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I fought for a GP appointment today as I can’t take these bladder sachets any more. I actually got one. The GP told me I’ve ben referred to urology, so that’s something. However when I brought up the fact that I’m having allergic reactions to everything now she said in an irritated tone like it was a nuisance to have to deal with me, “I don’t have time to talk about your allergies now. I’ll talk to you on 5th May, that’s the soonest I can do.”
Apart from the fact I might die of anaphylactic shock in that time, how stupid is this? Talking about my bladder took barely two minutes. She couldn’t spare another minute to hear about my allergy symptoms and make a note to refer me? Instead in NHS logic it makes more sense to give me another appointment two weeks from now to talk about that. No wonder it’s so difficult to get an appointment. And GP appointments are supposed to be 10 minutes, she didn’t even give me my full allowed time. And a consultant from the hospital already wrote to her, telling her to get me allergy tested. But it seems like she’ll put up resistance.
It’s the same with the physiotherapist. In my appointment can I talk about my inflamed tendon and my plantar fasciitis? No. I can only talk about one and have to make a separate appointment to talk about another body part. Extra stupid considering they are both caused by the same issue, the fact my left side is weak after a stroke.
I love how the British medical system still manages to surprise me, like holy shit, your patient has 10 minutes with you, then give them the allotted 10 minutes.
Germany established the 10-min-per-appointment rule too a couple of years back, and while no doctor I’ve seen has rushed me out, they are already behaving in a similar manner. They don’t have time to see their patients, even though that is the main point of their profession. A lot of the docs I’ve seen have apologized for it, hung up info flyers that told patients “The government is making us do it like that, don’t blame us”, others are just so overworked they don’t even care anymore.
I wish there was a short and easy way to make all of your problems go away, so that you get competent and inclusive medical appointments with better treatment options, doctors who take you seriously, and universal health care where you don’t have to pay for each and every little thing that a hospital or doctor should provide you with. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m really sick of how you’re being treated by a system that is supposed to provide care to those in need.
Thank you.
As life becomes more automated there seems to be less space for human interaction. Instead of a doctor being a human who tried to help, now they are basically machines who stick to a schedule and try to get through as many patients as fast as possible.
I couldn’t agree more, that is the same type of development I’m experiencing here too. The solution is definitely to have more doctors, financing the study program so more people can be come doctors, and maybe, just maybe, that would already make all of them more patient. That alone might help with the as-fast-as-possible appointments. One can dream, at least