GP Surgery Reasonable Adjustments

Caval1er

Biblioklept said:

poppy123456 said:

 I’m sure some non disabled people also feel annoyed at waiting for something. 

woodbine said:

GP's will fit telephone consultations in between seeing patients face to face, there are many things in life we have to wait for and can't be covered by adjustments reasonable or not.

Feel a bit sad reading this thread, like Caval1er's actual mental health team recommended it, so it isn't a case of the usual "ugh I feel annoyed I have to wait in all day for a delivery", it's clearly having a significant detrimental impact on them. Try getting a mental health team to recommend anything concrete is next to impossible so this must be something they took quite seriously. 
Theme parks and other recreational things make the reasonable adjustment that people that struggle to queue don't have to wait - and not just for physical impairments. Why should an essential service not be able to do the same?? Especially at recommendation of someone's mental health team!!

poppy123456 said:

There’s no law that says reasonable adjustments have to made to allow them to give a shorter timeframe. 

Of course there's no specific law stating this, or any specific reasonable adjustment but the equality act does make it a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments where possible.

@Caval1er, sorry if I've missed this in your post but did the doctor's surgery put this in writing to you? Was it the practive manager that made the decision? And was your original request in writing?

I've struggled for a long long long time with inaccessibility of GP surgerys but finally made some headway. I get sent a 'morning' or 'afternoon' appointment (much better window than ALL DAY) and it's done by text message, they send me a message with a link to which I can reply with details or photos and they reply back. Obviously they can't do everything this way but it's helped me already get treatment for some things I otherwise couldn't!!!

Back when I used to have home visits for my appointments (going back years lol) they always saw me first (and on the rare occasion they couldn't they let me know and gave me an ETA. Because they knew the waiting would ultimately end in me just not responding or allowing them in because I'd get in such a bad state. 
They have a duty of care and if they can't accomodate your full request they should explain the reasons why AND lok at alternatives they can offer you.

Good luck and know you're not alone

Keep missing things - no didn't look at alternatives or explain anything wording was " unfortunately the way our clinics work we would not be able to provide a two hour window".

WhatThe

Top five tips for making a complaint to your GP practice
1 Make your complaint clear What happened? When did it happen? How has it affected you? 2 Decide what you would like to achieve How would you like things to be put right? Perhaps, you want an apology, a meeting to discuss the problem or for action to be taken to stop the same mistake from happening again. 3 Complain as soon as you can It’s best to complain as soon as possible while the events are still fresh in your mind. 4 Keep a note of anyone involved in your complaint Write down the names and positions of the people involved in, and dealing with your complaint. Make sure you keep copies of any emails or letters you get; you may need to refer to them in the future. 5 Ask for help If you need support on putting your complaint together, you can contact your local advocacy provider, visit www.local.gov.uk. Your local Healthwatch can provide support and information. To find your local Healthwatch visit www.healthwatch.co.uk

Hi again, this seems to be the official advice and The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does recommend making a complaint.
You haven't been discharged so the surgery must still be willing to treat you - I was once discharged without even being told! 

A new request for a morning or afternoon telephone appointment and/or a text message on the day is worth a try next. If it's another refusal, they should explain why then you can escalate your complaint to the commissioners through the NHS complaints procedure. The Patient's Charter tells us what to expect from all our NHS services. 

I'm glad you stayed on the forum. 

Caval1er

WhatThe said:

Top five tips for making a complaint to your GP practice
1 Make your complaint clear What happened? When did it happen? How has it affected you? 2 Decide what you would like to achieve How would you like things to be put right? Perhaps, you want an apology, a meeting to discuss the problem or for action to be taken to stop the same mistake from happening again. 3 Complain as soon as you can It’s best to complain as soon as possible while the events are still fresh in your mind. 4 Keep a note of anyone involved in your complaint Write down the names and positions of the people involved in, and dealing with your complaint. Make sure you keep copies of any emails or letters you get; you may need to refer to them in the future. 5 Ask for help If you need support on putting your complaint together, you can contact your local advocacy provider, visit www.local.gov.uk. Your local Healthwatch can provide support and information. To find your local Healthwatch visit www.healthwatch.co.uk

Hi again, this seems to be the official advice and The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does recommend making a complaint.
You haven't been discharged so the surgery must still be willing to treat you - I was once discharged without even being told! 

A new request for a morning or afternoon telephone appointment and/or a text message on the day is worth a try next. If it's another refusal, they should explain why then you can escalate your complaint to the commissioners through the NHS complaints procedure. The Patient's Charter tells us what to expect from all our NHS services. 

