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surgery suits doctors requirements not the...

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"surgery suits doctors requirements not the..."

About: Victoria Medical Centre Pms Practice

I've been with the surgery for many years I've heard the gossip, giggled at the rumours but generally had good service. Once they even saved My Life, right there in the waiting room which I am perpetually grateful for. But I've got to say something is in decline. And that decline concerns actually getting an appointment. Why on earth do I have to book on a Friday in case I feel poorly in the next couple of weeks? I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know the future I did I'd put some numbers on lottery. So what's wrong with the appointment system? us brits are good at queuing remember. It turns out that while I've been Patiently Waiting for some block booking appointment system malarkey to start on Fridays others have been queue jumping, calling in ad hoc and saying their big toe hurts and it's an emergency therefore get an appointment that day. This is jolly unfair. I feel this nun common sense approach is only designed to suit the doctor's needs and not the patience. I call when I'm poorly, that's when I need to see someone, not Days Later when it's either dropped off or healed up.

Doctors sit in nice warm office, out of the rain, out of the weather with organised hours and breaks all with decent salary and pension. I'm self-employed and don't have these luxuries, but I do meet my appointments and I do deliver on time, that's because I have pride in what I do.. The staff here, doctors included have trained to do the task they knew what to expect when they signed up for it, now get on with it. Don't treat patients as enemies and a drain on your time without us you have no business. See us when we're sick, not days later. Keep view emergency appointments for emergencies, get rid of the stupid nonsensical unsensible idiotic unfathomable booking system where I'm supposed to predict the future of my health. It's obvious that many others have sussed out how to get an appointment that day when it's not an emergency and they are circumnavigating the appointment booking system. We need a massive dose of simple common sense when it comes to making appointments. I am sad to see I'm not the only one who's taking the time to give feedback on this issue . Criticism can be hard to take but if it's justified then it's correct to give it . This surgery was once great, with a decent appointment system it could be that again .I'm happy with the staff not the system if this email sounds grumpy then it's done it's job. Feel free to contact me via the email address I've left. I'm happy to discuss improvements that make all our lives better.

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Responses

Response from Victoria Medical Centre Pms Practice 4 years ago
Victoria Medical Centre Pms Practice

Submitted on 16/07/2019 at 10:36
Published on nhs.uk at 11:06

Good morning.

First of all thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to leave some feedback - all comments from patients are greatly appreciated.

I will respond to each of your points as best I can.

"Why on earth do I have to book on a Friday" - You don't, is the simple answer. Appointments open one week at a time, different days of the week. They don't all open on Fridays. We are aware you don't have a crystal ball, but neither do we. It is impossible for us to predict how many patients will request an appointment that week and unfortunately we can only work to the capacity we have. Since a few of our regular GP's have left over the last couple of years we have been constantly recruiting, paying Locums etc to try and ease the pressure from both GP's and patients - unfortunately as i'm sure you're aware, lack of GP's is a national problem.

"queue jumping, calling in ad hoc and saying their big toe hurts and it's an emergency therefore get an appointment that day" - We have ALWAYS offered urgent same day appointments for patients that don't feel their problem can wait until the next routine appointment. If you call when you're poorly and need to be seen that day, you are generally offered an appointment for that day. If you do not tell the receptionist you need to be seen that day they will offer you the next routine appointment. Which at the moment is usually a weeks wait. Which may I point out is a lot quicker than a lot of other surgeries in the area.

"Doctors sit in nice warm office, out of the rain, out of the weather with organised hours and breaks all with decent salary and pension" - This couldn't be further from the truth. Our GP's (and all staff for that matter) work tirelessly day in day out because we are already an overstretched service. They work through all breaks and barely have time for Lunch most days due to the hundreds of results / prescription requests / referrals / lab reports / sick note requests / insurance reports they have to do daily.

"This surgery was once great, with a decent appointment system it could be that again" - You're right, it could be that again, however should the national GP shortage stay as is, unfortunately so will the appointment system.

We don't have access to your E-mail address however please feel free to contact the surgery if you have any further comments or suggestions.

Kindest Regards,

Alice Lowery

Practice Administrator

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