Doctors making you wait

Shelflife · 08-10-2009 08:25PM #1

had an appointment this morning at 930. arrived on time, 1 other patient there.

finally got into the doc at 10.20 no apology no nothing.

why do they think that their time is more important than everyone elses? fine if there is an emergency but its rude and unprofessional imo.

Lollipops23 · 08-10-2009 08:27PM

that drives me nuts, don't mind 15-20mins but the whole reason for making the appt is to make sure you don't have to wait around so long. and then they charge 55quid for the privilage.

El Guapo! · 08-10-2009 08:28PM

Here ya go!

Thomas_S_Hunterson · 08-10-2009 08:28PM

On of the patients before you obviously took a hell of a lot longer than expected. It happens.

sarahlulu · 08-10-2009 08:28PM

My doctor takes her first appointment for 9.30, but she never arrives at the surgery until almost half ten. Every appointment all day then runs at least an hour late.

Shelflife · 08-10-2009 08:30PM

Sean_K wrote: »

On of the patients before you obviously took a hell of a lot longer than expected. It happens.

no first patient went in at 9.45 , came out at 10 and then i had to wait another 20mins to be called in.

Mac daddy · 08-10-2009 08:30PM

Obviously that person didn't agree with his 5mins once over and the usual couple of antibiotics and your fine that will be 55Euro's please treatment.

Dentist are just as bad they leave you sitting for ages.

SoWatchaWant · 08-10-2009 08:38PM

Listen boys... **** happens.

They should always apologise though, if late.

Kiera · 08-10-2009 08:45PM

So you think everyone should be in and out in 10 mins just because you think you're sicker than everyone else?

These things happen. If you were too sick to wait you should have gone to a VHI clinic or the hospital!

Turd Ferguson · 08-10-2009 08:46PM

Shelflife wrote: »

had an appointment this morning at 930. arrived on time, 1 other patient there.

finally got into the doc at 10.20 no apology no nothing.

why do they think that their time is more important than everyone elses? fine if there is an emergency but its rude and unprofessional imo.

You didnt have to go to the doc, I can give you a diagnosis right now...your Capital Letter count is way down. I'll write you a prescription for CAPS LOCK and a bottle of shift keys. Take one per sentance (after the full stop)

Sean.2 · 08-10-2009 08:49PM

Well think if you payin €40-€60 euro for a sometimes 10 min consult you should be entilted to an efficient professional service, its not the public sector.

junkyard · 08-10-2009 09:30PM

I always book the last appointment of the day, never have to wait longer than 10 minutes.

sarahlulu · 08-10-2009 09:30PM

It's not always a case of being too sick to wait, but perhaps having to get back to work or pick kids up from school

genericguy · 08-10-2009 09:35PM

Turd Ferguson wrote: »

You didnt have to go to the doc, I can give you a diagnosis right now...your Capital Letter count is way down. I'll write you a prescription for CAPS LOCK and a bottle of shift keys. Take one per sentance (after the full stop)

Ah, an attempted grammar nazi.

Repeat after me Turd:

Pot.
Kettle.
Black.

jumpguy · 08-10-2009 09:39PM

That's quick man, my GP you'd be waiting 40 minutes average. One day was waiting an hour and a half.

starbelgrade · 08-10-2009 09:42PM

I think the fact that they have "waiting rooms" is an indication that you will probably have to wait.

Namlub · 08-10-2009 09:51PM

Sean_K wrote: »

On of the patients before you obviously took a hell of a lot longer than expected. It happens.

+1.
Though it would be handy, receptionists can't calculate how long the doctor will be with the patient before you to the nearest minute when you make your appointment. And I'm sure it'd be equally annoying if the doctor ushered you out without actually curing anything because Agnes O'Reilly has an appointment at ten and she must not be kept waiting.

smiley girl · 08-10-2009 09:56PM

Before whenever I would go to my GP the waiting room would be jammers and you would be waiting for about an hour and a half. Now though when I go there would be max two people in the waiting room, waiting time reduced big time. But on the other side of the coin, a friend of mine rang for an appointment first thing tuesday morning and couldn't get one til wednesday evening. When she finally got to see the doctor she was sent straight to A&E.

Wheres the balance?

smiley girl · 08-10-2009 09:58PM

granted she didn't die or anything because of the wait, but she was very sick

spartan1 · 08-10-2009 10:13PM

1 by the very nature of dcotors are they not trying to help, fundamentally

2 have you ever been late for a doctors appointment and refused ?

3 a doctor arrive late in the morning, how do you know they have not been out at 6am to deal with an over anxious mother or a total false alarm that they dont turn around and tsk about

4 you go to the doctor , pay 55 yoyo and get an antibiotic......fair enough, what about the % of people who go expecting their antibiotic and are faced with the "mr simpson, could you please take a seat theres something i need to tell you "

Any doctor ive ever been to has been great, ya sometimes I got a 55 yoyo perscription but sometimes ............it was nice to have them there to help yaknow

Note : I have no affiliation to any doctor

08-10-2009 11:13PM

smiley girl wrote: »

granted she didn't die or anything because of the wait, but she was very sick

Why didn't she go to A&E right away then? Perhaps I'm wrong but I didn't think GP's were meant for emergencies. People still have the right to visit the doctor and spend time in there without being about to drop dead.

