Yearly physicals and dentist

Now the Mom superpowers are coming out!  My MIL has the bottomless purse, including crackers from a flight in 1992.

I basically carry a very expensive bin with me (my handbag).  My husband is amazed at what’s in there.  But then he’s grateful for scissors and measuring tapes when needed!

My wife doesn't carry a purse at all.  I don't think she even owns one except for a dress up one I gave her.  She does frequently carry a backpack.

I have to buy smaller purses than I like because otherwise they end up with a lot of crap in them.  I buy ones that can fit a paperback but not a hardback book.  Currently my purse has every lipstick I own and about two dozen loose tic tacs floating around in the bottom of it.

I found the NHS more hands off until required than my US doctors, but not in a bad way.  A lot of it will depend on area.  I live in London.

No yearly physical.  I am invited for a women's health check every 3 years.  If I don't make the appointment I normally get a follow up letter.  The health check is with the nurse and is a fairly quick heart rate, blood pressure, any problems?, what do you eat, how much do you drink, and pap smear.  The results are mailed within a couple weeks, but I'm told I'd receive a phone call before then if something was wrong. 

The sexual health clinic is a weird one for me.  They deal with my birth control, not my GP, so I see them more frequently.  I have mixed feelings about it, mostly because the clinic is seemingly aimed at younger patients and they like to do drops-in on a first come, first served basis.  I insist on appointments.  The sexual health clinic is also much further away which is very annoying.  The doctors there are wonderful, I can't complain about them.

I did once find a lump in my breast.  The NHS moves quickly!  I was whisked straight for 2 hospital appointments even though I was in my early 30s with no family history of problems.  I don't remember all the details, but the referrals were immediate and I'm sure I was at the hospital in less than 48 hours after casually mentioning the lump.  It was deemed to be nothing, but I still had a follow up appointment and a 1 to 1 with a doctor who went through how to check, what to expect, and what the lump was (it was some type of hormonal bump for me).  The doctors were wonderful and while I felt guilty in wasting their time they were very through and my mistake wasn't a problem to them at all.  I wouldn't hesitate to report another potential issue, even if it turned out to be a non-issue.

My NHS dentist doesn't remind me to have check-ups like my dentist in the US did.  I find that difficult.  I can make appointments however frequently I want though and I like my dentist.  I disliked my previous 2 dentists.  I go about once a year.  I get the teeth check, gum check, questions about what I eat and drink, and if there's any pain.  He does clean my teeth every time which is part of the reason I haven't changed dentists even though I now live an hour away.  I'm offered x-rays every 2 years, though I normally manage to put them off until every 3 years.

That's my experience with the NHS, when they start getting concerned and in a hurry, you are in serious trouble!

When I pay for my check up at the dentist they usually offer to book me an appointment in 6 months and e-mail or text a reminder the week before.

Dentist this morning. Always a marvel with the NHS dentistry. Love it.  Check-up, quick teeth scaling from dentist and a couple of X-Rays for the princely sum of £4.88.  Happy days.

Had a good giggle though, as this is a small place. There is a bit of a turnover in NHS dentists at the place I go to. It's not the place itself, just that most of them are young and go on to other things.  Didn't know who I'd see today and hehe, fellow trombone player, who's come along to brass band a few times. He'd be along more, but the new job has him working late on band nights.  So we chatted the whole time. 

I finally got brave enough to let the nurse at the GP know I am due for a pap smear..she said to leave it with her she would make sure to do what she needs to get this setup.  Its been 3 weeks and I haven't heard anything.  Is this normal? What are they checking? She said the nurses do the exam so it's not like I am waiting for a gyno 🤔 not concerned because not wanting to do the exam anyhow, but my husband keeps saying I can't bug him about seeing the Dr when I am being a baby about my own visits 😒

I finally got brave enough to let the nurse at the GP know I am due for a pap smear..she said to leave it with her she would make sure to do what she needs to get this setup.  Its been 3 weeks and I haven't heard anything.  Is this normal? What are they checking? She said the nurses do the exam so it's not like I am waiting for a gyno 🤔 not concerned because not wanting to do the exam anyhow, but my husband keeps saying I can't bug him about seeing the Dr when I am being a baby about my own visits 😒

Unfortunately this would be normal where we live based on our 18 months experience back here.  It may be just slow, but it may also be because the request to schedule has been lost in the system, even within the gp’s own surgery. I would make an inquiry into when your appointment will be.

My wife and I have both had to chase specialist appointments that were promised to us, and we have also received an appointment date and time letter AFTER the date of the appointment and had to call to reschedule. In these days of phone, email and text messages it amazes me that they rely solely on appointment letters, and when you do turn up for your appointment there are notices saying how much missed appointments cost the NHS.

I finally got brave enough to let the nurse at the GP know I am due for a pap smear..she said to leave it with her she would make sure to do what she needs to get this setup.  Its been 3 weeks and I haven't heard anything.  Is this normal? What are they checking? She said the nurses do the exam so it's not like I am waiting for a gyno 🤔 not concerned because not wanting to do the exam anyhow, but my husband keeps saying I can't bug him about seeing the Dr when I am being a baby about my own visits 😒

I would just give the office a call and ask reception.

