End of free appointments - doctors voting

[mikeydt1]

NHS doctors are going to be voting on ending free NHS appointments at surgeries and looking to charge from 10 to 25 pounds per appointments.

One news papers claims that they are doing this through people not turning up for appointments and comments from readers are 'why should we pay for those who miss appointments!' perhaps they should charge those who don't turn up!

One thing i can see happening is this one way to empty surgeries unless people have wads to spend and one sure way of A+E filling up.

also not good if you have repeat appointments.

if this was to happen i could see some docs trying to profiteering, they all ready get a good sum from the NHS plus work they do privately, i knew one out of hours who was only getting £1000 per shift!

for me i suffer from regular bouts of infections so would prob end up at A+E, don't mind paying 10 pounds but not then to be told you need more tests or what ever costing a racket

[Paul]

NHS doctors can vote all they want, they can choose to either work for the NHS - free at point of contact, or go private.

They want the best of both worlds, a salary and extra Patient (Profit) Related Pay!

On the other hand, if you repeatedly fail to attend appointments you should be fined, 1st strike is free, 2nd a £20 fine, 3rd you'll pay £50 PLUS £20 per appointment.

[babyblu64]

I have missed the odd appointment, but have always telephoned to inform them I would not be able to attend. I try to get afternoon appointments, this means that if I wake up in too much pain etc, I have plenty of time to inform them I will not be able to make the appointment.
On the other side is the situation I am in this week. Having recently moved and registered with a new GP, I have to have an appointment before he can start issuing my repeat prescriptions. My other half has phoned every morning since Tuesday, and so far we have not been able to get an appointment. We tried to get a pre booked appointment 2 weeks ago, but there were none available for 3 weeks.

[phaedra]

Sounds like our old doctors, absolutely useless

Unfortunately my daughter is still registered with them and has anxiety and depression issues. She is on anti-depressants that the GP will only prescribe when seeing her (even though she's been on them for several months). She's due to run out early next week so my ex-wife tried to get her an appointment at the end of last week, next available appointment is ........... the 27th!! So that means she will have no medication for 2 weeks!

Any guesses where I'm going this morning with my Mr Angry head on?

[mikeydt1]

for me if this did go ahead then seeing the doctors under now would not be viable with taxis plus a charge say it was 25 pounds then it would equate to nearly £42.00!

if it did happen can see many people self treating more and more and many people trying to get stuff from the net and god knows what, also those who are very sick could end up putting things off which could lead to disaster.

well this gov are all ready popping sick people off with stripping benefits so why not go the whole hog with this as well!

[deebee]

this is very unfair, its like a full time job trying to get an appt at my surgery,you have to ring at 8am and then you are on hold till about half past and then all the appts are gone
then you get told to ring back at 8 again tomorrow
after about the third day you get a bit huffy, and the lady says ,well you have left it too late,its nearly half past, all our appts go very quickly, you must ring at 8, and then you sat I did, i,ve been on hold for half an hour, and then they tell you in an exasperated voice that the phone just keeps ringing, first thing, and you think well yes duh! thats cos you tell everyone to ring at 8!!
then you get there and wait 3/4 hour past your time, and then you get 5 mins and they are looking at the clock the whole time trying to hurry you,, and there is a rule that you may only discuss one ailment per visit
sorry to rant but it really is a bugbear for me
It really doesn,t do to get ill!!!

[firebird]

babyblu,I suggest you try to get to the surgery, with some identification, and then ask for the information to register with their systmonline. You will get a username and password which you will need to change after logging in. Advantages? You can book appointments online, check and order prescriptions without having to phone in. I have tried the app on the ipad but find the online version via a search engine is better. I use it book and check appointments, reorder repeat prescriptions and for print outs to take to the hospital. I highly recommend it. Unfortunately our surgery does not support the sharing of medical records which would be useful when applying for ESA etc.

[babyblu64]

Firebird, unfortunately our surgery does not do repeats online. Also, because we have just registered, we have to see the Gp for our first prescription. I asked if they had the info on our prescriptions from our previous GP, they have, but we still have to see the new GP before he will give us our first prescription . After that, we will be able to phone for repeats.
I cannot get to the surgery on my own. My partner works every other week which makes it more difficult as we have to get appointments for his week off.
It sounds like a lot of us have the same problems trying to get appts. Surely there should be a better system for more vulnerable patients.
I am already getting severely stressed and anxious thinking that I may not be able to get my meds on time. One of them is for mental health problems, another is my asthma meds, then its pain killers, anti sickness etc on top.

[firebird]

Ask to speak to the practice manager, they should be able to help. Good luck.

[catlover]

I wonder if my GP surgery would consider a loyalty scheme - I'd earn loads of points

No matter how GPs vote any government who tries to make this happen will be signing their death warrant so I suspect it will be some time, if ever, before this happens. I do think there are problems with the cost of the NHS now and in the future there is going to have to be some form of charging or compulsory insurance but I don't think charging a fee to see your GP is a good idea. It would be disastrous for me as I'm sure certain people will be exempt but I, as someone on a low income but not in receipt of benefits, would not be and would not be able to afford to see my GP. If people are deterred from seeing their GP so many things could be missed and have tragic (and expensive for the NHS) consequences.