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Went this morning, appt. at 11:20, I believe in being

early so was there about 11:15. Sign in and wait. And wait.

And wait some more. All sorts of people come in after me

and go in before, no big deal, multi-doctor place, they're

seeing somebody else. About a half hour later, one of the

sign in people calls out "Anyone here waiting for Dr. G?"

a few of us raise our hands and she proceeds to tell us the

doctor is running btwn FORTY and SIXTY minutes behind

schedule. HUH? And yet I was the only one who got up to

re-schedule! Granted, mine was just a check-up type appt.

so maybe that makes the difference but still... an hour and a half

in air temps cold enough to hang meat no thanks I don't care

how great your magazines are!

:wah::wah::wah:

I've waited over 2 hours before to see my doctor and up to 4 hours In hospital.

I generally do have to wait - if I need to see the doctor I go down to the surgery and wait until he can see me.

He knows that I don't go unless I need to see him and if I need to see him I'm not going to make an appointment for the middle of next week.

Mind you, us British do tut and sigh a lot whilst waiting.

oscar;1410275 wrote: Mind you, us British do tut and sigh a lot whilst waiting.


But when one is in a queue, what else can one do?

Well I was able to re-schedule for tomorrow morning, and the place is not

far away at all, so it's really not that bad. I was chuckling in front of

everybody, because I guess it just hit my funny bone or something.

Then again, perhaps I should pattern after my UK'er friends and tut and

sigh. I'll let you know how it goes...

I made an ascerbic comment after the second time I'd left the surgery following a half hour wait for a booked appointment. If it happens it should be the exception, not the commonplace, and it should be accompanied by a reason and an apology.

Týr;1410295 wrote: I made an ascerbic comment after the second time I'd left the surgery following a half hour wait for a booked appointment. If it happens it should be the exception, not the commonplace, and it should be accompanied by a reason and an apology.


Nothing new there then

I don't see It that way.

Doctors run behind time not for the fun of It but because the patients that have been seen before you needed a little more time spent with them. Doctors may also have an emergency rushed through the doors. It could just be a frantic mother of a small child worrying needlessly about her child and wanting her mind put at rest and I'd not want to see any Doctor who rushed his patients out the door too quickly or tuned away an emergency.

oscar;1410299 wrote: I don't see It that way.

Doctors run behind time not for the fun of It but because the patients that have been seen before you needed a little more time spent with them. Doctors may also have an emergency rushed through the doors. It could just be a frantic mother of a small child worrying needlessly about her child and wanting her mind put at rest and I'd not want to see any Doctor who rushed his patients out the door too quickly or tuned away an emergency.


All very true - but the patients kept waiting deserve an explanation and an apology.

I figure I'll have to wait fifteen minutes or so, no big deal. I just hate waiting when I'm undressed and in one of those thin, backless exam gowns.

My standard appointment time for my regular doctor is 2pm. I don't care what day of the week it is, that's the time I schedule. That is the time my doctor comes back from lunch, so it is the first appointment of the afternoon. Since she eats her lunch in her office, she has already caught up on any backlog. Oh, and I helped my doctor modernize her appointment system, so they know me well.

I always schedule early appointments, so I can get in before the backlog starts. I don't really like going to doc.

If I have to do a late one, I schedule from right after lunch.

oscar;1410299 wrote: I don't see It that way.

Doctors run behind time not for the fun of It but because the patients that have been seen before you needed a little more time spent with them. Doctors may also have an emergency rushed through the doors. It could just be a frantic mother of a small child worrying needlessly about her child and wanting her mind put at rest and I'd not want to see any Doctor who rushed his patients out the door too quickly or tuned away an emergency.


If that's the common state of affairs then schedule appointments on that basis. If there happens on a particular day to be no such event then the doctor can take additional unbooked patients as well as those booked, but at least those booked will be seen at the time they're due to be seen. If I'm regularly seen a half hour after my appointed time then something's obviously remiss in the booking system.

If I behaved that way with my customers I'd be rightly criticized.

Bryn Mawr;1410300 wrote: All very true - but the patients kept waiting deserve an explanation and an apology.


