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[SueRoe]

I'm quite shocked by the trouble some ladies are reporting in getting to see a GP. Do they have to wait several days or even weeks because they want a pre-bookable appointment with a specific GP, or do they have to wait that long to see any GP at all? If it's the latter that's really bad. In my naivety I thought all surgeries offered what ours does, ie you phone at 8am to be seen that day. You can't always get the GP you want but if you're prompt you often can, - and they'll always see you if you're too ill to wait until the next day after they've spoken to you on the phone. What is it that makes such a huge difference in service between one surgery and another. Is it regional? Or to do with practice management?

[Dyan]

Don't know Freda.
I haven't seen my own GP for years. It would be several weeks before I got an appointment with him.
I rang for an appointment the other day and was told there wasn't anything available with any Dr or nurse for 4 weeks.
We can ring at 8am to be seen that day but you don't know who you are going to see.

[oldsheep]

My GP surgery has 2 trainees and 1 proper GP (2 that no-one really wants to see from E. Europe etc, not being prejudiced but they just aren't clinically good doctors) so it's really hard to get an appointment with the main man as he's only there 3x a week and then not all day. If you phone at 8am (you'll get through by 8.20 if you're lucky) and it's an emergency, they try to fit you in with the duty doctor. When there are no trainees on the 9 month internship, you often can't get the 8am appointments either.
OH is at a different surgery where he once waited a month to see the GP he wanted to see. (the GP was worth the wait -he's great).
This is London. None of the good ones work more than a few days per week.
My neighbour has a senior GP friend who earns 100k a year for a 2 day week!

[Ju Ju]

The GP who I need to see only works 3 days a week, so I have to wait 2 weeks for an appointment. She's lovely, so I suspect others prefer to see her. If I needed to see a doctor urgently, I have always been able to get an appointment the same day, but you can't choose who you see.

[toffeecushion]

If we ask to see a doctor on the same day a doctor will phone you back within 2 hours to see if you need to see one.  How they can tell if an ear ache or sore throat is serious over the phone is beyond me.  Other than that you can wait about 2 weeks to see a doctor.

[Annie0710]

If I ring at 8.30am when the lines open I have to say what's wrong with me, if it's not urgent they'll offer a gp phone call

I've been waiting 2 weeks now for a phone call, he's been sent 2 internal messages from secretaries prompting him to call me to give advice


Annie

[bramble]

I have just had a 3 week wait to see my own doctor. If I wanted one sooner then I just take pot luck. If it is an emergency then I phone at 8am and get who is on that day. It does not make for continual care.
Bramble

[CLKD]

We are between a rock and a hard place.  Our village Surgery is a satellite building so the GPs aren't here every day but there is always a pharmacy open and the Practice Nurses are here most days.  So we may get an appt. in the town 4 miles away on the day  but are told we have to wait to see a GP in the village. 

It is because Trainees are no longer signing up to be GPs and we are currently facing a shortage which will get worse because GPs who qualified in 'my day' (1970s/80s) are planning retirement.  So this situation will get worse.  It's no good the Government of the day/tomorrow saying they are going to pump in another £B because it takes 5 years to train and there will be a problem because unless Practice situations improve, Doctors won't go into Surgeries.

However, when I was very ill I would sit in the Waiting Room where I felt safe and my GP always let me pop in for reassurance.  When I have problems getting an appt. I ask for a house call - that usually works 

[honeybun]

We are lucky I think. Our two town GP practices merged in a new medical center. There are a couple who I would rather not see but if it's an emergency then they are ok. We have a pretty even mix of male and female.
Call at 8:30 for an on the day appointment and max a week for the GP of choice. Home visits are still done.
I have had a couple of occasions when I needed a GP immediately and got one. When my hubby was very very ill....and denying it....I got a GP to the house in 10 mins...he had diabetes.

Also I had a very bad burn on my neck and got a nurses appointement every day for a week to change my dressings. She even taught hubby how to look after my burn.

I have had lessons at my surgery in how to do emergency injections for my hubby.

Basically they are great.

I don't live in a city though....our surgery is about four miles away.


Honeybun
X

[Joyce]

My surgery is local, 5 minute walk. Can't remember last time I saw my own GP. He is only there part time as he teaches at the hospital too. There are 4 female GPs, half are part time & 2 male GPs who are full time.

Appointments are hard to come by. There are a few on the day ones available from 8am, otherwise it's a 2/3 week wait.

[CLKD]

Ringing at 8.00 doesn't work. The Staff wont' answer the phone before and by 8.00 a.m. the lines are busy.  Quicker to walk down and ask 

[oldsheep]

getting a sense here of why A&E is so busy everywhere.

[Joyce]

Our receptionists ignore patients at desk. They all have their chairs/desks facing away from desk. So we end up having to knock on their window. Quite rude really. I've heard they are like that amongst themselves too. Only one is pleasant.  Spoke to friend & at her surgery it's even worse, reception staff have their own big office & can only see desk through an open door.  I walked down once & complained about them not answering their phones after lunch & got abrupt reply that they'd had a meeting & forgotten to turn system back on. Not good enough!

[Taz2]

My surgery has just changed back to the triage system where if you want to see a doc that day they phone you back, discuss your symptoms and then, if a consultation is considered necessary, you are given a time to arrive to see the duty doctor. It's a "sit and wait" system so can take a while. My doc I prefer to see works two days a week in the NHS and the other days at a private women's health clinic. She is usually booked up around two weeks in advance.

The downside with the triage system is that if you are at work you don't always want to go into medical details on the phone in front of colleagues.

Sparkle - you are so right. I saw the duty doctor this week and the missed appointments last month were 374.

Taz x

[Joyce]

Last time I went missed appointments were over 100. Sorry state of affairs. Recently one guy got so fed up waiting he walked out. If he'd only asked he'd have found out he was next, in fact his name was called 5 minutes later.