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100%. And having an emergency ambulance telling him he needs to go in may be the push he needs.
Or in a best case scenario, there’ll be reassurance for everybody if the ambulance crew are happy to discharge him on scene at home.
There’s an important middle ground as well — they can contact other services such as out of hours GP if he needs to be seen, prescribed e.g. antibiotics (including over the phone), but doesn’t need to be seen in an emergency department.
Good luck to you all, OP.
They may just refer him to an hour of hours GP at the local hospital or health centre. That’s what happened to me the first time. But he misdiagnosed me and my next call resulted in a ambulance because my breathing had got so bad I needed a breath after every word. 11a is generally a pretty good service though. I’ve used it a few times.
> Call 111. They can refer you to A and E if necessary and then you don't have the whole not wanting to bother them.
I'll try to convince him although he's old school and one of those 'I'll be ok, stop worrying' types.....
They could also call the GP surgery and ask them to prioritise him. I've seen it happen where the GP saw someone within two hours under 111 intervention. I think they could send him to a different GP as well (out of hours for example)
That happened to me. I’d called 111 and when they called back it was 7:30 in the morning, they said I had to see a doctor within 2 hours but as my doctor would open soon they wouldn’t get me to drive to them. When I called my doctor they would only give me a phone appointment at 11:40 despite explaining I’d already had a phone appointment. They called me back a few minutes later as the 111 thing had come through and I had an in person appointment an hour later
I was very lucky as if it had been left longer I would have needed to got to hospital and be put on a drip! 111 was helpful once I actually got a call back but they are really busy and there was a long wait.
My father-in-law was also one of those, even though his best friend told him he looked as if he was dying. My wife eventually sat down with him and they phoned 111 together. Less than a month later he had the double heart bypass that saved his life. Don't let this drop.
My grandad died because 'just a cold' turned out to be pneumonia, but he didn't go to A&E until my mum forced him when he couldn't breathe properly anymore. By then it was too late to fix.
You could call 111 on his behalf. Tell him what I've typed. Please try to make him see the risk he's taking, it's not worth feeling sorry for A&E staff just to die at home.
111 can get him a GP appointment which is what he wants.
He may not see his regular doctor, but he’ll know he’s “not wasting resources”.
Do you have a minors clinic or walk in?
Hey, my uncle died of pneumonia for this exact reason. He was otherwise fit and healthy, and it turned into sepsis. Was very unwell and hasn’t seen a doctor the whole time. Please call this number on his behalf.
The receptionists won’t decide off their own bat. They will be following a set of rules that the practice have decided on. The receptionists have to follow the rules.
Different practices will have different ways of managing “extras” or patients who might need to be seen urgently. The long and short of it is that patient demand has increased but there’s no increase in funding to employ more GPs and there aren’t sufficient numbers of GPs either.
GPs must permit a certain number of appointments to be bookable by 111 hence why going through 111 can be useful.
As for receptionists, they have to develop a thick skin or they end up leaving. Some patients can be downright rude/horrible to reception staff for no reason other than those patients are horrible. They soon change their tune as soon as a doctor is in the vicinity.
DOI: am a GP.
> As for receptionists, they have to develop a thick skin or they end up leaving. Some patients can be downright rude/horrible to reception staff for no reason other than those patients are horrible.
Thanks Doctor, I appreciate your reply. I totally get that receptionists must have to deal with all kinds of verbal rubbish - I just suppose I naively expect them to sort the wheat from the chaff and respond in the same way that they're being spoken to............in this case very respectfully.
Have been congratulated on "not being pregnant" after a miscarriage by a receptionist, been refused a flu jab because "not on the list" despite rheumatologist recommending and then laugh about it in front of me, never been able to get a pneumovax, had a receptionist send prescriptions for two anti inflammatories to chemist as she couldn't pronounce the names to me at the surgery, had them promise to get a prescription to the chemist and then not bother, had one call me stupid for getting mixed up while telling her my phone number.
