The other day I had reason to phone my husbands surgery to enquire about his care and possible needed appointment.

He I might add has CHD, Hypertension, Peripheral Vascular disease, Heart problems, diabetes and has had a stroke in July for which they
have never made any contact whatsoever.

Here is our telephone conversation;_
me - Hello, I'm Mrs G and I'm phoning on behalf of my husband who has (see above). When is his next assessment for diabetes due?

Recep - he was due in August and also a stroke assessment.

me - sorry I didn't know that and he has no memory to speak of now. Do you sent patients a reminder letter?

Recep - No we do not. Are you his carer?

Me - yes

recep - Then it is your responsibility to manage these things and not ours to send reminders!

me - I am his wife, not his paid carer, and he has no knowledge of any dates or good memory following his stroke. ( angry voice)

recept - (suddenly tries to be helpful) Oh, can he manage to come in or do you need us........

me - I can get him in.

I have now written a letter of complaint to that surgery. I'm so angry at the treatment I have received, goodness know's how helpful they will be but I
need to have at least some form of working relationship with this practice. I know it's not their fault I've just been diagnosed with RA, Pulmonary Fibrosis
and also some heart involvement - but that means I'm not too well myself.

I despair sometimes at how official some people can be on the phone, these 'jobs worth' make life much harder than it needs to be, have they never
heard of compassion - if they haven't got it they need to get out of the job and make room for those more suited.

Thanks for the steam room!

Gogs

Hi Gogs - it's good to get these things off your chest - you've enough on your plate without such poor service from your GP practice. Well done for writing a letter of complaint - no doubt it'll take a long while to get any response but if let us know what happens.

my surgery has just started a Patient Reference Group to provide a means of getting patient feedback. I'm not suggesting that you take on any other actions because you've got your hands full at the moment, but it would be good for all of us with long term complaints like RA to get more involved with our GPs. Specifically on your problem - I understand that they run so many appointments and therefore it would be very costly to send reminders to everyone, but It seems to me that there are certain patients (like your husband) who are actually struggling so much that they need a bit of extra care maybe just for a few months until you get your RA under control. When my RA was really bad I kept forgetting to attend appointments because my brain was so bogged down in day-to-day activities (what normal people do without even thinking about it - like getting dressed!) - I would've found it impossible to think about other appointments too - it would've been very helpful to have reminders then.

Anyway, best wishes and have a better day today. Sylvia xx

Well done you Gogs. I think these people sometimes think we have NO other things going in on our lives that we have to fit around their clinc times etc.

Follow up.
The G.P. has apologised to her. The fact remains that it happened at a vulnerable time
its CHRISTMAS!!!!!! Anne

Hi Anne - an apology is something I suppose but it is utterly unacceptable that somebody who we trust with our innermost secrets should behave so badly in the first place. Maybe it's a sign of the stress the doctor is working under, but if that is the case then how many other bad decisions is he making? I would take it a bit further, if your daughter feels up to it.

And as regards taking emergency appointments, I totally sympathise - I've often had no choice either! It's almost impossible to book an appointment with a GP within a few days - it's either weeks ahead or same day emergency slot! I've often had to take my children in, knowing that their problem is not an "emergency", but also knowing that they can't wait for weeks! And it's even worse for my husband - he works away a lot and has a very busy diary - it's infuriatingly difficult for him to make an appointment when he doesn't know if he'll even be in the country next month! Luckily he has good health, so rarely needs more than having his ears syringed, but heaven help us if he gets anything more serious!

Very best wishes - Sylvia xx

Thanks Naomi - that's really good to know. Our surgery is moving to new premises next year - to the site of the old Newton Abbot hospital, do you know it? - and they've started a new patient reference group and asked for views and feedback. I sent them a long email on the day I made tht post, so I guess that came across as a bit belligerent (ha ha!). Anyway, I'm hoping that it will be the start of major improvements, because the surgery has got worse (or maybe I'm just noticing it more!!)

I think the RA has ignited the new militant in me, so I'm going to try and campaign for improvements based on the experiences discussed here - I feel that we patients should offer constructive feedback when we are able to, as that benefits all those who aren't feeling well enough to cope.

Hope you're well - lovely to read all your posts. Sylvia xx

Hi, I have found that as time goes on routine app. waits become longer and longer.
I changed surgery 2 yrs ago when we moved house but waits are the same.
I rang for an app. the other week and she wanted to give me an app with the nurse practitioner!! Had to wait a week longer to see see the doc. have the app after xmas.
Living in the country we do not have many options in surgery choice, the one we are in now has a better reputation than others in this area.
I remember the days when I first came to live in Wales and you made no app. at all, it was just sit and wait, and I don't remember having to wait long!! Mind you it was a few yrs ago now!!
Ther just seems to be too many patients for the number of doc.s. available.
Zena x