Doctors Surgery Hours

[SE13]

There is a call to force surgeries to open in the evenings and at weekends. What do you think?

For me, it's a case of need. Due to Government legislation, mostly you have to phone on the morning of a needed appointment and join the rat-race of others trying to do the same. It's utter madness!

But for people like me, who work from 6-6 every day, how in hells name am I supposed to get an appointment without taking a day off work? And even if I do take a day off, I am not guaranteed to get an appointment. And why should I lose an entire days wages for the sake of a five minute consultation to tell me something I already know?

And I'll throw another into this debate.... Asthma sufferers. Why should they be forced to pay for prescriptions? If they don't have the inhalers, they can't breathe! I call it breathing tax, because that's exactly what it is. I am a chronic asthmatic, have been all my life, and before the children came along I had to pay the best part of £20 just for the right to breathe every single month. I dread to think what it costs these days.

This very morning I can throw this into the equation... I have an eye infection, meaning I can't see greatly out of the left eye. It's an ongoing thing, which means a trip to the doctor, a course of eye drops, and Bob's your uncle......

BUT.... try getting in. Oh, and try fitting it around the working day if I can get an appointment.

Given that I drive for a living, and the infection means I can't see enough to be safe, how exactly am I supposed to earn my living?

I can sit there in the morning with the lottery, or blag my way through work, and hope that no-one on The A46/A1/A52 notices that I can't see properly.

I hope my boss can see this in a good way, otherwise I could lose my job because I can't take a sickie, I can't guarantee when the docs will fit me in, but more importantly, I can't do my job due to something beyond my control, yet so simple to cure.

Maddening! How does this system work elsewhere?
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[marinaroz]

Are you serious? You mean, where you live, you have to make an appointment to the doctor on the same day you need to attend, and you can't secure it beforehand? Also, no evening or weekend appointments are availiable? That's madness.

Here in Israel, this kind of thing is really no problem, if you need to see the family doctor, you just phone in for an appointment, and usually you'll have one at the time that's convenient to you. Or you can just show up and wait for an opening.

If you need a specialist, like and eye doctor, then you might need to book an appointment a week or so in advance, but you will definitely be able to book an appointment. No race is ever involved. The health centers work till 7PM and half a day on Friday, so that's not a problem here either.

We also complain about the health care system a lot (the dental care is mostly privatized, bad quality and very expensive, the non-basic drugs are very expensive, many other complaints too), but not being able to book an appointment to the doctor is just unthinkable.
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[Myst]

Yeah... I'm not entirely convinced by your argument. Sure, it'd be nice if everything health-related was free, but that could be abused - people taking more than they need and things like that, not to mention the huge burden on the government(s) in question.

As it stands at the moment, I think that in Australia most medicines are subsidised to some extent by the government - and I think this is the best way.

Along with the doctor thing - surely you can book an appointment for the next day, next Tuesday, whatever. I know that there are some walk-in clinics, but there are also a heap of ones where you can make appointments, and they usually have spare slots which they open up if someone really needs an appointment.

Forcing surgeries to open at all times is a little harsh too. Remember that people work at those surgeries, and they need time off with their families too. If they had to open after hours and on weekends, then they'd have no time with their families who work normal hours. So really, it's either their time or yours, and they get preference, well, because they're doing things for you.

[rahulmalhotra]

All I can say that the medical support system is in a shocking state of affairs and for the kind of taxes you guys pay, this is certainly taking honest citizens for a ride
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[mellymoo]

i too have to make appointments on the day i need them - but this works. It means if it's not an urgent appointment, you can phone on the morning of a day you can definitely attend the appointment (stat days from work etc) or if you're ill, you're sure to get an appointment that day, and not two weeks down the line when you've spent a fortune on over the counter remedies, and you're feeling better again.

Incidentally, my surgery is open from 8.30am til 8.30pm every week day. on the weekends we have ADOC at our disposal (Ayrshire Doctors on Call) Even the last one i was with had certain evenings they were open late.

[coralvalley]

Where I am from usually you can just go in the day that you need to, but you have the option to make appointments ahead of time as well for the upcoming days. With the group of doctors that we see, if there is something serious that comes up, they will get you in as soon as possible. They are pretty much right up front and center ready to help and offer you a solution to your problems. I know my sister has chronic asthma and has had something going on that they thought was mono for a long time, but it turned out that it was not mono and when her doctor could not himself figure out what was going on since she had come in a few times in one week because she had felt so horrible, he refused to charge her anything for the last appointment and referred her to a specialist to figure out what was going on.

Where I am at they are pretty reasonable with my doctors and try to work with you even for some who have no insurance. Now I will openly admit not all doctors are like that as a lot of them will not bother to treat someone without insurance and will make up an excuse saying that they do not have any openings and in some cases do so if they do not like the insurance that you have, but my family doctor in particular is very reasonable and that is a plus. It is easy to get in and see them and unless you have to pay a visit to a specialist, you do not have a long wait to get in. In the cases of some specialists though if something is serious they try to get you in right away. I guess out here it just depends on what hospital system that you wind up going through.