I'm glad you stayed on the forum. 

Biblioklept said:

poppy123456 said:

 I’m sure some non disabled people also feel annoyed at waiting for something. 

woodbine said:

GP's will fit telephone consultations in between seeing patients face to face, there are many things in life we have to wait for and can't be covered by adjustments reasonable or not.

Feel a bit sad reading this thread, like Caval1er's actual mental health team recommended it, so it isn't a case of the usual "ugh I feel annoyed I have to wait in all day for a delivery", it's clearly having a significant detrimental impact on them. Try getting a mental health team to recommend anything concrete is next to impossible so this must be something they took quite seriously. 
Theme parks and other recreational things make the reasonable adjustment that people that struggle to queue don't have to wait - and not just for physical impairments. Why should an essential service not be able to do the same?? Especially at recommendation of someone's mental health team!!

poppy123456 said:

There’s no law that says reasonable adjustments have to made to allow them to give a shorter timeframe. 

Of course there's no specific law stating this, or any specific reasonable adjustment but the equality act does make it a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments where possible.

@Caval1er, sorry if I've missed this in your post but did the doctor's surgery put this in writing to you? Was it the practive manager that made the decision? And was your original request in writing?

I've struggled for a long long long time with inaccessibility of GP surgerys but finally made some headway. I get sent a 'morning' or 'afternoon' appointment (much better window than ALL DAY) and it's done by text message, they send me a message with a link to which I can reply with details or photos and they reply back. Obviously they can't do everything this way but it's helped me already get treatment for some things I otherwise couldn't!!!

Back when I used to have home visits for my appointments (going back years lol) they always saw me first (and on the rare occasion they couldn't they let me know and gave me an ETA. Because they knew the waiting would ultimately end in me just not responding or allowing them in because I'd get in such a bad state. 
They have a duty of care and if they can't accomodate your full request they should explain the reasons why AND lok at alternatives they can offer you.

Good luck and know you're not alone

Sorry, yes they put it in writing to the mental health practitioner through the NHS APP so I was able to read it.

Caval1er

Sorry I can't work out how to reply to specific comments now. Everytine I click quote to reply to specific comment it lists multiple comments with no option to quote just the one and no option to insert my reply. I am therefore just replying to to the last comments from today. Thank you to the kind people who have offered advice o how to move forward with this I am very grateful. Just to say I logged a request this morning, it has to be logged online which suits me. After 4 hours the request hadnt appeared in the NHS app so called to check it had been received which it had. I requested if a doctor would call me back today, they said probably, but can't guarantee it. I waited until 10 minutes ago and called back again and was told hopefully the doctor would call me back. I have explained in writing how the waiting affects me but they haven't responded or offered any kind of solution such as a morning or afternoon call, theynhave advised they cannot offer that.
To those who have commented saying I should be more patient, it is not a question of being impatient. I EUPD and autism, I feel rejected and let down and desperate to the point of feeling suicidal. I ha e discovered today that a safeguarding concern was raised on the 15th of December and again on the 2nd of January, I contacted the safeguarding team at the council to understand the procedure and  they can't help but have told me the doctors should have contacted me by now, most definitely for concern raised on the 15th of December. I still haven't heard feo

WhatThe

No apologies needed. I can't highlight either.
You said:
The mental health team have requested the gp surgery to make the following reasonable adjustment, ' provide a 2 hour slot for a telephone appointment rather than the usual sometime today.


I'm suggesting that your mental health team makes another formal written request to the practice manager, this time asking for either a morning or afternoon slot explaining your reasons again. Ask if they can also text on the day to confirm that you'll get the callback and to notify you of any delay (mine does).

The surgery said they can't accommodate a two-hour slot for you. Provide them with the solution that would make this easier for you and ask them to state their reasons if they can't. Then you'll have good grounds for raising a complaint with the NHS/Commissioners - who pay for GP services - if they refuse to make these reasonable adjustments for you. 

It seems you can complain to either but not both (or not both at the same time) and try to improve services in your area. Perhaps the receptionists are under enormous strain and unhappy about conditions too but you have the right to be treated with courtesy and to receive medical treatment. Thankfully, you have a tremendous team supporting you with your mental health, as someone else said. 

Is your team able to liaise with the surgery and book advance appointments for you? 
If it's an urgent medical matter then make this clear and sit it out for a call while reasonable adjustments are being negotiated. 
I've never booked appointments through an app but I doubt it would process such a request without an agreement in place. 

I'm sorry this is so long and that you're feeling so bad. I hope I haven't misunderstood the steps you've already taken. You are absolutely not on your own here.