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Sigh. Just spent an hour past my appointment in the GPs waiting room. Why do they always run so late? Surely they should leave some buffer time or make appointments longer? So annoying. Seriously I would be happier to drive further to a clinic that can manage their bookings rather than sit endlessly at one that can’t. But they all seem the same.
It's a symptom of the system as a whole not working well enough, not necessarily the clinic.
People don't book long enough appointments due to cost because the rebate is too low, doctors need more than 15 minutes to properly document visits or fill out paperwork, good GPs will be proactive with things the patient didn't come in for, people show up late, emergencies come up, etc. etc.
My GP charges the same gap fee no matter the length of the consultation, so I usually always book a double to hopefully at least give them a few minutes of their time back.
My GP doesn't even allow you to book double length appointments online. You're limited to 10 minutes unless you call them up, which is a minimum 20 minute hold time somehow, usually closer to 30/40 mins
I try not to judge when he runs late, because he's a good egg, and having been that person who really needed a double length consult, I'm damn glad he didn't just kick me out half way through
They're also fucking expensive and waste their money on fancy artwork on the walls 🙄
I don't have to worry about costs RN because they entirely bulk bill under 18s, and once they don't, I have a little bit of funding to cover medical bills. But once it's on my own dime I'm gonna switch quicksmart. The trouble is, decent GPs very rarely work in those lower cost clinics which sucks
Mine have recently started charging more based on how long the consult actually takes, on a sliding scale. Which makes sense, and I love how thorough my GP is, but it gets a bit exxy.
Why do they always run so late
It's a cascade. One appt. goes over, the next does and so on. They pack 'em in tight.