Are you fucking kidding me, health center?

[cimorene]

When I called the health center in late October and said "My last refill of ADHD medication came with a note that said 'book appointment with doctor for checkup'", they told me that there were no appointments available until December, and to call back at the beginning of November when the December appointment slots open up.

I called after lunch today, and the receptionist told me that all the slots had been filled already (even though the slots only opened for booking this morning - I checked their hours - at 8 am) so I would have to call back on November 17th when the next batch of appointment slots (for later in December I guess) opens up, "and preferably as early as possible in the morning!"

This isn't a functional system.

It might be the best way they can manage the resources they have, but it's clearly a health center that doesn't have enough doctors.

This is not an acceptable way to access a doctor's care in a public health system!!!!

(It's because conservative governments have had control in Finland and have been shoving through 'healthcare reforms' and insane cutbacks to all the social services over the last few years.)

An appointment with a private GP at the chain of private health centers with a branch in town has a base price of 100€, but it's 140€ for specialists and I suspect might be more for psychiatrists. (I haven't seriously considered going there, so I didn't check the specifics. Checking how the psychiatric medications are going for me is theoretically a more long-term monitoring anyway, not a one-time visit.)

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

YIKES

Hope you can get an appointment and also not run out of meds.

[cimorene]

I'm not in any danger of running out, but luckily, methylphenidate doesn't give you withdrawal anyway, it just makes it harder to get by without it (if you have anything you want to accomplish or focus on or use executive function for). Maybe a bit like not having reading glasses.

But the nurse did ask if I was close to running out, so I think that they wouldn't let me run out if I didn't want to - probably they would have a different doctor phone a short renewal to the pharmacy, which is what happens if you call them and say your anti-depressants ran out!

So not THAT bad, but it's still bad for it to be this much of a pain to access. I am not feeling too low to manage this higher threshold right now - it's just an annoyance to me - but I know there have been times when I was, and there are plenty of people with chronic illnesses or whatever for whom this would be even harder.

[vass]

I hate it so much.

[cimorene]

I'm so mad I could cry and that's when I do have the resources to get over the barrier!!

[laurenthemself]

That's very not a functional system. You deserve to have the option to take the medication, not just battle on without it.

[cimorene]

They checked that I was not going to run out of medication first! They will phone in emergency scrips rather than let someone run out of a psychiatric medication. In a pinch where required by law to do an exam first, they will give urgent care appointments or have one of the GPs doing urgent care call you and have a phone appointment first.

This is just a barrier to actually seeing and consulting a doctor in general, for everyone who needs one, that I think is unacceptably high.