Withheld Telephone Numbers

[Dustydog]

So it really is a postcode lottery determining the level of service we all receive.
🤬🤬🤬🤬

 

[ProfJohnL]

All I can suggest regarding getting appointments, is to complain through the surgeries complaints procedure.

 

[ProfJohnL]

So it really is a postcode lottery determining the level of service we all receive.
🤬🤬🤬🤬

Which services are available through your surgery is determined by the contract it has with your local CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group), How those services are provided is down to the Practice management. and the Clinical Quality Commission CQC will periodically evaluate the performance of each surgery against its contacted obligations, and the adherence to safe clinical practice and patient appraisal.

Whilst it would be nice to have a one size fits all provision, the flexibility in the system is to cater for local anomalies such as the age profile of a practices registered patients, and any specific local features such as rural practices need to operate differently to urban ones, or there may be a type of employment in an area which presents unique medical issues. It could be the provision of some hospital services would make duplication of that service in a GP surgery uneconomical.

Contrary to the content of one recent post, no one in the UK "Pays" for the NHS healthcare, and provided the surgery meets its CCG contractual obligations you may choose from those options available in your area but you cannot choose an option that's not been commissioned.

 

[Beachball]

Our doctors open at 8am i have been on the phone ringing for good twenty mins in the end i go to the surgery and book appointment and waited in my wheelchair until seen . Every twelve weeks i have a injection cannot miss the day when due .but they give me a check up at the same time to see if i am okay .

 

[ProfJohnL]

... Now you phone for an appointment and are given a telephone appointment and I doubt very much if this is something imposed by the CCG?

Please read my previous comments.

 

[Lutz]

Our doctors open at 8am i have been on the phone ringing for good twenty mins in the end i go to the surgery and book appointment and waited in my wheelchair until seen . Every twelve weeks i have a injection cannot miss the day when due .but they give me a check up at the same time to see if i am okay .

If the surgery knows that you regularly need an injection why can't they give you a whole series of appointments? Mine will give me a list for up to twelve months. For an injection without the need for consultation you don't even need an appointment. You can just turn up.

 

[Beachball]

If the surgery knows that you regularly need an injection why can't they give you a whole series of appointments? Mine will give me a list for up to twelve months. For an injection without the need for consultation you don't even need an appointment. You can just turn up.

I wish mine would but can only book three weeks before due date i have been on this injection for some years now

 

[Dustydog]

I wish mine would but can only book three weeks before due date i have been on this injection for some years now

Have you considered self injecting? Mrs DD had an embolism years ago. The hospital taught me how to do the injection, not difficult, and allowed her home early.
Prof
Yes the CQC lay down the Law but it is very clear standards throughout the UK vary considerably. Some practices are run as commercial businesses where profit is the main driver . My sister is a practice manager at one and hates their attitude. In rural Wiltshire our practice is wholly owned by 6 GP s in partnership. Totally different and in fact in the score sheets came 2nd in the County. Hence for me it is a “postcode lottery” which is unacceptable.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Have you considered self injecting? Mrs DD had an embolism years ago. The hospital taught me how to do the injection, not difficult, and allowed her home early.
Prof
Yes the CQC lay down the Law but it is very clear standards throughout the UK vary considerably. Some practices are run as commercial businesses where profit is the main driver . My sister is a practice manager at one and hates their attitude. In rural Wiltshire our practice is wholly owned by 6 GP s in partnership. Totally different and in fact in the score sheets came 2nd in the County. Hence for me it is a “postcode lottery” which is unacceptable.

I don't disagree, but the services a practice is supposed to provide is dictated by the terms of the contact the practice has with the CCG. How those services are provided is down to the practice management. CQC only reviews the performance of the practice, and rate it on a number Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) If a practice is found to be failing the CQC it can issue instructions to improve and I believe they can close a practice if serious failings are detected.