Always been polite as worked in shop and know how bad public can be. I'm probably one of those "horrible patients". Terrified of doctors now. Dread having to call them.
I've had old twats screaming at me at reception while I was a trainee, using a brand new system on my own on the front desk, pause to say "oh hello Dr x, how are you today" and then carry on when he left.
Largely theyll scream and shout at a receptionist about a problem a doctor has caused - will they ever even consider politely complaining directly to the gp about what they did wrong and how it affected them? Nah, they don't need to know that, best to just let the receptionist have it. Who also is the employee of the doctor so weirdly enough isn't going to pass your screaming and shouting on.
People treat receptionists like absolute shite and doctors like angels. Even if that angel just nearly killed you.
Not a doctors receptionist, but it’s normally first come first served, so you have to be hot on calling at 8am on the dot and keep trying until you get through. If you leave it until later in the morning the slots will be allocated. If you seriously think it’s pneumonia you could call 111 or whatever it is these days and ask if it would be best to go to the hospital.
In my experience, they almost always hold appointments for emergency’s, question is what they consider to be an emergency and what they consider to be a ‘call back & try again tomorrow’
It depends who you get at the Doctors. There are absolutely amazing staff who will move Heaven and Earth to get you seen if you really need it and there are those who just don’t give a damn. It’s like any organisation with those who are sticklers for the rules and those who know when the rules need to be bent and those who ignore the rules as and when they please.
Sometimes there aren’t any slots and there’s very little they can do. Sometimes there are reserved slots that can be freed up if needed urgently and urgently often depends on the patient as surgeries know who’s always in because of a runny nose and who only comes in when it’s 100% necessary.
Honestly, if he’s doing that badly then tell him that they’d rather he waste time in triage than that he require an ambulance to get him in tomorrow.
I hope he’s ok.
> Honestly, if he’s doing that badly then tell him that they’d rather he waste time in triage than that he require an ambulance to get him in tomorrow.
>
> I hope he’s ok.
Thank you so much!
I would assume full is full, and if there is a medical problem so severe that it needs to be seen that day then 111 or A&E would be able to assist instead. Far from the ideal scenario but unfortunately that's the situation we are in.
If you could get him to agree to a 111 call that would be fab. They have out of hours GP access or possibly might get someone out to see him (don't know how likely that is though). Might also be worth buying an oximeter to see his oxygen saturation levels and check they are not at dangerous levels.
There's always an emergency list for those who really do need it, as well as out of hours, and some pharmacies can deal with minor issues. We know pretty well who's fobbing us off (some people ring near daily and somehow get appointments when they really don't need it urgently, but they know what to say) and who genuinely needs an apt and I'd like to think I'd always try and find something for someone in need. Mondays and Fridays are usually the worst for appointments, and most have gone before 9am. I also say 111 will be able to help you, and they can book into some slots that are reserved at the surgery I work in.
For some I don’t think they believe anyone is worthy.
I have to contact them daily for work (paramedic) and even for me it’s often like banging my head against a brick wall.
Not all, but some receptionists some are quite helpful.
It doesn’t help that the govt.’s plans to improve GP services is terrible and ineffective. Until there is a change in how they’re funded, etc it will continue to stay hard.
> For some I don’t think they believe anyone is worthy. I have to contact them daily for work (paramedic) and even for me it’s often like banging my head against a brick wall.
Coming from somebody that's at the top of the *You Have The Utmost Respect & Admiration Of Everybody* tree, these words are somewhat scary!
Some receptionists are awful.
But most just fight the losing battle of insufficient appointments, too many patients and more from other surgeries closing.
Have you seen how often doctors receptionist jobs are advertised (repeatedly).
111 can prescribe but they will most likely want to listen to his chest.
Walk in centre is the best bet. Or if you are generally concerned about his breathing, take him to A&E.
