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[Penguin]

Hi
After luckily not needing to see a GP since September,  I've just tries to call and make an appointment for my primary school aged son. It isn't urgent and I said that on the phone. However,  no bookable appointments whatsoever,  all they could offer me was a link to e-consult which I have to fill in and they will then decide if he needs an appointment and send me a date and time.  No negotiation around whether that time works or not, it's just take it or leave it. Is this standard practice now? I don't remember it being like this back in September. They did have e-consult then but you could still book appointments up to two weeks in advance.
Penguin x

[jaypo]

It's really terrible these day Penguin,with my surgery,you MUST call just on 8am,hang on at number 22 in the queue,then 20 minutes later ,speak to a receptionist,who will tell you if you have or have not got a call back,then you've to wait all morning (sometimes) for the dr to tell you if you need to come in,which will be in the afternoon,so,for one 10 minute appointment,you need to keep clear a whole day,I won't even risk a trip to Tesco in case the Dr rings when I'm in there,it seems covid has given Drs a great excuse to see as little people as possible 

[Penguin]

It's terrible isn't it. I don't want to call amd say its an emergency when it's not, but I'm hoping to start a new job soon and won't be able to disappear in the middle of the day to go to the GP. The woman was quite affronted when I asked if there was any flexibility re appointments.l, as though I should be grateful to get one at all. Our old system worked better.

[CLKD]

When I need an appt I go to the main Surgery and speak to the receptionist.  Get asked whether it's urgent/not, the latter usually takes about 2-3 weeks to see our GP. 

No surgery should neglect seeing a child!!!!!  Years++ ago I asked for a home visit as I was feeling quite ill/depressed, could hardly move: was told that because I 'had been seeng walking my dog' that morning, it obviously wasn't urgent  .    I can't remember what I did, probably went and sat in the waiting room until seen by aGP>

[Ayesha]

Where I lived before and now in our new area e-consult is the way to make appointments. Our old surgery would ring the following day with an appointment and if you didn't answer you were forgotten about. I've noticed in our new area you get a message back to say an appointment has been booked for you, no phone call. Its all done digitally now, which I much prefer.

[Katejo]

Hi
After luckily not needing to see a GP since September,  I've just tries to call and make an appointment for my primary school aged son. It isn't urgent and I said that on the phone. However,  no bookable appointments whatsoever,  all they could offer me was a link to e-consult which I have to fill in and they will then decide if he needs an appointment and send me a date and time.  No negotiation around whether that time works or not, it's just take it or leave it. Is this standard practice now? I don't remember it being like this back in September. They did have e-consult then but you could still book appointments up to two weeks in advance.
Penguin x

My practice uses Klinik Not Econsult but the rules are the same. If they do offer a phone call, you have to be available all day! If you miss it, you have to start over again. My practice hasn't had any online booking of appointments since before COVID 19 started.

[Penguin]

Hi
After luckily not needing to see a GP since September,  I've just tries to call and make an appointment for my primary school aged son. It isn't urgent and I said that on the phone. However,  no bookable appointments whatsoever,  all they could offer me was a link to e-consult which I have to fill in and they will then decide if he needs an appointment and send me a date and time.  No negotiation around whether that time works or not, it's just take it or leave it. Is this standard practice now? I don't remember it being like this back in September. They did have e-consult then but you could still book appointments up to two weeks in advance.
Penguin x

My practice uses Klinik Not Econsult but the rules are the same. If they do offer a phone call, you have to be available all day! If you miss it, you have to start over again. My practice hasn't had any online booking of appointments since before COVID 19 started.

I've never booked online but always been able to call and book a non urgent appointment within two weeks (their booking window). Might not be doctor I wanted but there would always be one you could get in with. They seem to have removed that option entirely now.

[Penguin]

Where I lived before and now in our new area e-consult is the way to make appointments. Our old surgery would ring the following day with an appointment and if you didn't answer you were forgotten about. I've noticed in our new area you get a message back to say an appointment has been booked for you, no phone call. Its all done digitally now, which I much prefer.

I'd prefer it too, if there was some choice of when you could go in. Just randomly allocating an appointment and hoping the person can drop everything and go doesnr really work. I wonder why our surgery has changed, I'll ask when we end up going in.

[CLKD]

I don't believe in all this booking on-line, it cuts out a whole section of the population and will include myself eventually.   . What happened to the human touch and privacy?  Going to desk means that I am often asked why I want to see the GP/Nurse Practitioner, well actually, it's nowt to do with any1 else!

I forgot my log-in details and the system won't allow me to book as this UP is already in use  . 

[jaypo]

The receptionist ALWAYS asks for a brief detail of your ailment,sometimes I'm VERY vague as I don't always feel comfortable telling them.

Katejo,that's what I object to the most,you get a phone consultation which means you have to hang on half the day,waiting for the call,it's appalling,what's wrong with giving a time and turning up for an appointment 

[sheila99]

And then they wonder why the waiting time in A&E is 15 hours. Most of them are neither A nor E but just can't get a gp appointment (or aren't entitled to one). We're lucky to have an OOH nurse,  I usually see her instead, it's the only way to be seen within reasonable timescales.

[DottyD68]

The whole process to even get to speak to a medical professional in our surgery is a complete shambles and an incredibly stressful experience every single time. I could write an essay on just my experiences this past couple of weeks but my typing finger would drop off. Ended up with me making a complaint. The practice manager seemed utterly shocked at how broken their system is.

Bring back old-fashioned appointments please. There is a huge health-bomb going to go off in the future of undiagnosed conditions that people have just given up on trying to just get an appointment.

[CLKD]

A Consultant was talking on Anglian News earlier regarding the building of a dedicated Childrens' Hospital close to the new Pathworth buildings.  He suggested that if children were seen and referred sooner they would be able to save more lives.  Well, I shouted at the TV, mayB getting a GP appt. might be the 1st step!

Husband rolled his eyes - again 

[VioletAquarius]

There seems to be many different ways gp surgeries are run, and I don't know of anyone who can be seen in a reasonable amount of time.

At my surgery, for a routine appointment it is a 4 week wait (it wasn't that long ago when it was 2 weeks).  If it's an urgent matter they do an urgent clinic in the morning and you have to ring at 8am when the lines open, BUT you're extremely lucky if you get one of those. 

When I've phoned bang on 8am the line is engaged, and when you finally get connected there's a queue, only to be told when you get to the front, and your call is answered, that all of the appointments for that day are gone, and to try again the next day, or go to the walk in centre.

There's just too many people for the amount of gps, and other medical professions.

[Penguin]

There seems to be many different ways gp surgeries are run, and I don't know of anyone who can be seen in a reasonable amount of time.

At my surgery, for a routine appointment it is a 4 week wait (it wasn't that long ago when it was 2 weeks).  If it's an urgent matter they do an urgent clinic in the morning and you have to ring at 8am when the lines open, BUT you're extremely lucky if you get one of those. 

When I've phoned bang on 8am the line is engaged, and when you finally get connected there's a queue, only to be told when you get to the front, and your call is answered, that all of the appointments for that day are gone, and to try again the next day, or go to the walk in centre.

There's just too many people for the amount of gps, and other medical professions.

Given what's happened to bookable appointments I fear that's what I'll experience if I do try and call at 8am. I won't on this occasion as it truly isn't urgent for my son, he's not sick he just needs an onward referral for something, but it'd worry me if I was ill as I have such bad anxiety I'd really struggle to go through that process and then have to wait for an appointment.