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debimac
21-Mar-11, 13:27
Just tried to make an appointment for a late afternoon /evening today or tomorrow.
Next friday was the next available one as afternoon appointments can be made a fortnight in advance!
Due to medical reasons I cannot go out alone so try to arrange an appointment when my husband can go with me. My illness prevents me from working also!
How do working people who are under the weather or need treatment fit in around their working day a visit to the doctors if at 5.30/6.00 oclock they close the surgery?
I don't understand why surgeries don't work two shifts covering the hours of 8am till 10pm?
Hospitals surely would be less congested with minor problems and illnesses!?
Illness doesn't just happen between the hours of 8 till 5.30 does it? :confused

Vistravi
21-Mar-11, 13:34
It be good for the gp to stay open later if the area needed it. I think in rural areas it wouldn't work but in cities it would.

But putting that aside who would pay for it?

debimac
21-Mar-11, 13:51
Lots of people work shifts with no extra pay.
Instead of 3 or 4 doctors working the same hours they could alternate 1 week days the next afternoons!

Vistravi
21-Mar-11, 13:55
Ah but on a a schedule basis it may not be possible. The 3 to 4 doctors working the same shift means that more patients in a busy area such as a city can see a doctor. For the same amount to see a doctor and the surgery to be open for longer there would have to be more doctors hired.

Opening later makes sense but its not all that cost effective to do so.

debimac
21-Mar-11, 14:11
Working people are forced to take a day off sick when not necessary to see a doctor as the surgery hours prevent them going at a later time, after their working day.
Millions of pound are lost through people taking sick days, but I wonder how many people have the day off just to make an appointment?

Dadie
21-Mar-11, 14:39
If the kids are sick they usually come down with whatever about 2am or on a saturday night.
I have used nhs24 and the A&E dept more often for them than the docs.
As the girls are bad for hitting 40deg when ill and if I cant get it down with the usual calpol and ibrobufen (max dose) combined with cool baths and stripped of clothes.
But trying to get an appt for the kids if they need an appt at the docs is usually same day.
But if I need an appt for me its usually a wait.
And usually at an inconvenient time..but I will still take the appt as otherwise it takes longer.

Vistravi
21-Mar-11, 18:59
Working people are forced to take a day off sick when not necessary to see a doctor as the surgery hours prevent them going at a later time, after their working day.
Millions of pound are lost through people taking sick days, but I wonder how many people have the day off just to make an appointment?

Aye thats pretty much what i had to do when i lived in inverness. Had to wait at least a week anyway for an appointment regardless of what it was about. Would tell my boss the day i'd have one and have a half day or a day of then or make it for when i knew i had a day off.

Up here thankfully you don't have to wait that long. Still used nhs24 more than the doctors.

Bazeye
21-Mar-11, 20:05
Working people are forced to take a day off sick when not necessary to see a doctor as the surgery hours prevent them going at a later time, after their working day.
Millions of pound are lost through people taking sick days, but I wonder how many people have the day off just to make an appointment?

Where I work we get paid for hospital visits but not for Doctors. So if Ive got a Doctors appointment I just get a hospital appointment card from a mate of mine whose wife happens to be a nurse and get the wife or daughter to fill it in for me.

Kodiak
21-Mar-11, 20:50
In my opinion the Doctors here in Caithness are fantastic. About a year ago I was taken quite ill late on a Saturday night. My wife phone NHS 24 and they in turn sent an Ambulance. It arrived in 10 Minutes and I was in Hospital 5 minuts later. Within 15 minutes on arriving at the Hospital my Own Doctor arrived, not a Locum or a stranger but my own Doctor.

Fortunately I was allowed home after some treatment but where else does your own Doctor attend a Hospital so quickly late on a Saturday night.

I have also never had a problem in getting an appointment. If I phone up and ask for an appointment to see my Doctor, I usually get one the same day, or at the latest the next day.