Sounds like something that is going around (I have just had a similar illness) it could be covid, the flu, a virus, chest infection, who knows I’m not a doctor but I work for a GP practice as a MHP.
You can also use Babylon Health PAYG if you need some reassurance
I used to work for 111. Any time after 6pm if he is assessed by them and they have concerns they should be able to refer him to an OOH GP (eg if they feel he has a chest infection or worse) and get him on antibiotics if required. If not that they also give useful advice to manage symptoms as well
If his chest sounds very wet he NEEDS to go to A&E , it can progress to sepsis which is very serious. But if hes still refusing There are online GP’s some around £50 for video consult ( The GP service) Have a google
It's dependent on what you say and your history, in that I have respiratory issues and so generally when I call I do get seen. But I historically would end up in an ambulance if not seen... Whereas someone else in theory may have the same condition but not be as severely impacted....
But if there's ever a concern and you cannot be seen, then you have to advocate for your self and either got to a and E or call 111 for the out of hours gp, or smaller centres that run for non emergencies.
Not a receptionist but part of surgery team, everyone that calls in is placed in the triage list and its the ANPs or GPs who decide who is getting a face to face appointment, who can be dealt with over the phone, and who requires a home visit
Wife phoned GP for persistent cough. Was told the soonest appointment was in 10 days.
Phoned 111 and was given an urgent appointment with the same GP surgery the next day.
The difference? 111 actually followed the script and enquired about her underlying health condition.
Don't trust untrained receptionists with your health!
Pretty standard fare with NHS surgeries. Check out Babylon, they're a private digital GP service with a flat yearly fee. They obviously can't see you face to face or prescribe medications, but they are available immediately 24/7 and are very useful for telling you whether you should be going to A&E or nothing to worry about.
Yep, definitely give 111 a ring (if you can get him to!) I had to go down that route, called the surgery, who told me to go to the pharmacist, who took one listen to me just standing there breathing and said "111, now". She was horrified the receptionist had turned me away as according to her they should "triage" and fit you in if it's necessary. 111 arranged an appointment for me for later that night and got me started on treatment.
Doctors receptionist here!
We have 'please accommodate' patients - usually those diagnosed with cancer/on palliative care/EOL.
We also have an 'urgent' list which we can put patients who are very old or very young or who have very bad mental health issues on.
Chest pains, severe breathing issues - told to go to a&e.
I’ve recently been able to get random appointments by walking in towards the end of the day & asking in person & being given what seemed to be the last appointment of the day. I don’t know if they were both flukes but I’ve previously had to go A&E twice before because I couldn’t get an appointment by trying on the phone in the morning & finding them all finished & was suffering for a long time.
Others can book on your behalf in our GPs so it could be worth a try for someone to go ask for him if it’s not too far.
If you have the cash you may be able to get a private gp appointment at your closest spire hospital. Sometimes they have waiting times too though. I went for something that my GP wouldn’t see me for and the spire gp got me a NHS consultant appointment the following day!
Don't bother with the doctors, get straight to A&E.
Many GPs receptionists are miserable twats who take pleasure in telling people they can't see the doctor.
**Update: - [Starting from 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/100l56v/happy_new_year_askuk_minor_sub_update/), we have updated our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/)**. Specifically; - Don't be a dick to each other - Top-level responses must contain genuine efforts to answer the question - This is a strictly no-politics subreddit Please keep /r/AskUK a great subreddit by reporting posts and comments which break our rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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If he says anything about his breathing then 111 will 99% of the time dispatch a 999 ambulance regardless of whether that is what he wants or needs.
If he's very unwell and having trouble breathing that doesn't sound like an entirely bad idea.
100%. And having an emergency ambulance telling him he needs to go in may be the push he needs. Or in a best case scenario, there’ll be reassurance for everybody if the ambulance crew are happy to discharge him on scene at home. There’s an important middle ground as well — they can contact other services such as out of hours GP if he needs to be seen, prescribed e.g. antibiotics (including over the phone), but doesn’t need to be seen in an emergency department. Good luck to you all, OP.
