I did my time.

After spending what seemed an eternity, patiently waiting to see a doctor, in a seedy disease ridden, noisy, child-filled, chamber of death also known as The Waiting Room, i have decided to write a senseless wank questioning WHY we, the general public, must sit rotting in these treacherous torture chambers.

Sitting there it seemed as though everyone was put there to annoy the shit out of me, doctors speaking "english" i couldnt understand, children loudly playing with toys dressed as B-rate superheroes, Middle aged single mums talking on their mobiles 20 decibels above everything and some pinwanker who thinks it's a good time and place to go through all his monotone ringtones on his phone. (Maybe i should write another moaning about mobile phones and why they are the bane of my exsistence). ALL along the hallway were closed doctors doors, they could have been in there having it off with their best mates wives for all we knew. To me it seemed simple, either get more doctors OR dont book appointments for so many cunts. So i did a bit of reading and found a doctors perspective:

"The biggest complaint that most people have is the never-ending wait in the waiting room. What exactly is going on behind those closed doors? It's an aggravating situation that is exacerbated by the demands of a bottom-line (many practices run on productivity and have to double-book to account for no-shows) and also the (sometimes unrealistic) expectations of patients themselves. It's not uncommon for a patient to want a full hour of attention when only fifteen minutes is scheduled for an appointment. Do the math, and you'll see why doctors run so far behind. Good doctors will always try to address all your issues, but sometimes it's to the detriment of a short wait." ~http://storkdoc.blogspot.com/

This, in fact, answered most of my queries to do with this subject, if this is the case with most doctors surgeries then most doctors, being an intelligent lifeform, are far more obtuse than i thought. The idea of having to double-book just for the simple fact that someone MIGHT or MIGHT NOT show up is absurd. Fair enough, people are selfish and want a longer session than needed but that is their prerogative is it not? If they do finish before their pre-determined timeslot ends then the doctor is entitled to have that time to themselves or service the poor unfortunate next in line. I do agree whole-heartedly that its not only the doctors at fault for waiting room blunders. I fear that there is an epidemic of paranoid fearful hypochondriacs that flood almost all doctors nightmares, and surgeries complaining of symptoms they dont have and using more time than nessicary. I will give you an example as quoted from the same blog as before-mentioned.

"Many patients "save up" their health concerns for a once-a-year visit. One of my best friends, who is an internist, regularly has patients who "kitchen sink" her. An example would be when a patient arrives for a half-hour annual exam appointment, and then comes in with a list of complaints that include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic headaches, diabetes, sciatica, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, allergies, bacterial vaginosis, chest pain, depression and edema."

This is where i feel it is up to the person making appointments at the surgery to identify problematic hypochondriacs and appoint them longer timeslots. This of course would lower case loads but would make GP's a more effective service. And by the time my body falls to peices all black and brown i expect you to have corrected this hopelessness.

and all you scruffy twats that cannot sit still quietly for an hour .....FUCK YOU

M

Special thanks to http://storkdoc.blogspot.com/