Corrie 3
21-Mar-11, 21:29
Where I work we get paid for hospital visits but not for Doctors. So if Ive got a Doctors appointment I just get a hospital appointment card from a mate of mine whose wife happens to be a nurse and get the wife or daughter to fill it in for me.
You arent a MP are you Baz???

C3.....:eek::roll:;)

debimac
21-Mar-11, 22:23
what i was trying to say is, if there are 4 doctors working at a surgery would it not be possible for the doctors to take it in turns to work 1 afternoon/evening shift for a week once a month, so there would be three doctors on the day surgery and one on afternoons/evenings?
If you work a 9 to 5 job it is difficult to go to a doctor within those hours, bearing in mind saturdays and sundays surgeries are closed.

hopper.65
21-Mar-11, 23:10
Working people are forced to take a day off sick when not necessary to see a doctor as the surgery hours prevent them going at a later time, after their working day.
Millions of pound are lost through people taking sick days, but I wonder how many people have the day off just to make an appointment?
A Doctors time spent on each patient during a surgery is 10 mins why would anyone need to take a whole day off sick from work to do something like visit your Doctor?

debimac
22-Mar-11, 00:23
A Doctors time spent on each patient during a surgery is 10 mins why would anyone need to take a whole day off sick from work to do something like visit your Doctor?
In an ideal world 10 mins maybe but from visits to my surgery I have waited for a lot longer than that for each paitient to be seen!
When you consider the travel from your work to a surgery and the waiting and then your consultation and travel back to work it is not as quick as a 10 min visit!
Plenty of people work for employers who aren't that sympathetic to dental or doctors appointments during working hours!! So to avoid the hassle take time off work.

sandyr1
22-Mar-11, 04:15
Where I work we get paid for hospital visits but not for Doctors. So if Ive got a Doctors appointment I just get a hospital appointment card from a mate of mine whose wife happens to be a nurse and get the wife or daughter to fill it in for me.

You get paid if you go to the hospital???

Vistravi
22-Mar-11, 10:31
what i was trying to say is, if there are 4 doctors working at a surgery would it not be possible for the doctors to take it in turns to work 1 afternoon/evening shift for a week once a month, so there would be three doctors on the day surgery and one on afternoons/evenings?
If you work a 9 to 5 job it is difficult to go to a doctor within those hours, bearing in mind saturdays and sundays surgeries are closed.

But what you don't get is that it wouldn't quite work unless it was in a city anf the surgery could afford more doctors. if you stick to the 4 and alternate the shifts there will be less time for patients to be seen not more. It's not cost effective.

Carole
22-Mar-11, 11:15
But what you don't get is that it wouldn't quite work unless it was in a city anf the surgery could afford more doctors. if you stick to the 4 and alternate the shifts there will be less time for patients to be seen not more. It's not cost effective.

Plus there are the extra hours worked by support staff - receptionists and nurses. Doctors would not 'man' the surgery alone.

white lightning
22-Mar-11, 12:03
Alot of doctors surgeries are open from 7am in morning so that those that do work can get an appt before work.

silverlady
22-Mar-11, 13:20
In my opinion the Doctors here in Caithness are fantastic. About a year ago I was taken quite ill late on a Saturday night. My wife phone NHS 24 and they in turn sent an Ambulance. It arrived in 10 Minutes and I was in Hospital 5 minuts later. Within 15 minutes on arriving at the Hospital my Own Doctor arrived, not a Locum or a stranger but my own Doctor.

Fortunately I was allowed home after some treatment but where else does your own Doctor attend a Hospital so quickly late on a Saturday night.

I have also never had a problem in getting an appointment. If I phone up and ask for an appointment to see my Doctor, I usually get one the same day, or at the latest the next day.

That's great that you had such prompt treatment - NHS24 at its best, but its not the norm that patients' own GPs attend hospital if one of their patients are brought in. One of the locum Thurso GPs happens to be an Out of hours GP, and he (presumably your GP) must have been on OOH duty that particular Saturday night, which must have been a great comfort to you. There are 4 different OOH GPs who work 7 night rotas. Had he been seeing another patient,perhaps as far away as Dunbeath, or Reay, he wouldn't have been able to see you so quickly.