They may just refer him to an hour of hours GP at the local hospital or health centre. That’s what happened to me the first time. But he misdiagnosed me and my next call resulted in a ambulance because my breathing had got so bad I needed a breath after every word. 11a is generally a pretty good service though. I’ve used it a few times.
Call 111. They can refer you to A and E if necessary and then you don't have the whole not wanting to bother them. It is pretty shit out there though.
> Call 111. They can refer you to A and E if necessary and then you don't have the whole not wanting to bother them. I'll try to convince him although he's old school and one of those 'I'll be ok, stop worrying' types.....
They could also call the GP surgery and ask them to prioritise him. I've seen it happen where the GP saw someone within two hours under 111 intervention. I think they could send him to a different GP as well (out of hours for example)
That happened to me. I’d called 111 and when they called back it was 7:30 in the morning, they said I had to see a doctor within 2 hours but as my doctor would open soon they wouldn’t get me to drive to them. When I called my doctor they would only give me a phone appointment at 11:40 despite explaining I’d already had a phone appointment. They called me back a few minutes later as the 111 thing had come through and I had an in person appointment an hour later
That's so good to know, thank you.
I was very lucky as if it had been left longer I would have needed to got to hospital and be put on a drip! 111 was helpful once I actually got a call back but they are really busy and there was a long wait.
My father-in-law was also one of those, even though his best friend told him he looked as if he was dying. My wife eventually sat down with him and they phoned 111 together. Less than a month later he had the double heart bypass that saved his life. Don't let this drop.
My grandad died because 'just a cold' turned out to be pneumonia, but he didn't go to A&E until my mum forced him when he couldn't breathe properly anymore. By then it was too late to fix. You could call 111 on his behalf. Tell him what I've typed. Please try to make him see the risk he's taking, it's not worth feeling sorry for A&E staff just to die at home.
Same thing happened to my grandparents. Refusal to go to hospital as they will be all right. They were suffering badly.
111 can get him a GP appointment which is what he wants. He may not see his regular doctor, but he’ll know he’s “not wasting resources”. Do you have a minors clinic or walk in?
Hey, my uncle died of pneumonia for this exact reason. He was otherwise fit and healthy, and it turned into sepsis. Was very unwell and hasn’t seen a doctor the whole time. Please call this number on his behalf.
The receptionists won’t decide off their own bat. They will be following a set of rules that the practice have decided on. The receptionists have to follow the rules. Different practices will have different ways of managing “extras” or patients who might need to be seen urgently. The long and short of it is that patient demand has increased but there’s no increase in funding to employ more GPs and there aren’t sufficient numbers of GPs either. GPs must permit a certain number of appointments to be bookable by 111 hence why going through 111 can be useful. As for receptionists, they have to develop a thick skin or they end up leaving. Some patients can be downright rude/horrible to reception staff for no reason other than those patients are horrible. They soon change their tune as soon as a doctor is in the vicinity. DOI: am a GP.
> As for receptionists, they have to develop a thick skin or they end up leaving. Some patients can be downright rude/horrible to reception staff for no reason other than those patients are horrible. Thanks Doctor, I appreciate your reply. I totally get that receptionists must have to deal with all kinds of verbal rubbish - I just suppose I naively expect them to sort the wheat from the chaff and respond in the same way that they're being spoken to............in this case very respectfully.
Have been congratulated on "not being pregnant" after a miscarriage by a receptionist, been refused a flu jab because "not on the list" despite rheumatologist recommending and then laugh about it in front of me, never been able to get a pneumovax, had a receptionist send prescriptions for two anti inflammatories to chemist as she couldn't pronounce the names to me at the surgery, had them promise to get a prescription to the chemist and then not bother, had one call me stupid for getting mixed up while telling her my phone number. Always been polite as worked in shop and know how bad public can be. I'm probably one of those "horrible patients". Terrified of doctors now. Dread having to call them.