Get it done and overwith.  It's only a few minutes.  Imagine the alternative of an undiagnosed problem.  You can do it!

My wife and I have both had to chase specialist appointments that were promised to us, and we have also received an appointment date and time letter AFTER the date of the appointment and had to call to reschedule. In these days of phone, email and text messages it amazes me that they rely solely on appointment letters, and when you do turn up for your appointment there are notices saying how much missed appointments cost the NHS.

I hate how you will often just get booked in for an appointment for specialist , with a set date and time, instead of you getting you to choose.
My BIL's partner works for the NHS,  booking general surgery appointments. She says you usually have a week or so to respond to a letter for an appointment. If you don't respond, you get put to the back of the queue to start again with your GP. (Though, it is the surgeon's discretion) So, if you've been waiting 18 weeks and you happen to be on holiday the one week your letter comes in, you're screwed and have to start again.

I hate how you will often just get booked in for an appointment for specialist , with a set date and time, instead of you getting you to choose.
My BIL's partner works for the NHS,  booking general surgery appointments. She says you usually have a week or so to respond to a letter for an appointment. If you don't respond, you get put to the back of the queue to start again with your GP. (Though, it is the surgeon's discretion) So, if you've been waiting 18 weeks and you happen to be on holiday the one week your letter comes in, you're screwed and have to start again.

It is indeed frustrating and I don’t understand the reluctance or the inability for the NHS to embrace the electronic communication age. At my GP surgery I am signed up to the internet and also to text alerts, so I get a reminder when an appointment is due plus I can go online and review all my visit diagnoses including blood test results. 10 miles away at the hospital they still seem to be in the dark ages and it is there that we have the appointments issues of getting letters with the appointment dates and times sometimes on the actual day or after the fact.

I hate how you will often just get booked in for an appointment for specialist , with a set date and time, instead of you getting you to choose.

If you want to do that then you take out private insurance. Many self employed take out private insurance for this reason and to avoid long queues and some firms give private insurance to their employers too for the same reason.

My BIL's partner works for the NHS,  booking general surgery appointments. She says you usually have a week or so to respond to a letter for an appointment. If you don't respond, you get put to the back of the queue to start again with your GP. (Though, it is the surgeon's discretion) So, if you've been waiting 18 weeks and you happen to be on holiday the one week your letter comes in, you're screwed and have to start again.

Some people just don't bother to turn up or don't give enough time to let somebody else have that slot. They aren't going to get billed for that doing that (unless they are a private patient) so this system had to come in for the NHS funded patients, to allow another to have that slot.

To keep costs down, the NHS needs to make sure that every appointment is used as the staff are there and being paid. Don't forget that the NHS is based on everybody paying all their working taxes to the UK. If you just look at numbers, the NHS costs per year works out to just over 1.5k per year, for every child and adult in the UK.


Whereas a dentist can fine those who miss an appointment or take them off their NHS books. Those who do this then have to pay privately, or they can move to another NHS dentist if they have a space on their NHS book.

If you want to do that then you take out private insurance. Many self employed take out private insurance for this reason and to avoid long queues and some firms give private insurance to their employers too for the same reason.

Pre-existing chronic condition, which is why I need to see the specialist in the first place.
Plus no private hospitals or pretty much any private doctor near here. We're offered 'BUPA' as a work benefit, but no one takes it out because there is nowhere to use it around here.

Some people just don't bother to turn up or don't give enough time to let somebody else have that slot. They aren't going to get billed for that doing that (unless they are a private patient) so this system had to come in for the NHS funded patients, to allow another to have that slot.

To keep costs down, the NHS needs to make sure that every appointment is used as the staff are there and being paid. Don't forget that the NHS is based on everybody paying all their working taxes to the UK. If you just look at numbers, the NHS costs per year works out to just over 1.5k per year, for every child and adult in the UK.

   

Oh ,that makes sense then. But on the other hand, you're not going to show up at all if the date/time is chosen for you and you can't make it (for whatever reason). 

Oh ,that makes sense then. But on the other hand, you're not going to show up at all if the date/time is chosen for you and you can't make it (for whatever reason).

Most will make sure they attend their appointment and employers are quite obliging over this. 

If the patient has something arranged in their personal life and they don't want to change their plans so that they can attend their appointment, then they put that appointment back for another person in the queue to use, by phoning to cancel. Some people would put themselves on a late cancellation list, as they will attend with little notice and will jump at the appointment if the patient phoning to cancel their appointment was late doing this.


Having decided to cancel their appointment, the patient then waits back in the queue again for another appointment. Or they can pay out of pocket for a quicker appointment and of their choice.

The problem was that in recent years, some people can't be bothered to cancel their NHS funded appointment and instead just failed to turn up. This meant another patient was denied that appointment; the waiting lists then get longer; NHS cost rise as staff were there and waiting for that person who couldn't be bothered to cancel. This is why the system had to change.

It's bizarre that in these days of mobile phones, that some people can't be bothered to phone to cancel. Yet in the days of pre mobiles and with not many people having a phone in the house and having to use a public phone box and take lots of coins, people did phone to cancel their appointment to help the NHS and other people.