Bazeye
22-Mar-11, 20:49
You get paid if you go to the hospital???

Yep, if its just a routine visit, x-ray, blood test etc. If youre actually in hospital for something more serious its 6 months full pay then 6 months half pay on the sick.

sandyr1
23-Mar-11, 00:49
I guess it never ceases to amaze me, the 'Freebies' the UK doles out.
And before I am the wonky ex pat, the UK is also my Country.
In other Countries one must pay or negotiate these benefits in their contracts.
Pensions and Health Care make up an extra 25% of the wages. (Approx).
What a place to live!

Aaldtimer
23-Mar-11, 03:05
I guess it never ceases to amaze me, the 'Freebies' the UK doles out.
And before I am the wonky ex pat, the UK is also my Country.
In other Countries one must pay or negotiate these benefits in their contracts.
Pensions and Health Care make up an extra 25% of the wages. (Approx).
What a place to live!

Sandyr, they are not freebies! All workers pay their taxes and their National Insurance contributions.
If that also benefits people who are unable to contribute, then that's what makes it a National Health Service!
You chose Canada...deal with it!:roll:

sandyr1
23-Mar-11, 03:09
Sandyr, they are not freebies! All workers pay their taxes and their National Insurance contributions.
If that also benefits people who are unable to contribute, then that's what makes it a National Health Service!
You chose Canada...deal with it!:roll:

Yup! Great place.

hopper.65
23-Mar-11, 04:32
In an ideal world 10 mins maybe but from visits to my surgery I have waited for a lot longer than that for each paitient to be seen!
When you consider the travel from your work to a surgery and the waiting and then your consultation and travel back to work it is not as quick as a 10 min visit!
Plenty of people work for employers who aren't that sympathetic to dental or doctors appointments during working hours!! So to avoid the hassle take time off work.

Ok we'll say an hour from the time you leave work and that would be if you were working at Dounreay and the Doctors Surgery is in Thurso.
Still leaves 6 1/2 hours of a working day, well for people who do normal hours anyway!
It is entirely up to the individual if they want to waste a days Holiday unnecessarily as no employer can stop anyone from visiting their Doctor, unless it was a constant occurrence which prevented them from doing the job they were employed to do in which case an employer may have a case that you are unfit to carry on doing that job.
Working shifts is quite demanding and as you'll see by the time i am replying to this " yes i do work strange hours" but you'll often find the people who expect others to work shifts would never contemplate doing it themselves!

oldmarine
23-Mar-11, 04:48
Just tried to make an appointment for a late afternoon /evening today or tomorrow.
Next friday was the next available one as afternoon appointments can be made a fortnight in advance!
Due to medical reasons I cannot go out alone so try to arrange an appointment when my husband can go with me. My illness prevents me from working also!
How do working people who are under the weather or need treatment fit in around their working day a visit to the doctors if at 5.30/6.00 oclock they close the surgery?
I don't understand why surgeries don't work two shifts covering the hours of 8am till 10pm?
Hospitals surely would be less congested with minor problems and illnesses!?
Illness doesn't just happen between the hours of 8 till 5.30 does it? :confused

debimac: I feel for you with your problem. I tried making an appointment with my personal physician but she is on vacation this week. I had to be passed off to another who is a stranger. We must remember that our medics are people just like us who have families and want to spend time with their families just like we want to spend time with our individual families. We have to learn to get around our personal situations. I wish you success to get around this type of problem.

sandyr1
23-Mar-11, 15:21
[QUOTE=oldmarine;833506]debimac: I feel for you with your problem. I tried making an appointment with my personal physician but she is on vacation this week. I had to be passed off to another who is a stranger.

