Appointments

[rjb]

It's about time the appointments system moved into the computer age. We ordered something online, was delivered by DPD. On the scheduled delivery day they sent me a message with a 1 hour time slot for the delivery. Means I could plan my day around it without having to wait at home. If delivery firms can do this its about time the NHS did.

[Mick F]

Off for my AAA re-arranged screening appointment this morning at 11:30
Driving to Callington clinic at maybe 11:15 - easy parking.

Any guesses at what time I'll be seen?

I left early and arrived early.
I walked in at bang on 11:15 sat down and picked up a mag to read.
At 11:20 I was called in.

Twenty minutes later, I'd been done and was walking back to the car.

[AlaninWales]

I hope they apologised for not giving you that ten minutes to relax and read! Dreadful to rush you like that and I'm sure added to the stress of the day .

[Mick F]

[axel_knutt]

.....or we could book a slot at a clinic in the town.

Is that St Michaels? Every time I've been there you take a ticket on the way in and wait about an hour for your number to appear on the display, nobody's ever mentioned booking a slot.

[cotterpins]

We don't have fasting blood tests anymore at our quakes, we go to any hospital outpatients, take a ticket, and wait 'till called. Incidentally, if you wan't to do a blood reading yourself you have to buy a meter, test strips, and lancets yourself now, after many years! This has been so for several years now. I've got a feeling that the annual eye-screening test is on shaky ground it's four months adrift now!
PS being an OAP I didn't pay for test strips or lancets when I got them. I assume that non-pensioner patients, have to pay for them on an annual prescription payment basis.

[Bonefishblues]

I hadn't read (some) of the thread until now. I totally empathise.

Our practice, some of which was in Special Measures until it merged, is running a 1-month (yes, that's right...) wait for what they deem non-urgent appointments. I have private cover, so asked for a referral so I could take the pressure off. Was told no, you have to wait until the appointment, at which point you can get a referral. W the actual?

There was a lot of other stuff that I'll not bother you with, which was stressful to a stupid degree to someone with genuine concerns about his health, but I finally managed to batter my way through the impermeable receptionist layer to speak to a GP, who immediately referred me. I saw a Specialist last Wed (the next day), took my monitoring stuff back on Friday, and got my analysis on Monday. Good news, by the way.

I'm also now on first-name terms with the CQC Inspector for the area now. Put simply, most of their travails are entirely self-inflicted, and yet when faced with someone who could actively take the load away, at least in small part, they hadn't the sense to make it happen until I simply refused to go away and wait like a good boy...

Good news is that they have an online system, which is a step forward, but wait, what's that, I can't register for the online system online, I have to go to the Surgery? Sometimes you really couldn't make it up

[Edwards]

I have to have a MRI heart rate stress test but have to wait for an appointment (some days it misses one in three beats) but am having to wait until God only knows when partly because of people not turning up for their appointments.

Some days the pain is such that I would go up their and sit there all day in the hope of picking up the slot from a no show. So people who do not really have a current problem complaining about their appointment time do not get a lot of concern from me.

[Bonefishblues]

That's awful - you have my sympathy. It's profoundly worrying having non-standard stuff going on in your chest.

[Edwards]

Thanks for the kind wishes, I am not worried about the condition I have been told I should not snuff it because of it.
It is that all the tests need to be done before a decision is made about the proper treatment and this is decided. This leaves me unable to do stuff and in quite a lot of pain.
There are some poor souls who are worse than me and they also get the wait from no shows. The hospital I am under shows the number of appointments not kept in the previous month. Last time I was there it was over a thousand (do not know how many departments this covers) so when you have had to wait over two months for a ultrasound scan it does nothing for your compassion towards the no shows.

[Vorpal]

.....or we could book a slot at a clinic in the town.

Is that St Michaels? Every time I've been there you take a ticket on the way in and wait about an hour for your number to appear on the display, nobody's ever mentioned booking a slot.

It was St. Michael's. I thought it was general thing, but maybe I was told to book because I needed to have a specialist do it? Or I could because I was pregnant and had to take monthly blood tests? I don't know. IIRC The local surgery gave me a number to call to book in. I vaguely recall turning up and taking a number on some other occasions, so maybe it depended what my blood test was for? They did have some difficulty taking blood from me. I'm always grateful if they don't have to dig in my arm for the vein several times. The nurse at the local surgery tried twice in each arm before she gave up and told me to go to St. Michael's

[[XAP]Bob]

It's about time the appointments system moved into the computer age. We ordered something online, was delivered by DPD. On the scheduled delivery day they sent me a message with a 1 hour time slot for the delivery. Means I could plan my day around it without having to wait at home. If delivery firms can do this its about time the NHS did.

Delivery firms don't have to deal with emergency deliveries which tie up half of their staff because of a car crash (maybe caused by a delivery driver not actually having enough time to their job)

[Bonefishblues]

It's about time the appointments system moved into the computer age. We ordered something online, was delivered by DPD. On the scheduled delivery day they sent me a message with a 1 hour time slot for the delivery. Means I could plan my day around it without having to wait at home. If delivery firms can do this its about time the NHS did.

Delivery firms don't have to deal with emergency deliveries which tie up half of their staff because of a car crash (maybe caused by a delivery driver not actually having enough time to their job)

...but many have a real-time tracker to tell you what your parcel's eta is, so the capability's there, but the ability to fund and deploy such systems likely isn't.

[Mick F]

All it takes is for the receptionist to monitor the appointment-flow and inform you of the likely wait for yours when you check in.

............. that is, IF there's a receptionist.

[ambodach]

Got a 10.30 appointment for a day bed cataract op. Arrived 10 minutes early and got straight into the system. By 1300 hrs. I was done, dusted, rested, fed and on my way home. Surgery is never pleasant but this was quick and staff as pleasant and helpful as anyone could wish. Thank you NHS Scotland.