70: Why Are GP's always Late?

Rosie (00:12)

curious if it's the same in the Netherlands.

Roula (00:13)

And no repeat

Rosie (00:14)

this question is around a pet peeve I have. I don't know if it's the same in the Netherlands. So if it's not, you'll just have to ask questions to clarify. Over here, when you book in to see the GP, you're given a specific time.

Maybe once in my life, I'm 33 years old, once in my life have I had a GP be on time or any kind of medical doctor, specialist. Why are they always late? Because it pisses me off if you are giving me a specific time, be on time. Don't waste my time. I have waited hours before. That's not okay.

Roula (01:05)

No, that's okay.

Rosie (01:07)

Thank you.

I didn't ask a question, did I?

Roula (01:11)

I'm 51 years old.

I am 51 years old and I have not been for once on time. Time of the appointment in the doctor office, GP office. Never. Makes me wonder what are they doing? Why do they make the appointment so wrong that we have to wait minimum 20 minutes?

Rosie (01:35)

And you know what I think it is? I think they're making too many appointments in the day and they just don't give a shit. And then everybody has to wait and there's never an apology.

Roula (01:43)

Why do you think they're making

so many appointments?

Rosie (01:47)

because healthcare has become a money-making exercise.

Roula (01:51)

Yes, we don't think of it as a business, but we are clients. They have to per day to earn this much money. So we have to have this money. Patients. They call us patients. We're patients waiting outside the fucking apartment in the waiting room. We're patients. And this is something that

Rosie (01:54)

But it is.

Yeah.

Mm.

Yeah.

Roula (02:19)

when I used to have a job and I needed to have an appointment at the doctor for my kids or for myself, and I say to work, you know, before COVID and I worked at the companies where you have to be there at nine. And if you're not there at nine, they would call you. Where are you? This is, I don't know how I accepted this. We cannot talk. Please add it in our notes. I want to talk about this.

Rosie (02:33)

Mmm.

Roula (02:40)

All right, so I try to have my appointment in the morning for my kids, for myself at the GP so that I still can get to work on time. And then I say to my boss, I might be 10 minutes late because I'm making an appointment like an hour and half before I have to go to work. I try to get it like the first thing in the morning. And then I go to the GP.

And I sit there and they're not showing up on time and no one is coming to explain why am I still here for 20 minutes? And if I go to the receptionist to say, my appointment has passed, what's happening? They would say, oh, I notified the GP. So yeah, you notified the GP. Okay, but who's going to notify me? When am I going to go inside?

Rosie (03:11)

Yes, yes.

Great.

And you know what I've done before to try and circumnavigate this is I'll call up and say, Hey, just wanted to check that Dr. So-and-so is running on time today. yep. Yep. Running on time. And are they? No, no, they are not.

Roula (03:47)

But you know what, Rosie, what we people do not... We have some kind of respect for the GP or like our life depends on their words, we accept this shit. But actually, we are paying them for their hour. It's not a free service. So we have the right to say, if you can't receive me at 8.30 as appointment, I have work, I have responsibilities that are being screwed up because of this.

Rosie (04:04)

Reddit?

Yes! Yes! It does!

Roula (04:15)

See now I'm getting passionate about this topic because it happens so much. If you

can't receive me on time, then give me another appointment where you will.

Rosie (04:25)

Don't waste my time.

Roula (04:27)

Don't waste my time. But we go with such respect to the GP and the GP behave like don't bother us. You know, we're above everything because we're going to look into your health. And I don't know about the GP's in Australia, but the GP here in the Netherlands, they're, I think they're the least

Rosie (04:34)

Yeah!

Roula (04:51)

open-minded on health and care. People that I've They just work by the book and they just don't, they don't understand cultures. They don't understand. Like I'm Lebanese. I'm born in Lebanon. Yes, I became Dutch. Then my everything in me is not Western European. I don't have these genes. Maybe I have, don't have it. I didn't.

Rosie (04:54)

Yeah. Yep. Yep. yeah.

Yes. Alright.

Roula (05:21)

take a DNA test. So yeah, so it's not like I'm only wasting my time. I'm wasting my time to get to the GP and come out without any helpful advice.

Rosie (05:24)

another topic.

Well, that's another frustration, isn't it? I feel I get subpar

healthcare. I really do. Whether it's the GP not listening, they're rushing you, they're providing care that when you do your own research is actually quite outdated and often sometimes even has been proven to not be effective or there's more effective options out there.

Roula (06:01)

they don't look at the more effective options. They look at the options. But you know why? Because they have contracts with insurances. They agree to use these medicines. It's very, it's not, how can I say? I don't know the right economical words for it. It is a business. The insurance are also a business.

Rosie (06:03)

Well, no they don't, but-

Uhhhh

Mmm. Mmm.

Roula (06:27)

And, but let's

go back to, to wasting our time at the GP. You know, I hope that every person have enough trust in themselves that they don't owe their time in the waiting room to the GP.

Rosie (06:30)

Yeah, okay. Yes, yes, yes. Back on track.

I dare you, Roula next time a GP or a doctor is late, I dare you to bring that up to them. Do think you could do that?

Roula (06:57)

that means

I can of course I can I'm not talking about this because I want to keep behaving the same way I want to bring a difference

Rosie (07:06)

Right,

Yeah. You know what? I'm feeling really uncomfortable picturing the situation where I say, confront the GP, because it is, you are confronting them and say, look, I booked my appointment for half an hour ago. Next time I book an appointment, make sure you're on time.

I don't know, that's probably not how I would say it.

Roula (07:31)

And don't remember next

Rosie (07:34)

Don't waste my time.

Fuck ya!

Roula (07:41)

All right, this is an important topic, the GP, and I really hope, dear listener, that you know, don't take bullshit from the GP. If your appointment is at eight and they don't receive you at eight, you have the right to complain. This is not okay.

Rosie (07:52)

Yeah!

Absolutely.

It's not okay. That's right. Advocate for that. You matter. Your time matters. Don't let people walk all over you.

Roula (08:04)

your time patterns.

And you know, at certain point you'll discover you know more than GP, so haha.

Rosie (08:11)

We better be careful, but I agree.

Roula (08:16)

All right, dear listeners, thank you, bye.