I am sorry to hear that it is like that out by you. I can imagine the frustrations and the agony you must feel in having to go through all of that just to get some treatment.

[mellymoo]

what is mono?


edit: don't answer that - i just found it - Glandular Fever.

I've heard it being spoken about in lots of american tv shows/in movies, and it's always made out to be a bad thing - why?

[spock]

Well, here in Holland, home doctors can usually help you within one day, but if you need surgery or really complicated examinations, you need to make an appointment in hospital. Making the appointment is no problem, but usually it takes quite long (like at least four weeks, before it's your turn)

My medication (I also suffer from asthma) doesn't require any payments. (It's paid for by the health insurance companies) The health insurance fee here in Holland is about 120 euros a month though.

I think that's quite much, but if I hear stories from people living in other countries, it actually seems it's not that bad around here.
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[wellingtonboots]

In some areas there are emergency doctor surgeries that operate at night and during weekends. This surgery is staff by docotrs from all the practises in the area and the staff is rotated so that no doctor has to give up too much of their free time. Home visits and surgery appointments can be made at very short notice.

I think this method may be better than opening all surgeries during the night and at the weekend. One or two emergency surgeries should be enough with all the doctors in the area responsible for staffing it. this way it would be good for both doctors and patients.
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[mellymoo]

[kaleo]

Where I live, the doctor's office is open seven days a week, with walk-in hours early in the morning (for emergencies/conditions that need looking at that day), and then you make appointments ahead of time for anything else. I find it extremely odd that where you live it doesn't work like that. . .
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[mellymoo]

[pharmer4]

This is something I know a lot about . . . . I'm a pharmacist in Australia.

I know a fair bit about the British NHS too, but not all. For instance the coverage on the NHS is tiered (ie for certain conditions, you get better coverage), ie for instance when you have kids and stuff like that (hence SE13's asthma medicaiton was cheaper).

In Australia we have a certain set of divisions in the health field.

Medicare Australia looks after just about everything in the health field, and monitors these divisions. "Medicare" covers the cost of seeing your GP, and most Specialists as well. You pay a medicare levy in your taxes, depending on how much private health insurance you have.

When you see a doctor, they charge you and medicare based on the condition being treated (since no condition is the same as another, so some are simple, some are very very difficult). The doctor has the right to charge more than Medicare will pay them, so this is a gap payment. If you have private health insurance, they will re-imburse you for the gap.

Dental coverage is only by the government for pensioners, kids, and those with Health Care Cards (gives you access to cheaper medicare-covered doctor visits, PBS drugs, and other things in the health system).

Drugs in Australia have three payment levels.

Firstly, there are private drugs, which are not covered by the government, or are only covered by the government for certain conditions (a good example are epileptic medications that also block pain - if you have it for pain, it is private, if you have it for epilepsy, it is covered by the government).

Secondly, there are "general" patients - ie they have no government concession such as a pension or the health care card mentioned above. These people pay a maximum of $30.70 for prescriptions covered by the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme), plus any brand charges.

Thirdly, there are "concession" patients - ie they do have a government concession. These people pay a maximum of $4.90, plus any brand charges.

On top of this, there is a safety net for PBS drugs - if you spend $1049 as a general patient, or get 56 scripts as a concession patient, you change. General patients get a temporary Health Care Card (not the correct name, but used for simplicity) for the rest of the calendar year, and pay $4.90. Concession patients get a good deal, paying $0 for the rest of the calendar year (plus surcharges).


Getting in to see the doctor is a matter of demand - the government does not mandate opening hours in any way. In my town of 8000 people (plus 4000 in surrounding towns/farms), there are 8 doctors. so that is about 1500 people per doctor. Understandably, it can take a while to get an appointment. If there is an urgent case, most doctors will squeeze you in, and if it is an emergency, the hospital takes care of you (staffed by the same 8 doctors).

On to a few specific comments.

Firstly SE13 - you should not consider the cost of asthma medications as a tax on breathing. That is a cop out, because you know full well that the government helps REDUCE the cost to you. So in fact you are being subsidised to breathe, where non-asthmatics are not.

Also, where would you draw the line on who gets things for free? Should Viagra be free, since this could be seen as a tax on sex? that is an extreme example, but all conditions are equally serious and distressing, and have their costs. This is a drawback of being sick.

Also, not trying to be flippant, but if you can't work because of your eye, then you don't need to take off work to see the doctor, since you will already be taking it off by not being able to drive . . . .

I am not sure as to which medications you can get without a script, but you should see your local pharmacist, and ask for either sulphacetamide eye drops, or if you can buy it script-free, chloramphenicol drops. These are very good for eye infections. You should proceed the drops with a warm face-washer to your eye for a few minutes, to open up all the ducts.



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[mellymoo]

[blightyred]