Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone, I have had so many problems accessing services because my GP surgery are extremely rigid in the way that they operate and communicate.
I experience extreme anxiety relating to using the phone and although they have my diagnosis, I don't feel as though they are doing enough to support me. I explained in an email to them that it had become such a big problem that I felt it would impact on my ability to access services in the future and likely be detrimental to my health.
Situation:
They offer appointments on the day, requiring a phone call. If it's not considered an emergency, the wait for an appointment can be a month or more. They used to offer appointments in advance, you could see who you wanted and when they were available using an online booking system and appointments could be booked from the day to a month or more in the future.
They offer the ability to submit messages via their website using a service called Accrux. There are lots of choices for reason of contact and you'd think this would be a great way to communicate for someone who needs time to think, read and respond.
What's the problem?
The problem with this service is that there isn't a record sent to your email address of what has been submitted and either they respond by trying to call or send a text message that cannot be responded to. I have a flag on my medical records explaining that using the phone makes me extremely anxious but they still tell me to call, even after I have raised a formal complaint to the manager. I have been able to email them in the past, but if they reply, they don't keep the email trail so it's really hard to keep track of what I said and what they are responding to.
I asked them directly why they used to offer more flexibility but they did not respond. I have pointed out that to me it seems as though they are not making reasonable adjustments according to the Equality Act 2010 but the outcome isn't a more accessible service for me.
What are your experiences?
What reasonable adjustments should I expect?
I'd like to know whether any of you have similar experiences and what you have done in order to receive a tailored experience that meets your needs, particularly if you are like me and need everything to be written down (email, text or messaging) rather than face to face or using the phone. I've tries Relay UK before but it's terrible for someone who needs time and mental head space between receiving communication and responding.
I hope that this can get sorted out, because it's making things much worse than they already are.
I didn't think I would have to fight so hard with medical professionals who should understand legislative requirements, my needs and their responsibilities. Of all the services out there, I am really disappointed with the NHS based on my problems accessing general medical services.
I think this is becoming the norm for the NHS now. They have been underfunded for so long and been expected to adapt to all the requirements by minority groups such as us which will have been quite an overhead for them.
We have a balooning population with more and more issues and less and less doctors to cover them. The doctors have to restrict time per patient to less than 15 mins which as you can appreciate is going to be a challenge if you need time to process things during a visit.
The fact they can actually manage a relatively functional service for the majority still surprises me.
This doesn't help you, so lets think of ways that will help.
1 - go private. You can pay on a case by case basis or take our a medical plan - it will be expensive but the service is so much better.
2 - get someone to be your chaser, making the calls and appointments. They have to be able to deal with deaf people who cannot use the phone so something of this nature must exist.
3 - lawyer up and threaten to sue if they do not provide the reasonale accommodations for you
4 - go in person and ask them for the appointment. Probably time consuming but if it is less traumatic than using your phone then that works.
5 - get counselling for your phone aversion. It is a key part of life for most of us so it may be worth trying to address that particular issue. Trying to avoid using the phone for ever is going to be a huge challange.
My experience of trying to access care over the last 15 or so years has been similar. The NHS seems to have an official policy of "no phone, no healthcare."
I'm lucky in that my GP does offer online appointment booking, although there's usually a wait of about 6-8 weeks for an appointment. I just have to put up with that as there is no other way for me to book.
I recently managed to get an admin issue with my GP resolved by email. The GP practice doesn't officially have an email address but I searched online and found one on an internal document that had been uploaded to the internet as a PDF. After a couple of months of emailing, copying in a patient advocate service, I managed to get my issue resolved. That was a big win for me.
Yes I've had a similar experience. I'd say put in a complaint about it, but I've recently complained about the NHS and it didn't make a scrap of difference, so it might be a waste of time!