GeoffL
Full Member
- Messages
- 768
In May I was advised that I needed minor surgery to remove some skin tags. "Nothing to worry about, but you'd be better off without them" was what the GP said. "We can do the minor surgery here, just book it at reception." He continued. So I went to the reception desk to be told that all slots for the next month were taken and that she couldn't yet access the appointments calendar for July and suggested I contact them at the beginning of June. So, I phoned the surgery on Tues 4th June to be told that the July calendar was full and that she couldn't access the calendar for August; she couldn't access any appointments until the month before as the practice manager hadn't enabled anything further in advance. I eventually got my minor op last Friday, after waiting 4 months. To get the appointment, I had to phone up early on the 1st August and got the last slot (I reckon, by the skin of my teeth).
My wife needs a flu jab. She qualifies for priority for this both on grounds of age and also because of a lung condition. "Sorry, we haven't got any appointments available for October and we can't yet see the calendar for November" was the response she got. I told her to either go to the chemist or phone up the surgery first thing in the morning (i.e. 1st Oct).
At first, I blamed the developers for shoddy work as, surely, it's obvious that occasionally at least there will be a need to book appointments further ahead than next month. But then I thought ... If you can't get an appointment, you don't appear in the waiting list statistics, and this is deliberate policy to 'massage' statistics to make the surgery look better. Am I being too cynical?
My wife needs a flu jab. She qualifies for priority for this both on grounds of age and also because of a lung condition. "Sorry, we haven't got any appointments available for October and we can't yet see the calendar for November" was the response she got. I told her to either go to the chemist or phone up the surgery first thing in the morning (i.e. 1st Oct).
At first, I blamed the developers for shoddy work as, surely, it's obvious that occasionally at least there will be a need to book appointments further ahead than next month. But then I thought ... If you can't get an appointment, you don't appear in the waiting list statistics, and this is deliberate policy to 'massage' statistics to make the surgery look better. Am I being too cynical?