Why do I bother turning up at Doc's Appt. on time?

WTF

That must take skill.

What does that feel like

My.God. That does sound bad

Let me reword that...

Son is bouncing on bed, getting some air before he lands on me. To avoid I sit up too quick, rolling fingers under knuckle. Loud cracking sound.
(as if you didn't already know that)

Anyway, I think I'll just turn up 30 minutes late next appointment with the doc.

I think with GPs that its always good to ring just before leaving and ask 'is doc running on time'. If they say yes, then I arrive on time and only ever wait 25 mins, before getting up and walking out. (average consult time is 9 -15 mins, so it is possible to add 25 mins for the unexpected 'long 40 min consult'). By that time the doc is way over so won't mind you walking out - youre doing them a favour.

You gotta see it from their point of view - its hard to schedule the time of a consultation - when they don't know what the problem is.

Patients could be more helpful if they gave advice when booking on how long they expected their problem to take - and then stayed on topic. Usually what happens is that the patient will phaff around for 15 minutes, and then just as doc is winding up will drop 'I feel like committing suicide' or 'I think I'm pregnant' or some other major problem into the mix. Hello long consult.

The best Doc is the one who doesn't constrain his time to the standard 8 mins or whatever it is.
The fact your doc is running late generally means they give a ****.

Agree that some doctors would have the best interests at heart. However, there is a far greater number that overbook clients (smaller timeslots allocated than can ever be realistically met) as a matter of policy - (many GP consultancies are run by companies, eg Mayne) so that they guarrantee there is never any downtime where the doctor is waiting. It is an industry standard. Ever thought of what the total hours lost to workers etc from waiting, compared to the number lost by doctors due to no-shows or late shows - extremely one-sided. In any other business there would be a backlash with clients going elsewhere - but doctors have a somewhat lopsided advantage in terms of numbers etc. I'm not beating up on doctors (have a couple in my family) - just pointing out the common practice.

As us old timers know only too well........ The time you spend patiently waiting for all things here on earth, is deducted off the time that Saint Peter keeps you waiting at the pearly gates, so wait graciously for quick access...[}:)] then one can get stuck into the promised 27 virgins HAPPY WAITING

Being a GP would be a couple of notches above being a dentist ..... apologies to both professions .... no one chooses to go there, and most of the time you hear of peoples problems

My kids have been regular "customers" of hospitals and GP's .

You go to the childrens hospital PMH with a runny nose and you wait.... you go in a ambulance in a life threatening situation and you get 10 medical staff around saving your child. I cannot fault that logic.


Same with GP's - someone comes in with life threatening symptoms (and this happened to us recently) and our GP bumped some of his other patients to see us, and arrange to get into hospital. Cannot fault that logic either.

Give your GP a bit of slack. If they are good, they are busy. Pretty difficult job!

I go to my regular GP on time and might wait for 30 mins. When I go in I usually get 10 mins, being a long standing customer and get to have a bit of a chat and maybe share a couple of jokes. I then get script and/or advice and pay my bill on the way out.

When I really have a problem, I go to the local Base Hospital, speak with the reception nurse, and then wait for 1,2 or 3 hours until I get to see an Asian or maybe African Doctor who spends some serious time assessing my particular problem. He then phones around to find out where I can immediatly have an X-ray or ultra sound or whatever done. There is genuine service and concern but you just have to be prepared to wait for it and there is no bill.

I got a bit sick of the wait, so these days, I call ahead about half an hour, and ask how late my scheduled doctor is running. I then turn up with that appropriate delay and usually, only end up waiting about 15 minutes.