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Being unable to access my GP for follow up of radiology resu...

Posted By Ginge

"Being unable to access my GP for follow up of radiology results, despite being in excruciating pain."

About: Swan Hill District Hospital / Medical - DMS Swan Hill District Hospital / Radiology

(as the patient),

Had to wait 5 weeks for radiology appointment and despite increasing pain and other symptoms, reception said there were no appointments for face to face or phone consultations for 6 weeks. I begged but was told to ring each day at 0800 hrs. After 3 days I presented to the clinic and explained the situation again and said I would wait as long as necessary to see my GP.

There is no point in having a GP if you can not see them. Presenting to the A&E department is not ideal as it clogs up their beds and detracts staff. However I would appreciate your advice as to how I can access my GP when needed. I have just been released from St Vincent's hospital and still can't see my GP. In my opinion, the entire system is a failure and snappy reception staff do not help. Love living in the country. 

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Responses

Response from Samantha Hellsten, Manager, Primary Health Medical Centre, Swan Hill District Health 2 weeks ago
Samantha Hellsten
Manager, Primary Health Medical Centre,
Swan Hill District Health

Submitted on 29/04/2025 at 12:43 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 2:39 PM

picture of Samantha Hellsten

Dear Ginge,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you encountered accessing timely follow-up care, especially while you were experiencing significant pain.

We understand how important it is for patients to be able to access their GP when clinically necessary. Your feedback highlights an issue we are actively working on, ensuring that appointments remain available for patients who urgently need them, rather than being fully booked well in advance for non-urgent reasons. We are reviewing our appointment scheduling processes with this in mind, and we appreciate you raising this concern.

We are also looking at ways to improve communication with patients who are trying to access urgent care, so that situations like yours can be escalated more effectively and avoid unnecessary ED presentations as you have mentioned.

If you would like to get in contact I can try and assist you with an appointment, please don't hesitate to contact myself, the Practice Manager on Shellsten@shdh.org.au

Thank you again for your feedback, it is essential to helping us improve our service to the community.

Kind regards,

Samantha Hellsten

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