In most circumstances, my receptionist will always warn you as you check In that he's running late and give you a brief reason as to why. I've always found that on the times It's happened to us, It's a good reason, elderly man's had a fall, woman's fainted In the street, problems with young children and babies.etc

That's the problem with appointments, some people need more attention than others and the Doctor doesn't know that until he see's them.

I really don't mind the waits because I know that come the day It's me that needs extra attention, I'll get It.

oscar;1410324 wrote: In most circumstances, my receptionist will always warn you as you check In that he's running late and give you a brief reason as to why. I've always found that on the times It's happened to us, It's a good reason, elderly man's had a fall, woman's fainted In the street, problems with young children and babies.etc

That's the problem with appointments, some people need more attention than others and the Doctor doesn't know that until he see's them.

I really don't mind the waits because I know that come the day It's me that needs extra attention, I'll get It.


The system I set up for my doctor began with sending scheduled appointment info straight to phone or computer calendar programs. Then we expanded it to include appt verification/reminders via email/text. Then we added a provision where the patient can list the things they want to talk with the doctor about, to help scheduling. The latest addition will allow someone to see when the actual projected appt will begin if the doctor is overloaded and either reschedule or be advised.

In this small town area, our doctors head out the back door to both deliver babies and help folks meet their maker.



The nurses and staff are usually really good about rearranging things.

It works both ways... only about 2 weeks ago ( despite flu jabs ) we both got flu bad.

Peter's went to his chest and he was having breathing difficulties because of his lung condition. We rang the surgery and asked If they could raise a script for anti-biotics which they were willing to do but then the Doctor phoned Peter and asked If he could get to the surgery there and then because he really wanted to check him out and If he thought needed, he'd send him to the hospital.

So Peter waltzed past all the others waiting to see the Doctor but I'd rather have a Doctor who cared that much than complain when It's someone else keeping us waiting.

The trouble is, all appointments are set to ten mins apart, for something trivial like some more prescription drugs that requires a quick check over by the doctor to approve the ten minutes is fine. A lot of other minor ailments take longer than that and it doesn't take long for all the five minute over-runs to add up. I wish the surgery would take the initiative and maybe have another Doctor/Nurse who has cleared their list to ask the waiting patients if anyone would prefer to see him/her. Nine times out of ten you're not waiting to see your own Doctor anyway, I wouldn't mind who I saw.

Our surgery isn't great at letting you know they are running late, you tend to sort that out yourself as patients when you head into the over full waiting room and people are grumbling lol. When on my own I sit and wait but if I've got the little one with me then I go ask how far behind is he and go for a walk or re-book.

I realise things happen that hold the Doctors up but they should be more on top of it to deal with the mounting back log in the waiting room. The receptionists are keeping watch on every patient that goes in and out each Doctors room, they know when someone went in and when they came out so it is possible for there to be back up plans.

My surgery has two full time nurses and the receptionists are very good are deciding what needs a Doctor and what minor complaints can be seen by the nurse.

If the nurse then decides the patient should see a Doctor, they go straight In to any one of the Doctors there on the day.

They are also very good at determining appointment dates and for example, with Peter's health, If he phones, he Is seen on the day or the next day.

I am very happy with my practice.

It's not pratical to have back up plans... Most GP's when not in their practice are doing other things... our GP's do stints at the hospital and some have private practices also. You can't just pull In another doctor from somewhere because there's a bit of a queue.

I mean back up plans to re book non urgent cases rather than have them hanging around. Being sensible about letting Mothers with toddlers know there is going to be a wait, it's impossible to keep a toddler contained at my surgery, too many stairs and no doors on waiting rooms that close. Back up plans to have other Doctors see patients, even the prescribing nurses could take up back log. Trouble is, too many people refuse to tell the receptionist what the problem is, our surgery tried out a few years ago requesting what the problem is and then the receptionist would allocate the patient to the relevant member of staff that could deal with the problem. Patients were in uproar, didn't want to be telling a receptionist what was wrong with them :wah:

I always get a same day appointment, ring from 8am and you will see a Doctor that day.