The reason I refuted the phrase "Postcode Lottery" , you can have a local medical centre where a number of independent surgeries operate from. They only share the building, and consequently its entirely possible to have a Good practice in the same building as a poor practice yet they share the same postcode,

 

[Raywood]

I am sorry to hear of your Wife's death and the circumstances. The idea of phone consultations does seem to be more prevalent now and our own practice does this as far as possible. In their defence though they have lost one doctor and despite a population increase in the area and the local practices having to take on more patients rather than leave people with no doctor, they are all having difficulty recruiting new ones. Possibly the NHS system as a whole needs an overhaul and we certainly need more GPs.
We do have the surgery number listed on our phones so if they ring we know who it is before picking up the phone.

 

[Beachball]

Have you considered self injecting? Mrs DD had an embolism years ago. The hospital taught me how to do the injection, not difficult, and allowed her home early.
Prof
Yes the CQC lay down the Law but it is very clear standards throughout the UK vary considerably. Some practices are run as commercial businesses where profit is the main driver . My sister is a practice manager at one and hates their attitude. In rural Wiltshire our practice is wholly owned by 6 GP s in partnership. Totally different and in fact in the score sheets came 2nd in the County. Hence for me it is a “postcode lottery” which is unacceptable.

Hi Dusty I have daily injections which I self administer with no problem, but for the ones I have every three months must be completed within a medical environment with supervision from professionals if needed due to possible side effects.

 

[ProfJohnL]

We do have the surgery number listed on our phones so if they ring we know who it is before picking up the phone.

We do too, and that is not the problem. It must vary from practice to practice, but when our GP or hospital consultant calls, for whatever the reason they do not use the surgeries contact number, either using an unregonised or withheld number. And consequently the call system I have does not recognise it.

Many businesses have multiple phone lines connected, but they don't always publicise all of them, so when there is high public demand, there will still be some lines available to enable outgoing calls. These lines often have the number withheld feature to prevent them becoming publicly known and used for general incoming calls.

 

[Lutz]

I've had phone calls from call centres trying to sell me products or services and displaying fake phone numbers that you can't phone back. That's why I've gone over to not only not answering withheld numbers but I also won't answer numbers that I don't recognise. If the calls are genuine they'll leave a message. If it's something really important I expect to be contacted in writing anyway.

 

[RogerL]

We do too, and that is not the problem. It must vary from practice to practice, but when our GP or hospital consultant calls, for whatever the reason they do not use the surgeries contact number, either using an unregonised or withheld number. And consequently the call system I have does not recognise it.

Many businesses have multiple phone lines connected, but they don't always publicise all of them, so when there is high public demand, there will still be some lines available to enable outgoing calls. These lines often have the number withheld feature to prevent them becoming publicly known and used for general incoming calls.

It's possible for all outgoing calls from an organisation to "spoof" their main switcboard number - this keeps their individual numbers secret but still give some information to the recipient.

Recently I've discovered that 2 NHS clinics I used to attend have discharged me, without letting me know, because I haven't had a recent appointment - annoying as I haven't missed appointments but accepted their lack due to Covid - net result was that I needed to get an appointment with my GP to do new referrals - surprisingly got through at 08:31 but receptions said I need 2 appointments, one for each referral - the Physician's Associate (not a real GP) phoned back at 09:00, discussed both referrals but he wanted to see me in surgery at 10:00 - next day I got an appointment in the post from one of the referrals so part of the system is working well, despite the difficulty often of getting a GP appointment.

The Physician's Associate did say that may people had been discharged from clinics and needed re-referral - sounds like lots of jobsworths arbitrarily discharging patients to shorten their published waiting lists!

 

[J.Lo]

I can't/won't block witheld numbers as most such calls we get are from hospitals or GP - I answer with a simple but polite hello and then wait for them to introduce themselves - if it's a scam or sales call I vary anywhere between just putting the phone down and being very rude.

Get yourself a referee’s whistle and give it a good long blast.

 

[Hutch]

We went away to North of The Watford Gap,fora family funeral, On a comfort stop for Mrs H, whilst getting a couple of coffees, my mobile phone went off, Didn't recognise the number so ignored it. Sitting down , phone went again , so answered it, " Do you own a dog called Harry, " Yes, we have him, .
He escaped from our friends garden, decided he wanted to go home, he realised we were not there and decided to go to the pub, and was found on his way there .

At least he is a blokes dog. !!!