The doctor told my husband to insist on a face to face appointment right away if his worrying symptoms returned. That’s is what we just tried to do having called the surgery the minute it opened today but the receptionist refused and instead it’s a telephone appointment anytime over a four hour window. It is stupid because it just means my husband will now have a phone call with a doctor and then an appointment at some point taking up even more of a doctors time. This is after a phone appointment yesterday with a doctor for the same medical problem having already had it diagnosed by the 111 doctor the night before. So it seems that receptionists can override a clinical decision by a doctor now. This is despite us insisting, pleading, and explaining politely that his symptoms are worse. To say that we are continually disgusted and frustrated with the approach and admin system this practice has is a big understatement. The receptionist denied that she was overriding a doctors instructions - but the doctor had said very clearly and a face to face appointment was necessary and that we must insist on it. We would leave this practice if we could but the other GPS in this town won’t take anymore patients from this practice. Furious again.
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