Telephone Appointments

Today, had my first experience of health care delivered in this way. Not from my GP, but from Spire Healthcare, who will be admitting me as an NHS patient.

No complaints with respect to the contents. The nurse conducting the session was good.

However, a number of observations.

1 I received a text, on Friday evening, (ie just prior to the weekend) to "remind" me of this appointment, which was rather odd, as I had never received any prior communication concerning the appointment. Fortunately, was able to keep the appointment, though I had to cancel another appointment in order to so do.

2 The above-mentioned text booked an appointment with me for 2-30 pm. It was around 4-00pm when the call came through.

I thought, how authentic, even crafted in, the sitting around waiting for ninety minutes that often occurs with an outpatients appointment.

3 The call got cut off a number of times. Fortunately she called me back: I could not have reinstated the call, don't have the number!


Was I just unlucky, or is the system commonly as messy as this?

Still, now done and dusted, and as said the person conducting the session was helpful.

Ena it must be the norm to be cut off because a few times I have been asked for my phone number in case this did happen

I think you will find that the phone system is operated via the surgery computer system, if you are in a surgery and they give you an appointment, have you noticed how the computer will send you a text message, which you receive a couple of seconds later, so you are talking to the person at the surgery via the surgery computer, and you know what computers are like, so the computer sneezes and causes what is called a 'dropped call'.

All acknowledged.
Since covid my consultation with Haematology and Oncology have always been by phone. It's actually OK as it frees up consultants and as I'm on 'active monitoring' (kind of self diagnosis) it fits in with my lifestyle and I feel I am getting the best of attention.
However, due to an unrelated issue I was offered to visit a private hospital (all payed for by the NHS) due to the 22 month waiting list. I was actually given much attention and numerous investigations including a CAT scan which is quite expensive.
I will shorten a long story. After a long drawn out affair the diagnosis was rather simple and I wasn't offered any other medication. As I say there are more details... but I do just think that these private hospitals are just out for the maximum they can get from the NHS which is suffering.
No matter how ill I am in future I won't take the option of private paid by the NHS ( basically what we have paid into for all our working lives).
But I'm sure others will have other opinions. That's just a personal stancd from me.

At my local gp's surgery, lifelong registered patients are being refused appointments and fobbed off with "doctor will ring you in the next two hours".

Meanwhile, many of the chairs in reception are taken up with immigrants from the 'IBIS' motel on the East Lancs Road. They bend over backwards for them!

Before Christmas I went to my local surgery to have me annual service and MOT which included checking my oil pressure etc

There was only me in the waiting room, waiting to see the practise nurse, but as I went to her room, I noticed that there were several doctors in the building, so it is as though they just want to see most folk on the phone, and only bring in folk for an appointment, who actually need to have a physical examination, it is not that they cannot give you an appointment, it is that they don't want to give you an appointment, in Tonkers case, with foreigners at the IBIS Hotel, telephone appointments are not practical, because the asylum seekers have to be medically accessed as new patients, and checked to see if they have diseases, and given blood tests at the surgery, because they would not be able to find or use a venue such has the Linacre Centre to have a blood test, and then there is the language barrier, face to face is going to be a lot better than a telephone appointment, if the patients cannot speak English.