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Friday 18 October 2019

Telephone Triage

Cloudy today, with a little bit of sunshine, a little bit of wind, and no rain.  Temperatures are warm and we are expected to reach 18 degrees today (that is Celsius, I think it is about 65 Fahrenheit).  The washing is drying but I am keeping a close eye on the weather as it is meant to come in wet again before this evening.

I don’t drink coffee myself (although I adore coffee cake), but I thought this sign was rather good.  I photographed it last year when visiting my daughter in Arizona.

Calling all coffee lovers

I received an email from my doctor this morning informing me he will be away for a couple of weeks.  No problems, as there will be a reliever on duty should I need a doctor.  I also received the spring newsletter from the medical practice he belongs to.  From the end of this month they will be introducing a new system of Telephone Triage.

This may be common practice in some places, but I have personally not come across it before.  Usually we have to wait 2-3 weeks for a doctor’s appointment, but this way, if something requires urgent attention, one can have a phone appointment with one of the doctors (there are about fifteen doctors at this practice) who will then decide if you need to come in and be seen, or whether you can simply be given medical advice, a prescription, or a medical certificate for work.

It sounds like a great idea to me.  The doctors, and the nursing staff, are run off their feet with patients, and something needs to be done to address the problem.  I seldom go to a doctor unless absolutely necessary, and then it is usually in an emergency situation and I end up seeing a different doctor to my own.  We can re-order prescriptions online, so no need to see a doctor then.  An added bonus of this telephone consultation is that it will be free (it will not be in-depth), although scripts etc. will still need to be paid for.

A beautiful cherry blossom tree

I sometimes think progress can be a good thing.  If nothing else, change keeps you mentally young as it exercises the good old grey matter.

Cheers,
Margaret





3 comments:

  1. It is so hard to get a doctor's appointment here too. It is easy just to give up if it nothing too pressing which is why I think so many people end up in A&E. I love the photo of the cherry blossom. Enjoy your spring. xx

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  2. I'm you opposite with coffe, love the drink but can't stand coffee cake, biscuits and sweets. We have the same issues here when trying to see a doctor.

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  3. Love the photos. The coffee sign is perfect.

    I think your new system with the doctor has merit. It should be considered here to ease some of the wait times. Will you write about it again if you have experience with it.

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