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Report transcript in: Lots of phone calls but good service when I get through
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Lots of phone calls but good service when I get through
Please Report the Errrors?
There we go.
Hi, John.
Hi. Hello, Paul. How are you?
Oh, not too bad. Um, busy.
Busy. Busy is good sometimes, isn't it? Ok, so
I'm gonna ask you. We know what we're here for.
So my question to you is about your experiences of GP services.
Um, over the sort of last 6 to 12 months.
Uh, if you could talk about that, that'd be fantastic.
Right? Um um, I it it's been quite a busy one.
Um, um I I I I've had, um
Well, no, I Well, we shouldn't include the vaccination, uh,
the covid vaccinations.
But I've
I have also had the, um,
the flu. Uh uh, the flu vaccine
again this year.
Um, um, I've I've had various different problems with my back.
Uh, and I've had had to go into the the surgery
for to be tested rather than just, um,
uh, 00 over the, um the the Internet.
The the well, the the the phone.
Um, uh, well,
let me think for a minute.
Um, yeah.
Um,
uh, should I be included in the vaccinations?
Because, uh, they the the the the GPS,
uh, did actually, um uh, send the first text for me to go and, um
uh, sign on for them.
Uh, and that went quite successfully as well.
Um
um
uh, yeah, I I I I've had various different problems. Um,
over the period that, um, I I
I I I wasn't sure whether I should be going in or initially. I had to phone,
and it took a while to get through to to things.
Um, my
the dietary appointments have been,
uh uh, um had to wait, um, longer than I expected,
because they've been taking those up.
Um,
um you you you you phone in,
and it's 4 to 6 or eight weeks before you actually get anything.
Uh um,
there's the, um,
trying to think
maybe you can think about the last experience you
had on or some of the experiences you've had recently
and talk about talk about that about the process that maybe you went through,
right? Yeah.
Um, um when I,
um
uh
the
the the, uh the I I was tested for,
um um uh uh, My my throat, because I I I I was getting,
uh, a certain amount of a problem with it.
And, um,
they they had to pass that through to, um, the hospital.
Um,
fortunately, it was, uh, not a problem.
Uh, the the the they they They put a camera down my nose
to see whether there was any real problems there.
And it's, uh it was clear that it was only acid reflux.
I say only a acid reflux. Um,
it could have been, um um something, um, considerably more serious,
but, um, that's come back. Now,
Um,
uh, if I that carries on, I'll have to go and try and, um, do some more of a, uh uh uh.
Contact them again, I think.
And how did you feel about that?
That experience with the GP. Do you feel it was successful, and if so, why or not?
And if so, why not?
Um
uh, it, um
Well, it it it resulted in some more medication.
Uh, which
hasn't been entirely successful,
but, um,
most of the time it has been. Um, But, uh, but it's come back now,
um
poss possibly through, um
um, some rich food or whatever.
Um, what about the actual service of the GPS?
There's the treatment. And then there's the service.
If you know what I mean, how about the How have you found the service of the GPS?
More recently,
Um, it's been It's been fairly good. Um,
I am I I I found that, um, they've been responsive to me.
Yeah, and
in a in a positive way,
Once I I I've got through to them.
Um,
the the the the the the lottery of Of of trying
to get through on the phone is always a problem,
though,
Uh, starting at eight o'clock in the morning,
it might take,
um,
10 minutes. It might take half an hour or so
of constant phoning to actually get through to,
um,
the surgery,
which is, um, is a pain.
And what's the what's the impact of that on you or your life?
Well, I have to wake up earlier.
Um,
and, um, I just
carry on phoning.
Uh, I I I I can't, um
I found that it's not
useful to use a, um, a
landline. I need to use a mobile
to make sure that I know what's happening.
What do you mean? Sorry.
Um,
the the the display on the on the mobile phone
that the US are busy or whatever.
Um, but you. You you don't You don't get the same sort of response on the landline.
So you're not sure what you're up to and you're not sure what's happening?
What about when you get through? How have you found
the service?
GP service.
Fairly good.
Um uh uh
is taken
2.5 weeks, though, to get some blood tests.
Which, um,
uh, I I know that they are stretched.
Um, um uh uh, The the
they've got the response back from the, um
the X-ray already. And now they've, uh they've just taken the blood test today.
So that is
that is is is poor, I think,
um, but, um, how how how they how they cope with that? I really don't know how.
How, how? How they increase the number of staff that they can have when,
uh, staff have to go through quite a lot of training to be
useful.
I really don't know.
What about the balance between
face to face and
on the phone?
How have you found the services? How how do you respond to them?
How do they work for you?
Um, face to face is is
is fairly responsive.
Um,
I I I've had to go in
more often than I have
just had a, um
AAA phone conversation.
Are you
Are you satisfied with that? Is that is that
Is that what you want?
Well, um,
uh,
if they can't judge what? What the problem. If there is a problem or what?
The problem is over the phone. I need to go in. Obviously.
But, um
um um,
uh,
I I I think
part of the problem has been that they've They've been
using locums for,
uh,
urgent appointments.
Uh, I had a phone call and not being able to judge what? What?
What the situation was and being calling,
calling people, uh, in I think that that may have been a problem.
So
And how do you feel? More, More, More recently, when you've been into the surgery,
how have you felt about that experience if you felt safe or not, Have you?
Well, I I I use I I use hand sanitizer.
If I've touched anything or or whatever, I'll I'll I'll use hand sanitizer. I will
try and keep myself, uh, as as clean as possible.
I
that that
that is that is,
um that that's some That's something that I have learned over the,
uh, uh, over the, uh, uh, the pandemic that, um, I I simply,
uh um to feel safe, I need
to have some hand sanitizer with me and be able to use it almost
whenever anything's been touched.
And how was
your recent experience with the GP
surgery? How? How have the people that work there
supported you through that experience?
Uh, they they've been good. Um,
the the the the the the They've been director to what they need to do and so on.
Uh, I haven't I I I haven't had any
real issues with the people that I've seen that.
Have you got any Anything you can share, like an example of
of that in practise?
Well, today, um,
the It's a new system. Um,
the the the, um
uh the, uh, The, um surgery is split between,
um uh, the the nurses and and and? And the doctors. The doctors
are on the upper. Uh, um um um uh, ground floor level and the nurses on the lower one.
And you key in when you get in. Now
you open, you can open the door. It wasn't ever open before, but
you can open the door. Um, uh, key in
And, uh, and and and then follow through. She she had to tell me to go to this, the
the waiting room. But, um, I
I wasn't sure where it was. I I haven't used it for that long,
but, um
um
um, yeah,
but the the the response has been good that they they they direct people they know.
And, um
uh, that that that's quite I'm quite happy with that.
Yeah. Good. Good.
Well, thank you, John.
Is there anything else you wanna add before we sort of clock off about about that?
Right.
Um, before the pan before the pandemic, I had, um
um um I didn't realise I'd had a a
really severe, uh, chest, uh, infection.
Um, and, um,
it it took it. It took, um
um, a phone conversation. And then, uh, I I'm actually going in by by taxi to be,
uh, checked out, and they said, Yeah, you've got a chest infection, and, uh,
had to load this up.
Um, um,
that that was about the worst one I had.
And it Maybe it put me off a little bit. about phone. Uh
uh, Found interviewed
because,
right, I I I I follow my own,
um,
thoughts rather than,
um, possibly realities at times, But, um,
so they missed it with the phone. They missed it the first time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, thank you for sharing that with me today, John.
I really, really appreciate it.
Um, I'm gonna press stop on the recording
now.
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