The Kintyre Forum

My daughter has recently been on a course of antibiotics and was told by the hospital to make an appointment with her Doctor the following week. The next available appointment with any Doctor was on the 5th March. Excuse me but I live in Peterborough the Doctors surgery I go to has 4 Doctors has a very large catchment area and I can usually get an appointment the day I phone up or the next day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why does Campbeltown has such a major problem with getting an appointment with a Doctor? Yes you can go to A+E but that is for Accident and Emergancy not run of the mill problems!

no need to apologise for living in Peterborough Claire, perfectly acceptable

I do need to apologise for living in Peterborough, its flat, no sea and full of strange people - stranger than the ones living in Campbeltown although I can get a doctors appointment the day I phone up or the next day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An intersesting subject. In Glasgow, to get an appointment takes over a wek for your own GP. Slightly less for a practice doctor. In Soothend -Brill. Show up at the given times stated. Give details, see the doc and get a presciiption in 5 mins.

What a service..

In our village, the doctors' surgery consults one or two days a week from 7am. What a difference that has made, especially when there are two doctors in early on the same morning. It makes it so much easier for me, meaning I don't have to leave work early to get back before the last appointment. I can now go before I go to work. Very sensible.

I loved the appointment system in Ullapool. There wasn't one. If you wanted to see the Dr you turned up, first come, first served. Unless of course you were at death's door. It certainly took care of the professional patients and malingerers. Plus of course, they were far and away the best set of GPs I've ever had.

Same in Helensburgh. My mum says you just go in and basically join the queue! At least if you need to see the Doctor you can. I think they also operate an appointment system at certain times in the day.

Claire, I`m from a similar part of the world to you, and it`s very rare to get an appointment in less than a week to 10 days at our practice. I much preferred the old days in Lancashire, where we just turned up and waited our turn, and we had just the one doctor. I once called him out in the middle of the night to my husband, and he came with his trousers over his pyjamas! Good old Dr. Murray, bless him!

I remember Dr Cameron's surgery in Longrow. You would sit and wait to see the Doctor, you just needed to remember who came into the surgery after you. That I am afraid I would struggle with now, I can not remember things from this morning, but I can remember things from 40 years ago! After you had seen the Doctor you would go into the Chemist next Door and get your perscription.

My way of remembering when it was my turn was by counting how many were there when I arrived, then counting them off as they went in.

you are entitiled to an appointment within 48 hours but this may not be with your own doctor but another in the practice. If you are told differently you cn complain to the practice manager and if still not satisfied look on the health board website for who to contact.

You can also contact Citizens Advice Bureau and in Argyll & Bute (and assume elsewhere but can't say for definite) they do havesomeone to deal with NHS complaints.

Going to A&E for what should be dealt with by a GP or practice nurse just causes problems for those who do have a genuine emergency.

Sooze

numberplease wrote:My way of remembering when it was my turn was by counting how many were there when I arrived, then counting them off as they went in.

I don't remember having to do that. There was a line of chairs leading to the surgery door and when one patient went in you just moved up a seat until it was your turn. It was the same in both sugeries as I remember.

Thanks for that info I will tell my daughter, as they told her they had no appointments with any doctor, but she could ring in every morning at 8:30 and see if there had been a cancelation. With 3 children to get to school that time is not at all good and after 9:00 any cancelations will be taken!

History wrote:

numberplease wrote:My way of remembering when it was my turn was by counting how many were there when I arrived, then counting them off as they went in.

I don't remember having to do that. There was a line of chairs leading to the surgery door and when one patient went in you just moved up a seat until it was your turn. It was the same in both sugeries as I remember.

Dr Cameron had no receptionist at his surgery, and he would come through and put on the yale lock when he had enough patients to see in the time available. Quite often however someone going out would leave the outside door slightly ajar and the waiting room would fill up again, leaving him slightly annoyed.

ClaireW wrote:My daughter has recently been on a course of antibiotics and was told by the hospital to make an appointment with her Doctor the following week. The next available appointment with any Doctor was on the 5th March. Excuse me but I live in Peterborough the Doctors surgery I go to has 4 Doctors has a very large catchment area and I can usually get an appointment the day I phone up or the next day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why does Campbeltown has such a major problem with getting an appointment with a Doctor? Yes you can go to A+E but that is for Accident and Emergancy not run of the mill problems!

Not sure I quite follow you Claire what has your daughters appointment in Peterborough got to do with Campbeltown or were you all up on holiday when you tried to get an appointment?

Do agree that waiting time appears to be long in Campbeltown now. Try Muasdale surgery if your stuck, far quicker!