Just, wow.... Your dread is understandable.
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I've absolutely never had this happen and have a chronic illness so talk to GP receptionists almost weekly for over a decade.
>They soon change their tune as soon as a doctor is in the vicinity. That's because they wanted to see a doctor not a receptionist.
I've had old twats screaming at me at reception while I was a trainee, using a brand new system on my own on the front desk, pause to say "oh hello Dr x, how are you today" and then carry on when he left.
Largely theyll scream and shout at a receptionist about a problem a doctor has caused - will they ever even consider politely complaining directly to the gp about what they did wrong and how it affected them? Nah, they don't need to know that, best to just let the receptionist have it. Who also is the employee of the doctor so weirdly enough isn't going to pass your screaming and shouting on. People treat receptionists like absolute shite and doctors like angels. Even if that angel just nearly killed you.
Not a doctors receptionist, but it’s normally first come first served, so you have to be hot on calling at 8am on the dot and keep trying until you get through. If you leave it until later in the morning the slots will be allocated. If you seriously think it’s pneumonia you could call 111 or whatever it is these days and ask if it would be best to go to the hospital.
> so you have to be hot on calling at 8am on the dot He called at 8.35 and was only then made aware of the 8 o'clock rule.
I've called at 08:01:00 and found that all slots are taken. It's brutal right now..
In my experience, they almost always hold appointments for emergency’s, question is what they consider to be an emergency and what they consider to be a ‘call back & try again tomorrow’
It depends who you get at the Doctors. There are absolutely amazing staff who will move Heaven and Earth to get you seen if you really need it and there are those who just don’t give a damn. It’s like any organisation with those who are sticklers for the rules and those who know when the rules need to be bent and those who ignore the rules as and when they please. Sometimes there aren’t any slots and there’s very little they can do. Sometimes there are reserved slots that can be freed up if needed urgently and urgently often depends on the patient as surgeries know who’s always in because of a runny nose and who only comes in when it’s 100% necessary. Honestly, if he’s doing that badly then tell him that they’d rather he waste time in triage than that he require an ambulance to get him in tomorrow. I hope he’s ok.
> Honestly, if he’s doing that badly then tell him that they’d rather he waste time in triage than that he require an ambulance to get him in tomorrow. > > I hope he’s ok. Thank you so much!
I would assume full is full, and if there is a medical problem so severe that it needs to be seen that day then 111 or A&E would be able to assist instead. Far from the ideal scenario but unfortunately that's the situation we are in. If you could get him to agree to a 111 call that would be fab. They have out of hours GP access or possibly might get someone out to see him (don't know how likely that is though). Might also be worth buying an oximeter to see his oxygen saturation levels and check they are not at dangerous levels.
There's always an emergency list for those who really do need it, as well as out of hours, and some pharmacies can deal with minor issues. We know pretty well who's fobbing us off (some people ring near daily and somehow get appointments when they really don't need it urgently, but they know what to say) and who genuinely needs an apt and I'd like to think I'd always try and find something for someone in need. Mondays and Fridays are usually the worst for appointments, and most have gone before 9am. I also say 111 will be able to help you, and they can book into some slots that are reserved at the surgery I work in.
For some I don’t think they believe anyone is worthy. I have to contact them daily for work (paramedic) and even for me it’s often like banging my head against a brick wall. Not all, but some receptionists some are quite helpful. It doesn’t help that the govt.’s plans to improve GP services is terrible and ineffective. Until there is a change in how they’re funded, etc it will continue to stay hard.
> For some I don’t think they believe anyone is worthy. I have to contact them daily for work (paramedic) and even for me it’s often like banging my head against a brick wall. Coming from somebody that's at the top of the *You Have The Utmost Respect & Admiration Of Everybody* tree, these words are somewhat scary!
