Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

I went into my GPs to ask for an appt because I had developed a funny lump on my lip. “Go to your dentist. Everything to do with mouths is the dentist’s responsibility.” was the receptionist’s reply. Luckily, my dentist is a rather out of date but also qualified GP. He was able to deal with the lump but was not amused to hear about my experience at the surgery.

 

It's strange how the receptionists are able to say that. They are
not qualified in any way.

 

Probably even harder to get a dentist appointment than a doctors one.

 

Our GP's secretary asks why and then decides how urgent you are so if I call for an MOT or OH needs a repeat prescription for his gout meds it can be a couple of weeks but if it's after a dodgy blood test or cancer screening her patients get in within a day or two.

Don't know about the UK but in France and Belgium you have to train to be a medical secretary to work for a GP or specialist so you know what's what and how to spell it if not treat it.

 

My surgery tends to close one afternoon a month for staff training, what they need to keep learning each month is a mystery but if challenged you get hoards of receptionists having a go at you, so I can only assume they are all learning to be triage people.

 

@Tidemark, you were probably better off going to your dentist anyway, even if he wasn’t dually qualified. I don’t know if things have improved since I was a student, but the medics learnt woefully little about mouths, while we dental students attended the same lectures with them on general medicine, pharmacology and embryology for a whole academic year.
Interesting information on the new system for getting a GP appointment. Hadn’t heard anything about that, I’ll have to see if there is anything on the surgery website. Last time I checked, the latest news was a couple of years out of date, and full of spelling mistakes! Not exactly reassuring.

 

I think part of this NHS England mandate includes a requirement to be open every day from 8 till 6,30, but maybe just having a receptionist on the front desk counts.

My surgery will not allow booking an appt in person, but I believe technically they are required to let you. Arguing about it might get you banned though!

 

My partner who is a doctor says she hasn't heard anything about things changing apart from they are trying to get people booking online

 

We had an email last month from our GP's telling us how to fill in an online triage form instead of telephoning for an appointment from 1st October but they did say that if we found this difficult or weren't online, we could call in personally and they would fill in the form for us.

Fingers crossed it works a bit better than the dreaded 8 am bunfight but I wonder how many people will fall through the cracks. I'm thinking of that poor girl who made 20 contacts with her GP's because of her deteriorating health but wasn't referred and died of preventable cancer aged 27.

 

I've heard or read somewhere recently @Obelix-Vendée that pure cherry juice works very well for gout. I assume you drink it, not apply it.

 

Is she a doctor in England, @mac12? AFAIA, the new system is only being adopted here.

Re doing it online, do you need an app or something?

 

@Sheal - I've never noticed cherry juice on sale here and OH is very happy with his gout meds - effective with no nasty sides.

French GPs are all computerised so can see medical histories, add their own notes and receive results etc directly from specialists, labs etc when they've referred a patient or asked for blood tests/X-rays/assorted scans. Many are signed up to a system called Doctolib which records appointments and sends reminders and allows patients to select a rendez-vous with their GP. Ours prefers we call her secretary for appointments but we get confirmation by mail thru doctolib.

 

What is it with Middle aged men (not in lyica) which go mad when you give them runner beans just gave away 1kg this morning and he was gobsmacked at the amount of beans, i have 6 men i give beans to who work near by, 4 middle aged 2 younger aged but the middle aged men love beans but the younger ones take them and give them to their Dad it seem's they are all phone the others and giving them abit of micky when they get their beans i hope they don't start fighting over them

 

Same here with middle aged women and Bramley apples.