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Zagreb patients recount struggles reaching doctors: 'Phone rings for hours, email ignored'
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia /Health & Science

Zagreb patients recount struggles reaching doctors: 'Phone rings for hours, email ignored'

From Veฤernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Zagreb residents are frustrated with the difficulty of booking doctor's appointments via phone.
  • Many report that phone lines are constantly busy or unanswered for hours.
  • Some doctors' offices do not use email, and phone communication is unreliable, leading to patient dissatisfaction.

Zagreb residents are expressing significant frustration with the current system for booking appointments with doctors, particularly the unreliability of phone communication. Many describe a "lottery" when trying to reach a doctor's office, with phone lines often busy for hours or completely unanswered.

Why didn't you make an appointment?

โ€” Doctor's office staffA common response patients receive when seeking medical attention without a prior booking.

One resident shared on Reddit, "When I call the doctor, it's a lottery if someone will answer. I call 150 times during a whole shift and they don't answer, and if I show up without an appointment, they tell me: 'Why didn't you make an appointment?'" This user questioned why appointment booking is even an option if offices don't answer the phone, noting that email is also often ignored.

While some users acknowledged that doctors' offices might be overwhelmed, others shared experiences of seeing receptionists talking amongst themselves while phones rang unanswered. This has led to a general sentiment that the system is broken, with patients struggling to access basic medical consultations.

When I call the doctor, it's a lottery if someone will answer. I call 150 times during a whole shift and they don't answer, and if I show up without an appointment, they tell me: 'Why didn't you make an appointment?'

โ€” Zagreb residentA patient describes the extreme difficulty in reaching a doctor's office by phone.

However, not all experiences are negative. One woman reported successfully managing all her family's healthcare needs via email, only visiting the clinic when absolutely necessary. She praised her doctor's office for returning calls by the end of the shift if they couldn't answer immediately. Another perspective suggested that many calls are non-critical or repeat questions for which patients have already received instructions, thus overloading the system and making it difficult for those with genuine, urgent needs to get through.

Maybe someone could make an appointment if they actually answered, but no one does. And nobody looks at the email. So why don't they just cancel appointments? Better than this.

โ€” Zagreb residentExpressing frustration over the ineffectiveness of the appointment system.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Veฤernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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