From the Telegraph (July 2008) Fifteen million patients cannot book appointments with their GPs when they need them, according to the healthcare watchdog.Ten million adults in England cannot book an appointment more than three days in advance, despite pledges from Tony Blair to fix the problem over three years ago.
Five million people cannot see a GP within the target of two working days and 55 per cent of people - more than 22m across England - say they have problems getting through to their surgery on the phone, according to a survey of patients.
A quarter of patients surveyed - equivalent to more than 10m people - said they had been put off going to their GP or health centre because of inconvenient opening hours.
The Healthcare Commission also found serious problems with access to NHS dentistry with 16m adults reporting that they would like to be treated on the NHS but can't find a dentist.
Access to primary healthcare varies significantly around the country with access to NHS dentists better in the north of England and worst in the south and more patients complaining of inconvenient GP opening hours around London and the South East.
Overall trust in GPs is high but there is huge variation from less than six in ten patients reporting they had trust and confidence in their family doctor in some areas compared to almost nine in ten in others.
Patients should be able to book an appointment with a GP within two working days of asking for one under targets set out in the NHS Plan published in 2000, which were to be met by 2004.
But this target was found to encourage GPs to keep appointments open for booking the same day and caused a rush of phone calls to surgeries early in the mornings.
In 2005, during the election campaign, Tony Blair was confronted on Newsnight by Diana Church, a patient who said her surgery was refusing to allow her to book an appointment more than three days in advance.
Mr Blair conceded that the Government should set fewer targets and later that year, then health minister Lord Warner announced that patients would be 'guaranteed' advance booking so they could choose to have an appointment more than three days ahead in order to fit better with their daily lives. But no target date has been set.
Times haven’t changed: it is still difficult to get an appointment, maybe another reason why men don’t go to their doctors.
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1 comment:
Abso-bloody-lutely! The fuckwit I phoned on Monday was typical of the worst gaurdians (Receptionist) at the door of Primary Care. She told me that appointments would not be available for booking until 0800 the following day and to 'phone back then. That's after listening to the menu on the sodding system for long enough to wish for an early release from this mortal coil; all at 0845 call rates (no doubt the the holiday in Barbados Fund). When I do finally speak to this Harriden I get told that crap. It's a new practise for myself and J and we need some tests to keep track of HbA1c for diabetes together with a further prescription for my Glaucoma, so if this sets the standard then I may as well consider talking to the local Witchdoctor.
When I did phone at 0800 the following day all physced up ready to vent my best early morning grumpy old man spleen on the unfortunate soul who may have answered, I spoke with a charming man who could not have been more helpfull. Just goes to show it's the people that matter. But now have to discuss mine and J's legion of needs with a woman! Thats a bummer for me as I am predisposed, from past bitter experience to hate her and label her as 'part-time, no science'. Not fair really but since GP's had that pay hike and duties diminished there is a large cohort of this type, at lots of practises who milk the system, earning lots of dosh for three days or less a week to pay for the nanny, the Pilates and the said holidays in Barbados.
It would be nice to return to the 'good old days' when I phoned Mary, made an appointment with Bill and had a man to man chat about my ailments and he sent me away clutching a scrip for lord knows what that always did the trick, except of course when it did'nt (most of the time).
Do men really want to go to the doctors? No of course not; they know they are going to be told to go away and come back to see the cleaner who will take a blood sample and make another appointment to see the Nurse who will do an ECG (sic), go back a fortnight later after phoning for another appointment to be told that your sample was contaminated (they forgot to put it in the 'fridge' but being a cleaner thats not surprising) and could you make a new reservation with said cleaner to come back and do it again; Oh and the ECG was inconclusive so they are sending you to the hospital to get a real doctor to do it again.
All because your BP spiked over 140 systolic after waiting three hours for your eventual sight of the doctor which you were on time for! We'd all rather not know, not bother, bury our heads, generally await death as better than all this grief as it will happen no matter what in our doom laden lives.
Trouble is nowadays we get back, crank up Dr. Google, frighten ourselves to death with everything from Arthritis to Xylene poisoning and phone for another bleeding appointment!
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