Interesting study done recently.....
It found that generally 'care', given by someone other than your own GP., was in no way poorer than that which one would expect from someone who has known a person for years.
In fact it was found that new minds, particularly younger ones, have much more knowledge of the causes and treatment of patients problems than say a Dr. who has been around for 20/30/40 years.
Perhaps it is that idea of 'thinking outside the box'.
Very interesting, as I thought that 'strangers' as they are called, would not have the whole history, but it seems if proper clinical notes are kept then a new person can do a new evaluation of the patient.

debimac
24-Mar-11, 01:02
Ok we'll say an hour from the time you leave work and that would be if you were working at Dounreay and the Doctors Surgery is in Thurso.
Still leaves 6 1/2 hours of a working day, well for people who do normal hours anyway!
It is entirely up to the individual if they want to waste a days Holiday unnecessarily as no employer can stop anyone from visiting their Doctor, unless it was a constant occurrence which prevented them from doing the job they were employed to do in which case an employer may have a case that you are unfit to carry on doing that job.
Working shifts is quite demanding and as you'll see by the time i am replying to this " yes i do work strange hours" but you'll often find the people who expect others to work shifts would never contemplate doing it themselves!
Can I say that i have always worked shifts. When my children were very small I worked nights and evenings so hope you don't think I am one of those people who wouldn't contemplate working shifts but expect others to, to suit me.
I didn't place the post to cause an argument just an observation of the situation where I live and whether or not other people have problems with the same thing.

Carole
24-Mar-11, 11:43
Can I say that i have always worked shifts. When my children were very small I worked nights and evenings so hope you don't think I am one of those people who wouldn't contemplate working shifts but expect others to, to suit me.
I didn't place the post to cause an argument just an observation of the situation where I live and whether or not other people have problems with the same thing.

I actually thought your idea was a good one - but only likely to work where you have really large practices in cities. Maybe the mistake (if there was one) is that you posted your observation on the Caithness forum. Do you have a similar web-site in Newport, South Wales? It seems that might be a more appropriate place for you to guage local opinion and possibly garner support for a pressure group for change.

debimac
24-Mar-11, 13:48
I actually thought your idea was a good one - but only likely to work where you have really large practices in cities. Maybe the mistake (if there was one) is that you posted your observation on the Caithness forum. Do you have a similar web-site in Newport, South Wales? It seems that might be a more appropriate place for you to guage local opinion and possibly garner support for a pressure group for change.
Thanks for that carole you've just made me feel much better (not). Pressure group? As I posted earlier just an observation of where i'm from and if the same happens with other towns and cities!
probably we do have a a similar website to the caithness site but didn't realise it was wrong to post on here!

Carole
24-Mar-11, 15:30
Thanks for that carole you've just made me feel much better (not). Pressure group? As I posted earlier just an observation of where i'm from and if the same happens with other towns and cities!
probably we do have a a similar website to the caithness site but didn't realise it was wrong to post on here!

Oh dear! 'Twas only a suggestion. I didn't say it was wrong to post 'on here', I just thought it might be more fruitful to make your point on a forum where there is more likelihood of folks in S Wales giving their opinion of the difficulty you have encountered in the Newport area.

Having witnessed your wrath on a previous thread, I will now bow out of this discussion.

Walter Ego
24-Mar-11, 16:10
Running a shift system would increase the overheads at a GP's surgery massively. It ain't gonna happen.

You might as well ask all the specialist departments in a Hospital to work on a shift pattern to cater for a minority. It ain't gonna happen.

It's not a courtesy service in a hotel that is there at the beck and call of a 'customer', it's the National Health service. Public money should be focussed on more effective treatment and methods, not on pandering to a 'I want it when I want it' sector of the community.

If you don't like it - go private - easy.

debimac
24-Mar-11, 21:22
Having witnessed your wrath on a previous thread, I will now bow out of this discussion.

I was actually apologising!
Yes I have an opinion like everyone else!
wrath on a previous thread? I honestly give up even trying to be able to understand people on occassion!
It seems you can't have a conversation with some people on here without them thinking your a trouble maker which I can assure you I am far from being!!!