Riddle101 · 08-10-2009 11:20PM

Although it does seem pretty unprofessional, I'm giving doctors the benefit of the doubt because they proberly have emergency appointments that just came up. I mean does everyone think the Doctors are taking the p!ss, making their patients wait, while they slip into a pub for a pint. I'm sure they have more important things to worry then keeping patients waiting for ages.

Occam · 08-10-2009 11:21PM

Shelflife wrote: »

had an appointment this morning at 930. arrived on time, 1 other patient there.

finally got into the doc at 10.20 no apology no nothing.

why do they think that their time is more important than everyone elses? fine if there is an emergency but its rude and unprofessional imo.

Delays can happen for lots of reasons in a surgery, not all of which would be classified as an emergency but would still merit delaying surgery. Such as :

- Pharmacists phoning, needing clarification on prescription.
- bloods etc can come back from the lab requiring the Doctor to act
- Patients may need urgent telephone advice. Yes, people do ring their GP when they should be going to the hospital instead.
- Involuntary admissions may need to be co-ordinated
- Other medics may call regarding a patient. It's unlikely the consultant will call the GP back later, or take a call when it suits the GP
- Some patients will often need to be "squeezed in" to an already full session, if for example they have a potentially serious complaint.
- Unexpected house calls can delay the start of morning surgery.
- Some patients will complete a full consultation, complaining about a headache, and only pluck up the courage to mention that they are worried about a strange lump somewhere just as they put their hand on the door handle to leave.
-Some patients will take longer to examine than others, especially if they are elderly and have mobility problems.

I could go on and on....

Some day you will be the person that delays a mornings surgery. You won't be complaining then. You probably won't even think about how many people you have delayed.

sam34 · 08-10-2009 11:24PM

Shelflife wrote: »

why do they think that their time is more important than everyone elses? fine if there is an emergency but its rude and unprofessional imo.

do you think the doctor was relaxing in a jacuzzi sipping champagne while you were waiting?

if there was a delay between the last patient leaving and you being called in, that could be for a multitude of genuine reasons - maybe the doc was making multiple phonecalls to the hospital looking for an urgent appointment for that patient, maybe they were trying to get through to ahospital team to find out what happened at the patients last hospital review, maybe a colleague rang them abouta patient, or maybe a family menber did, maybe they got blood test resulta back on someone and they urgently needed to contact them.....

the patients in the waiting room are not the only ones the doctor has to deal with.

they may be late for a surgery as they might have been called to a nursing home, or to a patients home.

whatever else they are doing, they are not just twiddling their thumbs.

edit, occam beat me to it!

TequilaMockingBird · 08-10-2009 11:35PM

I allow an hour waiting time when going to the doctors, I bring a book.

What drives me nuts is knowing it's finally my turn to go in, and I see the receptionist go in with a coffee.

Cue weeping on floor.

AARRRGH · 08-10-2009 11:36PM

His previous client was probably an 18 year old worried about a lump on her boob, so after she left he obviously needed to have a massive ****...

ejmaztec · 08-10-2009 11:58PM

AARRRGH wrote: »

His previous client was probably an 18 year old worried about a lump on her boob, so after she left he obviously needed to have a massive ****...

He probably told her to make another 6 appointments so that he could treat it with a series of massages, but didn't let on that it was only a nipple.:eek:

AARRRGH · 08-10-2009 11:59PM

ejmaztec wrote: »

He probably told her to make another 6 appointments so that he could treat it with a series of massages, but didn't let on that it was only a nipple.:eek:

Haha...

And in the process he notices she might have a problem with her vagina.

Shelflife · 09-10-2009 12:01AM

Occam wrote: »

Delays can happen for lots of reasons in a surgery, not all of which would be classified as an emergency but would still merit delaying surgery. Such as :

- Pharmacists phoning, needing clarification on prescription.
- bloods etc can come back from the lab requiring the Doctor to act
- Patients may need urgent telephone advice. Yes, people do ring their GP when they should be going to the hospital instead.
- Involuntary admissions may need to be co-ordinated
- Other medics may call regarding a patient. It's unlikely the consultant will call the GP back later, or take a call when it suits the GP
- Some patients will often need to be "squeezed in" to an already full session, if for example they have a potentially serious complaint.
- Unexpected house calls can delay the start of morning surgery.
- Some patients will complete a full consultation, complaining about a headache, and only pluck up the courage to mention that they are worried about a strange lump somewhere just as they put their hand on the door handle to leave.
-Some patients will take longer to examine than others, especially if they are elderly and have mobility problems.

I could go on and on....

Some day you will be the person that delays a mornings surgery. You won't be complaining then. You probably won't even think about how many people you have delayed.

It could well be any of the above and i have no problem with doctors taking their time with patients. But there was only 1 other patient and i had gone to the bother of making an appointment. If they are running late or tied up on the phone would it kill them to let you know that they are running late?

its basic manners and at the end of the day we are paying customers.

ejmaztec · 09-10-2009 12:04AM

AARRRGH wrote: »

Haha...

And in the process he notices she might have a problem with her vagina.

and then she has to pay him.:pac:

It's a crazy world out there.:eek:

itsnotmyname · 09-10-2009 12:22AM

This just mirrors how our health system works ....or does'nt !
We'd compalin if our Tesco delivery did'nt arrive on schedule , but yet, not a word will be uttered to the doc when we're in the waiting room for over an hour, and forking out €60 for the pleasure. Our health system needs to be run like a business ......take our money ....but give us the goods !!!!

Doctors making you wait

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