Long wait for appt. at DMC

[northlondoner]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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> My family and I have been going to 1 Forest Hill

> Rd for over 20 years - they did have a bad patch a

> few years ago re appointments but sorted it out.

> Like peterstorm I wouldn't move.

Stop encouraging people, please!

[Beej]

@northlondoner oh, that's the neighbourly spirit.

[Mscrawthew]

My Daughter had the same problem on Thursday and Friday last week. Her 10 Month old Baby had very high temp and was lethargic, When she finally got through she was told there were no appointments and basically if he was that ill she should take him to casualty which was said with a very sarcastic tone!

[Beej]

ughhhh - you can imagine what it's like for the rest of us who don't have children!! if everyone stopped making babies, the rest of us could get a flaming appointment. [runs for cover]

[Cora]

And where would the doctors of the future come from?.....

[sunskippy10]

I was really sick on sunday, severe headache and throwing up all over the place. By Monday I was so weak I called the doc and asked if a doc could come round. I was told I was not registered as a house bound patient so no. I called back to see if I could get an appoint and maybe my friend could take me in the car even though its not far away as I could hardly move without throwing up. I was told no and to call 999. Completely ridiculous! I just desperately needed to see a doc. Luckily my friend went to the pharmacist who gave her some medicine to stop me being sick and some rehydration tablets as well as paracetamol and she came right round.I am still off today but feeling better than I was. There has to be some way to improve the health centre. This happened to me before when I first moved down but because I wasnt registered I couldnt be seen by a doc. .I am lucky to have friends here but what if you dont? What if you have just moved and dont know anyone? or cant get to a phone?

[TreacleRabbit]

I had exactly the same problem recently: 2.5 weeks to get a nurse or dr appt out of office hours/start or end of each day. Receptionist was so rude. I used the out of hours doc in the end to get a standard prescription. I understand the surgery has 2/3 of appts as bookable on the day, so only 1/3 in advance - hence stupid waits in the telephone at 8am and no idea how much work you need to miss just to get routine meds. Annoying. An going to write to the practice manager and the pct.

[treehugger]

Sunskippy: so the right answer to your problem was advice from the pharmacist. Quick, cheap and helped you. Was that not a solution to your problem?

[intexasatthe moment]

My mothers surgery offer " telephone consultations " ,need to be booked and not sure how long it takes to get one .

During my travails with Forest Hill Rd ( not same surgery as mother ) the abrupt receptionist never suggested this as an option - and frankly I was in too much pain to think straight and to ask if this service was available . But apparently Forest Hill offer it as well - maybe all surgeries do ?

But a telephone consultation might have been the answer for sunskippy and treehugger . So one to remember .

Plus lower your expectations - GP's are busy ,norovirus is rampant - can be scary when you're in it's grip but if you're a generally healthy adult won't require a GP visit .

And the walk in clinic at the Lister http://www.southwarkpct.nhs.uk/our_services/gp_walk_in_centre

and New Cross ( apparently much less busy than Peckham ) http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/GP.aspx?pid=E6A6BC33-5A63-4D71-B01A-45CB35A0392F

are open 8am to 8pm 7 days a week + bank holidays

and are very good .

[indiepanda]

I tend to call NHS direct first. If they don't reckon I need to see the doctor I don't go, just follow their advice on treatment. So far they've been pretty sound on the advice they've given.

[Ben Reeve-Lewis]

I recently burned my foot in a frightening pasta accident (honestly) and I went to EDMC to get the doc to look at how it was developing. She said it needed dressing and said she would make an appointment for me to see a nurse to have it dressed. I waited a day, turned up for my appointment and the nurse stuck a plaster on it. For f**K's sake, I could have done that myself.

Like everyone else I cant ever get an appointment. When I first burnt my foot I called to see someone, they said it would be a week, so I called back and said it was getting worse and they said "Then call an ambulance". Never know a GPs like it

[buggie]

To be fair, I don't think GP's have ever marketed themselves to be the go-to-place for immediate care after accidents or emergencies - possibly A&E would've been a better choice, or even your local chemist for advice on wound care/appropriate dressing. Hope your foot's better now.

[Ben Reeve-Lewis]

It is better thanks Buggie, and I am back to my day job as a foot model:)

I didnt explain properly. I did do the whole A&E bit when it happened and went to a medical centre when it got infected. All I wanted the doc to do was look at it because it didnt seem to be healing very fast. STandard GP stuff. I've never had a GP where the only way to get an appointment is to participate in the January sales at 8am everyday, or as other posters have mentioned on here, calling endlessly only to find all appointments gone.

Its easier to get an appointment to see the Queen

[buggie]

Yeah but she's rubbish on wound care ;)

Makes more sense now - fustrating they weren't helpful - lister health centre might've been good alternative.

[Ben Reeve-Lewis]

Before EDMC my GPs were at the Ellsdale Street surgery in Hackney where the staff wore jeans, listened to the radio, knew people's first names and did what they could to help you out. There were no touch-screen booking systems or digitised calling screens but you could go there whenever the door was open and they put people before procedures.