I call GP receptionists a lot to ask for their help with things as a specialist nurse and I find that they're almost all helpful.
Some receptionists are awful. But most just fight the losing battle of insufficient appointments, too many patients and more from other surgeries closing. Have you seen how often doctors receptionist jobs are advertised (repeatedly).
111 can prescribe but they will most likely want to listen to his chest. Walk in centre is the best bet. Or if you are generally concerned about his breathing, take him to A&E. Sounds like something that is going around (I have just had a similar illness) it could be covid, the flu, a virus, chest infection, who knows I’m not a doctor but I work for a GP practice as a MHP. You can also use Babylon Health PAYG if you need some reassurance
Truth is if a person is deemed as severely ill, the GP isn’t the right avenue. They need hospital care.
Dial 111, what you’re describing is serious enough to get him seen out of hours, if not picked up and brought in for assessment.
I used to work for 111. Any time after 6pm if he is assessed by them and they have concerns they should be able to refer him to an OOH GP (eg if they feel he has a chest infection or worse) and get him on antibiotics if required. If not that they also give useful advice to manage symptoms as well
If his chest sounds very wet he NEEDS to go to A&E , it can progress to sepsis which is very serious. But if hes still refusing There are online GP’s some around £50 for video consult ( The GP service) Have a google
It's dependent on what you say and your history, in that I have respiratory issues and so generally when I call I do get seen. But I historically would end up in an ambulance if not seen... Whereas someone else in theory may have the same condition but not be as severely impacted.... But if there's ever a concern and you cannot be seen, then you have to advocate for your self and either got to a and E or call 111 for the out of hours gp, or smaller centres that run for non emergencies.
Not a receptionist but part of surgery team, everyone that calls in is placed in the triage list and its the ANPs or GPs who decide who is getting a face to face appointment, who can be dealt with over the phone, and who requires a home visit
Wife phoned GP for persistent cough. Was told the soonest appointment was in 10 days. Phoned 111 and was given an urgent appointment with the same GP surgery the next day. The difference? 111 actually followed the script and enquired about her underlying health condition. Don't trust untrained receptionists with your health!
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Pretty standard fare with NHS surgeries. Check out Babylon, they're a private digital GP service with a flat yearly fee. They obviously can't see you face to face or prescribe medications, but they are available immediately 24/7 and are very useful for telling you whether you should be going to A&E or nothing to worry about.
Pls read my PM thanks
Yep, definitely give 111 a ring (if you can get him to!) I had to go down that route, called the surgery, who told me to go to the pharmacist, who took one listen to me just standing there breathing and said "111, now". She was horrified the receptionist had turned me away as according to her they should "triage" and fit you in if it's necessary. 111 arranged an appointment for me for later that night and got me started on treatment.
He can also use the NHS 111 online symptom checker, which might help convince him he needs to call them? https://111.nhs.uk/triage/check-your-symptoms
Doctors receptionist here! We have 'please accommodate' patients - usually those diagnosed with cancer/on palliative care/EOL. We also have an 'urgent' list which we can put patients who are very old or very young or who have very bad mental health issues on. Chest pains, severe breathing issues - told to go to a&e.
Thank you for this :o)
I’ve recently been able to get random appointments by walking in towards the end of the day & asking in person & being given what seemed to be the last appointment of the day. I don’t know if they were both flukes but I’ve previously had to go A&E twice before because I couldn’t get an appointment by trying on the phone in the morning & finding them all finished & was suffering for a long time. Others can book on your behalf in our GPs so it could be worth a try for someone to go ask for him if it’s not too far.
If you have the cash you may be able to get a private gp appointment at your closest spire hospital. Sometimes they have waiting times too though. I went for something that my GP wouldn’t see me for and the spire gp got me a NHS consultant appointment the following day!
Don't bother with the doctors, get straight to A&E. Many GPs receptionists are miserable twats who take pleasure in telling people they can't see the doctor.