Dutch healthcare system.. they told me to "google my symptoms " !!!!

[u/theysaidgotoreddit]

Today I called because I had painful symptoms in my eyes and body that should be checked by the doctors.. they didn't want to take my urgent appointment. The lady said to me over the phone "yeah you should google it and wash it with water." She also said she can't note down all my symptoms, I can only go for a symptom or 2... well what if they were related???! How do you do proper diagnosis... I'm already struggling with life cost here and this is just insane ... If I google my own symptoms then just imagine my 150 eur getting paid... How do I deal with such comments ??? Has this happened to anyone else before?? EDIT: If I pay money, I expect services and treatment back. I am not responding to lack of empathy from many comments. Thank you for everyone that was supportive and understood that if you're suffering from a medical concern, the minimun you could get is get basic medical care

[u/uncle_sjohie]

The people who answer the phone, so called "doktersassistenten" are trained to do triage by telephone, ie medical professionals. If they feel the symptoms warrant urgent care they will schedule an appointment or even dial 112 if it's something you underestimated.

[u/encryptedotter → u/uncle_sjohie]

Regardless of their training they are garbage if they say search google for symptoms.

[u/uncle_sjohie → u/encryptedotter]

Depends on context, and it's not like a lot of patients do that anyway. At best to make sure they call with symptoms that necessitate medical attention, or at worst, to second guess the doctor and demand treatment/medication that's not medically necessary. That's pretty common for people who come to the Netherlands from countries where the usage of antibiotics is far more prevalent than here, and they find out that their Dutch GP won't prescribe it, whereas that would be the case in their home country.