I get the impression that EDMC are just concerned with compiling their stats to keep the PCT happy, even though the effect on their customers is 'Computer says no'. The very emobodiment of Lansley's view of a decent health service.

The only way to be a happy and satisfied customer of EDMC is to never be ill.

[Fuschia]

In defence of DMc, there are some fantastic caring doctors there ... Dr Davison and dr prabhakaran (sp?) and the practice manager will aso sort a problem out if you complain.

I find some of the receptionists rather poor though - when you obviously have a worrying issue and they can't fit you in they have a habit of saying 'just call an ambulance if you're worried' When I recently arranged an appt because I felt so unwell I thought I should discount meningitis, and then had to call to cancel the Appt and arrange for a call instead, because I couldn't get out of bed, the receptionist took no particular notice and put me at the bottom of the duty doctor list, so it was 6 hours before I was called back. The dr was very apologetic, once I finally spike to her.

I think if you aren't getting anywhere with rceoion, ask to speak to the practice manager instead.

[Ben Reeve-Lewis]

But surely Fuschia you shouldnt have to complain to the practice manager just to get a normal service.

Every doctor and nurse I have met has been fine and I have no problem about the politeness of the receptionists but everyone there is a slave to the systems they have set in place to keep the PCT happy with statistics about length of time taken taken to deal with a patient, which is how Lansley would have efficiency measured.

When people work to statistics human contact is sidelined. I havent read all 3 pages worth of posts here but I get the flavour and nobody seems to be complaining about the individuals, just the daft, bureacratic system that alienates their patients.

A few years back, prompted by the Daily Mail no doubt, government said that nobody should spend more than 4 hours on a trolley in a hospital. the reality of it was that it couldnt be acheived, so the NHS invested more money in new trolleys, which had loads of levers and pulleys on them that could be redesignated as 'Mobile Beds', so nobody spends 4 hours on a trolley, they spend them on mobile beds instead. I'm not dissing anyone about this, we have to do what we do. I work in Homelessness where our massaging of figures would put Mervin Peake to shame in the fiction stakes and I get the strong impression, whenever I have to attend the surgery as an occasional EDMC patient that stats are more important to them than service. Its simply a sad sign of the times.

[Earl Aelfheah]

At my previous surgery in camberwell, the group of receptionists would stand around chatting with a queue formed in front of them. If you timidly attempted an "excuse me" they would mace you. There were some rough types attending the surgery, but if you politely spoke to them in a gentle voice they'd have a security guard rugby tackle you to the ground then continue talking about who got off with who at the club last night, to a chorus of "is it".

[Fuschia]

Ben, you are right, of course!

[Gidget]

rahrahrah Wrote:

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> At my previous surgery in camberwell, the group of

> receptionists would stand around chatting with a

> queue formed in front of them. If you timidly

> attempted an "excuse me" they would mace you.

> There were some rough types attending the surgery,

> but if you politely spoke to them in a gentle

> voice they'd have a security guard rugby tackle

> you to the ground then continue talking about who

> got off with who at the club last night, to a

> chorus of "is it".

I realise you are jesting, but was this Parkside? They are owned by Concordia, who also own Melbourne Grove.

[ibilly99]

Introduce a ?10 fee to see your GP - exemptions for the usual suspects - may help to raise revenue and reduce waiting times.

[shazza76]

The DMC is a joke!!!

I called the surgery this morning, was told straight off they are fully booked. I was booked for a telephone consultation, I just missed the call by a few mins but the doctor left a message saying I should call back the surgery which I did. Spoke with a receptionist who told me she'd let the doctor know I called. A couple of hours later still no call. I called back and was told to go to the Walk-in surgery in Peckham. I said I prefered to speak to a GP from DMC, so she re-booked me for another telephone consultation this afternoon with another gp. I know whats wrong with me and the prescription I need but I know they can't write this prescription without seeing me.

I was reading this thread, and agree there are some good doctors at the surgery and some unhelpful ones too. There are also some good receptionists too but some are quite rude at times. Personally I think the surgery has taken on too many patients and can't cope.

So, I'm sitting here waiting for a call, which will probably come around 7pm. I just wanted to have a moan, feels like such a wasted day.

[Fuschia]

I needed to speak to a gp urgently this morning but ended up emailing as they were continuously engaged. I did then get sorted quite quickly ... The practice manager said the problems with the switchboard capacity have been referred to 'head office'

[tortor]

There is definitely a problem. I'm an extremely rare user of the GP surgery. But yesterday I tried to book an appointment for a non-urgent (but still worrying) problem. The next available appointment? 3 WEEKS away. It is absolutely not good enough, particularly if daily work commitments mean you can't sit by the phone for 15 minutes at 8am, or risk getting to work late still WITHOUT an appointment. I'm afraid I was confused about who to complain to... is it the practice manager or the (equivalent to) PCT? Thanks.

[Fuschia]

Try the practice manage first ...