[Jan Fisher]

Recently I had to wait two hours in the doctor’s waiting room for an appointment. I asked several times if the doctor knew I was there and was told each time I would have to continue to wait.

Eventually I had to give up and go home due to another engagement, but if your doctor is running so late, surely it would be polite to let the patient know if there was a considerable wait?

At the time I had several health problems, and those two hours I sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair would have been better spent at home recovering.

I was at all times polite to the reception staff, but perhaps in turn they could have been polite to me and let me know before I wasted two hours of my day.

When I lived in the country my doctor was often running late, but the nurses always rang up with the expected delay. All it takes is a phone call.

Have you had a similar situation? How did you handle it?

[johninmelb]

Sadly it is a fact of life that doctors run late with their appointments. Emergencies happen – I was left waiting for 2.5 hours one day when a woman at the local hospital decided to have her baby early. So my GP at the time had to rush up to the hospital and deal with that. They did eventually tell me that was why he was late!

But as my current GP says, most of the time they are ambushed by people who basically just want to waste the doctor’s time rabbiting on about imaginary illnesses and whatever. These people are just completely oblivious to the fact that there are genuinely sick people sitting out in the waiting room who really need to see the doctor. Now we have a fairly steep co-payment at the surgery I go to, so that is starting to weed out the time wasters. Probably another reason why many surgeries are abandoning bulk billing. People start to think twice about seeing a doctor if they have to pay.

The other thing is that if you want to talk to the doctor about a range of things, book a long appointment. I do that once a year, make a list of what I want to ask, and then have my discussion with him. He really appreciates that I respect his time.

Finally, the question to ask when you check in at the surgery for your appointment is quite simply “how many people are ahead of me”. It is unreasonable to expect the admin staff to keep you informed. If it is a large practice, most times they are run off their feet with phones, patients, billing issues, making appointments etc etc. I was a practice manager for a neurosurgeon once and I never stopped from the minute I walked in the door till I locked up and went home – and that was a one man practice.

[FrankC]

I had a an appointment at my surgery, and after one hour of waiting, got up and went to the reception and complained that an hour waitingn is far too long, and was about to make another appointment, when the doctor came out of her room and waived to me indicating she was free, so I kept my belated appointment . I told her I waas about to go home as I do not like sitting for an houyr in a waiting room. She apologised asd said she had a long consultation (!!) which wasn’t expected, it wopuld have bveen nice if she had informwed the recepption people ofwhich there are 4, that she would be running late and inform the next patirent. I was lucky to get in to see her after a week waiting, sometimes if you want to see a doctor, it is no good expecting to see the one you want, if you don’t mind witing 7 – 10 days, so you pick anyone, after all there are 15 medics at our surgery, and when you can’t get then one you want, you are offered 2 otherxs (only) that can take you, good thingn the computers are all onm line within the practice.

[jeff]

When I worked, my GP’s norm was at least an hour late. I used to call and ask how late he was running.
The reception were always helpful, but treated his tardy habits as funny….
I once made an appointment and the reception staff said that it was his first appointment after lunch so he wont have any hold ups. When I got to the practice, he was returning from lunch – all good. No! 45 minutes later I got in. THEN he starts reviewing my file….
I am now retired, and I would call ahead to ask how late he is running, but THAT now takes over an hour just to get to speak to anyone!
I would walk out after (say) 2 hours, but I know they would bill me anyway. On that, minimum consultation is $90. And they very rarely bulk bill. My GP does to telecalls, but charges the same fees as in-person visits! And the starting time of the telecall IS only an estimate…
Once recently, my GP called me to ask why had visited another GP (in the same practice. It was a simple script renewal and my own GP had a 3 week wait.). After the call, I checked via Medicare and yes, he had claimed that as a consultation! HE called ME.

[Lynda]

I appreciate they run late,lots of consults we ‘ chat’ about both our families, it runs into 2 appointments, I prefer this honestly, because we are all given time to speak,sure it costs, but I prefer not ‘moved on’ because of next person. I am73 and appreciate my doctors efforts.

[KSS]

But that is part of the problem Lynda, people just turning up ‘for a chat’. There are amenities and venues for this social service that are better equipped to deal with loneliness or whatever is causing GP appointments ‘for a chat’.

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