Boonie Bureaucracy
When we last went to the paediatrician, the receptionist told us that our referral was up.
Without a referral from a GP, our paed will not see the cherubs.
He can’t, it’s the rules, don’t you know.
So, this week we tried to get an appointment to see the only doctor that is harder to see than the paed.
Our G.P.
When David phoned, he was told that he was booked out until the end of the week and then he was going to be on three months leave.
David told the receptionist that our only need was a referral but it was no good.
There was nothing available with our GP.
Instead, we were made to make an appointment with a doctor who we have never met before and who doesn’t know anything aboutNoah or Ivy’s history.
Just for a sodden bit of paper that gives us permission to see the one guy in the whole outfit who does!
So we booked in for the first of August but were told that if we really wanted to we could ring each morning at 8:30am to see if there had been any cancellations.
I can’t tell you how jittery and frustrated that makes me feel.
On Wednesday I asked David to ring the paed’s receptionist and explain the situation, ask if she could kindly ring the medical centre and ask them for a continuation of referral. I know it can be done because the girls’ pead accepts this.
Her response was in the negative but suggested we ring and ask to speak to the doctor directly.
So, we tried because what is the point of getting a referral from a doctor who doesn’t even know why we need a paediatrician in the first place.
It was no good, we couldn’t get past any of the pitbulls receptionists. They simply would not give a referral without seeing the doctor (centre policy, you know) and they would not allow us to speak with the GP but as ‘luck’ would have it they had a cancellation.
We just had to be there at 3:30pm
It was 2:30pm and we were an hour and a half away (at the reptile park).
We made it by the skin of our teeth and when we arrived at the medical centre the GP was waiting for us.
He asked what we wanted and I told him it was only for new referrals for Ivy and for Noah.
He wrote a two sentence document and charged us $58 each for the priviledge.
As we were walking out the door he casually mentioned…”You know, you could have just called me and I would have written them and faxed them through to the paed, you didn’t have to come in just for that”.
(Insert large eye roll here).
Just another case of Boonie Bureaucracy!
Gawd, don’t you just love the way the system works. I have to get an appointment with the GP to get a referral to a new paed for my daughter. I rang this afternoon and we have the paed appointment at 3pm Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday next week. Amazing huh????? Apparently its because its the first week back at school.
Anyway we have to get a referral (of course) from a GP who knows nothing about why we are going to the Paed, because I have been doing everything so far through a private psychologist. Go figure………… I can’t.
Pleased you eventually got the referral though and now you can see the paed without a worry.
Oh good grief!!
How was the reptile park?
Ah yes… the good old ‘let’s make up rules that no one REALLY has to follow but we’ll make them do it anyway’ game.
Pricks.
I hope you told him that the GESTAPO agents that handle the phones would not allow you to talk to him. I HATE that.
what an absolute waste of time, energy and money!!
Oh Tiff,
I agree lets make up the rules as we go along.
Most of GP’s dmin staff are B%#chs but you get the odd ones that will go to the ends of the earth for you, very rare to find.
I hope all is sorted for you now and the bubbas as on the mend.
HUGS
Honestly Tiff, this is just like a scene from one of those stupid Chevy Chase movies.
At least you got your referral…. eventually..
Did he have to rub it in?
Fawlty Towers.
Tossers!
Hope you told the GP how much trouble you’d had trying to get the referral or even just speak to him.
Oh that is so frustrating! I’ve had to do that to get a referral to a mole-doctor and it’s so annoying when all it is is a piece of paper!
It’s the same here too… I had to get a referral from a GP to see my OB. I walked in said ‘I’m pregnant I want a referral to see x’ he printed out a pre-written letter, signed it and charged me $50. I have never seen him again.
Trying to get referrals for my girls MRIs was worse… the receptionist made me make a separate appointment for each child!!! So stupid because they were both at each other’s appointments anyway, and hello.. they are IDENTICAL twins.. if one has a genetic problem then so does the other one!!!
idiots the lot of them
I had no idea that referrals were needed. I always thought you just made appointments with the paed.
1. Why didn’t the paed’s receptionist tell you in advance that your referral time was almost up so that you could get the new referral in plenty of time?
2. As soon as the GP said you could have just called you should have marched straight back to his desk and told him of the problems you had getting past the receptionist. I would have made him call her in and explain that. Then I would have asked him to negate the bill, because you didn’t really need to get there and suffered undue stress doing so.
3. The system sucks.
4. How are Ivy and Noah doing?
((hugs))
I wonder, do they actually see how stupid they look? They mustn’t. Their heads MUST be too far up their arses.
Glad you got the referral. Sorry about the hoops.
And doesn’t shit like that just make your head want to explode!
(However, I’m sure we could have lots of fun filling water bombs with paint and lobbing them at the receptionists…)
I was going to comment that my GP just faxes over a new referral for me with no charge… and then I got to that sentence! Don’t you hate people, like receptionist’s who take their teeny bit of power and turn everything into a mountain!!!
It’s red tape over here….but it looks the same.
I think for $58 he could have then written a referral for the receptionists to see the human side of the issues.
Did you tell him that maybe he should inform his receptionists of that policy???
Its mad. We have the same silly converstation every 12 months. Why on earth can’t people with chronic illnesses just have ‘open’ referrals? I know it would never happen but its just a wasted Dr’s appointment. And given that we usually know more about the condition than the random GP we may see, why can’t we just write our own? Now that would make sense.
In the future I would explain to the receptionists that it would cost you $58 for each of the kids and that if they don’t mind, a paper referal would suffice. And I would throw in that the GP said so!!!
It is different here, the kids pedi is their primary and all referrals go through them. But one thing I can’t stand about our pedi is the fact that I have to tell the receptionist what is going on, then she tells me a nurse will call me back, but I have to tell the nurse everything I told the receptionist.
I hate people!
Uggghhh! I rolled my eyes so hard I seriously think I sprained something!! That is just outrageous, Tiff! Hang on a sec while I stomp around the room a bit… there. That’s a little better. Holy cow, what a headache! I think your Ped should have called up your GP (his colleague) and squared the matter for you himself — completely ridiculous and I’m so sorry, Tiff. Aren’t all these hoop jumps just the grandest entertainment to be had?