OT: Getting to see a doctor

[AnthonyL]

Bingo!! They are making money from keeping us on hold for hours.

What other reason would there be for such pomposity?

[Fredxx]

Are GPs not obliged to make a provision to comply with the equality act for someone who is profoundly deaf?

[Brian Gaff]

I think the problem is that there are not enough doctors to go around, and the only way a lot can make ends meet is to do a stint on one of these fifty quid walk in doctor centres, where obviously they get more dosh. At the moment the push seems to be to go to the pharmacist first, and they then can get you a decision where to go. 111 are getting pretty useless, as they merely send you to A/I or get an ambulance, which may or may not turn up before you croak. Its funny, but when I want a medication review they want to do it on a video call, but really, I cannot do that being blind it would be difficult to get the camera right, so we tend to do it over the phone or get called in to see the practice nurse who can then get you into the doctor if needed. I do think they need to pull back on the web site booking and help stuff, as many many elderly people cannot use it, and then the long suffering reception staff have to fill it all in for you, which takes longer than if they simply booked you in in the old way. Its not flexible enough and in the old way you could maybe get a consultation a bit later or in a place where they had been a cancellation, but the system does not seem able to accomplish such innovations. Brian

[SH]

indeed! and they have an email address that does not accept incoming emails but can email out!

WHen I get there in person and I'm asking for an appt, they then say oh, I can offer you a telephone appointment where the Gp rings at a time of his choosing..... I have to remind them I cannot hear or lipread on the phone!

SO they end up having to give me a in-person appt with a GP or Nurse for a fixed time slot....

And their computer is set up to tell them what accessability adjustments I need!

[The Natural Philosopher]

Because your dentist charges, your doctor does not. If you booked an appointment with a £25 deposit, £15 refundable if you turned up, the queues would disappear.

[Max Demian]

Cheeky monkeys! Won't they refer you to the local hospital? I was referred there in 2019 to have my ears de-waxed.

[Ottavio Caruso]

Again, use the 111 route.

[Ottavio Caruso]

Am 09/02/2023 um 08:04 schrieb Brian Gaff:

Pretty sure Brexit will fix that.

[charles]

The NHS no longer de-waxes ears.

[Tim+]

Given that it’s so easy to do oneself, it’s not really a problem.

Tim

[Tim Streater]

Yeah it does, I had mine done a few months ago. But they have stopped having nurses do it, far as I can tell. I've been having mine done on and off for 50 years, first it was the giant syringe, then they seemed to think that was dodgy (con't think why) and moved to a pulsed water squirter. Now they think even that's a no-no, so the appt is with a "specialist" of some sort, who uses what appears to be a micro-vacuum cleaner.

One can have it done privately with the water squirter job, which I think is the best option all round.

[Rob Morley]

I noticed our pharmacy now offers that service, for those too timid or sensible to poke things in their own ears.

[Max Demian]

They don't do it as a routine as it's a Bad Idea.

I had a partial loss of hearing in one ear which could have been an infection, so the doc checked my temperature and my pulse (as they do) and prescribed ear drops. That didn't work so I went to the hospital for suction (from a junior doctor I think); that cleared some out but I needed ear drops /and/ suction to fix it.

[SteveW]

My mother suffers from both wax build-up and tinnitus. The combination does mean that she needs her ears properly cleaning out. However, on one hospital visit, the wielder of the syringe used a lot more force than normal. She felt the power, but it was too late by the time she realised that he'd dmaged both ears permanently. She had to get hearing aids after that - which she had to go on the end of a 9-month waiting list for - despite the hospitals audiology department doing the damage in the first place!

[Vir Campestris]

At least one of the reasons for that is that senior GPS hit the limit on the size of their pension funds after 30 years well paid work.

Which means there is a punitive tax charge on any further earnings.

Which means they don't bother.

Andy

[me9]

My surgery has 8 GPs, average salary 50,000 pa, all but one part time, probably one half day a week.

[SteveW]

Some or all of them may also be partners in the practice, being paid not only a salary, but also dividends from the profits of running it - even on the days shere they are not working.

[wrights...]

I usually say something like, "It's my PSAS." If she dares to ask for further details I say, "Oh, you know! my persistent sexual arousal syndrome." Another possibility is something along the following lines: "Well, you know that bit under the foreskin, the frenulum — well you won't have one yourself of course but I expect you've noticed it on your husband when you've been intimate with him (you are married aren't you?) — anyway it's gone black. And I have another problem, probably related, I don't know. When I push a cucumber up my bottom it sometimes comes out with blood on it. That can't be right can it?" There's there's this old trick. "The fact is, when I talk to a woman on the phone I immediately start to fantasise that I'm fondling her vagina. It's happening now!"

[Chris Green]

Do you *really* think that's believable? :-) I'm sure doctor's receptionists are used to far worse!