Waiting Room Waits

Medical appointments are becoming an increasingly frustrating part of our lives as a family. The thing is, the more people I talk to the more I hear are experiencing the same long waiting room waits. I recently had a fetal assessment appointment that i waited more than 45 minutes for. No available babysitter during the day meant my ‘almost two-year-old’ twins were with me and my husband who (like most husbands) is on a tight schedule with very little lee-way for waiting room waits. By the time we entered the specialists office the well planned activity bags were dismantled and strewn over the floor and hubby was seriously restless. Forty-five minutes is actually one of the shorter waits I’ve done, but I know of someone who’s done 5 hours… you’d expect at least a lucky draw at the end of that wait or ‘Bingo’ to keep you entertained. Or better still, 5% off the bill per 15 minutes waited!

I completely understand if there’s been an emergency and the clinician was called away- of course then i expect a phone call from the receptionist changing my appointment time. I recently booked the first clinic appointment of the day hoping this would mean I was seen by the nurse first… hey hey what do you know, a medical rep managed to sneak in before me and i still waited 30 minutes.

I know of one mom who calls the obstetricians rooms before the appointment to ask how far behind schedule they are and she then adjusts her own appointment time.

Any other suggestions?

Of course the other side of the coin is that if you’re using State services you would often have to take a whole day off work and wait at least 5 hours and possibly get into the queue at 5 or 6 am!

 

 

 

 

 

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