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GP Practice Ad Hoc Phonecalls To Me

DormouseAtRest_25

I am not sure how to tackle a (stressful to me) habit my GP Practice has developed (despite me requesting them not to do so): of a GP just phoning me when they think of it - without giving me prior warning - and when I am not awaiting or expecting a phonecall - and I don't know what they want to discuss when I answer my phone.

The other anxiety-inducing permutation: they book a phonecall to me (without expecting one, I get a text message with no subject context) with the name of one of a variety of GPs with whom I have never had prior contact (I have been been a Patient there for decades, my assigned GP is still in the Practice and I have recently had a text message confirming that person is still my GP).

That means: I don't know why the phonecall has been booked (I had not requested an appointment and no follow-up was outstanding as known to me), why a random GP has been scheduled, how to prepare for the phonecall and I have to then wait until open hours to submit an online admin triage request - saying I think the appointment may have been scheduled in error ...only to then find out a) they expected to schedule a new-to-me GP, in 10 minutes by phone, to follow up with me about a chronic situation (quite ridiculous) - without even telling me in advance what the person would expect me to discuss with them on the phonecall and as I have asked what it is about - they are now going to consult with yet another GP (not mine) and get back to me!

When I look on the NHS app it just says "any GP" with no clue about context.

Both varieties of unexpected phonecall seem to tend to occur around 5 pm or 6 pm (by which time I am trying to recover from my day and sort out the evening meal etc.).  Outcome: I lose at least the evening to - by then - being badly stressed and lose all appetite for bothering to cook / eat my meal.

The GP and Practice know about my Autism - I have previously explained to them, in writing, that an unexpected phonecall is my least successful communication mode - but you couldn't tell so from their ongoing behaviour.

Their latest phonecall salvo is particularly crassly timed - as it is two days before a super-important secondary care appointment about which I am particularly anxious (of which they are aware) ... helpful ...not. 

It seems to me: they are tick-boxing their commissioning, while disregarding that I am a neurodivergent human ...rather than a robot.

Does everyone's find their GP Practice operates this way now?

Has anyone had any success convincing them not to do this sort of thing (ideas of further strategy or tactics to try?).

I had even requested a referral to our local reasonable adjustments team (only to be informed there was "no need").  Well I did try to do the right thing!

Thank you.

Parents

  • I hate my doctors.

    They call randomly usually to try and get me to have blood tests. They're obsessed with blood tests. The tests have never found anything wrong, despite the doctors trying to convince me it might be "something serious" at any tiny anomaly (which is always normal again by test 2). I have no chronic conditions that need monitoring via blood test and I'm sick of them. In fact the constant harassment has literally made me physically sick with worry and stress.

    I've had unexpected call from crisis and single-point mental health, practice nurses and even a pharmacist, but  never a GP. The calls always disturb me and I often think of questions or problems I should have raised too late, because there's no prep time.

    I frequently check all the various apps my practice has (the NHS one, MyGP and Patient Access) in case they've booked something in. I also check https://accurx.nhs.uk/ for any messages/letters. Plus the site my mental health use:  https://patientsknowbest.com/ where they also  drop in random appts without telling me.


    It's impossible to book a GP appt as they have online triage forms asking you to self-diagnose, suggest your own treatment and justifiy why you deserve to speak to a GP. They then give you a 4 hour window for a Dr to call if they decide to allow you an appt.

    I then can't use my phone, or leave the house, or do anything that might stop me being able to instantly take a call, for up to 4 hrs. I usually stop drinking water in case I need the loo and miss it, ending up stressed, dehydrated, hungry and nauseous (can't go off making food when I'm waiting for a call).

    Basically, the problem is they see ill people as a nuisance to be avoided. They're geared up to population monitoring and scaring healthy people by trying to convince them they're ill when they're not. They're paid well for this "monitoring" so are really pushy with it.

    The stress from dealing with my doctors has literally been making me ill. I can't cope with their new way of working and am trying to get back on the books of community mental health for my bipolar and have started paying for private blood tests so I can monitor things without the NHS constantly attacking me with false pronoses of "serious" illnesses.

    Anyway, that's my rant over!

    On a more relevant note; you could try contacting your local integrated care board (ICB) and complaining, if the doctors surgery won't help. I mean, asking for an SMS warning of an appt doesn't sound like much does it? I'd also check the apps regularly to try and spot an appt booked without your knowledge.

    Hopefully you can find a way to force them to be reasonable.

  • in reply to Tears_before_bedtime

    Thank you.  It sounds horribly similar at your GP Practice.  For quite some time, I had both the mental health folk and the GP Practice booking me in for duplicate sets of health checks and blood tests (visible to both parties). 

    You reminded me about their Pharmacist - they book phonecalls to me (...puzzling when I have no prescriptions currently), I wait in at home for the allotted hours they requested me to do so.  They don't text to cancel ...but then they don't phone after all.  Most efficient.

    I like your suggestion about the local ICB (I will look around their website).

Reply
  • in reply to Tears_before_bedtime

    Thank you.  It sounds horribly similar at your GP Practice.  For quite some time, I had both the mental health folk and the GP Practice booking me in for duplicate sets of health checks and blood tests (visible to both parties). 

    You reminded me about their Pharmacist - they book phonecalls to me (...puzzling when I have no prescriptions currently), I wait in at home for the allotted hours they requested me to do so.  They don't text to cancel ...but then they don't phone after all.  Most efficient.

    I like your suggestion about the local ICB (I will look around their website).

Children
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