GP Appointments

Oh bless you. I feel you. Sinus infections are wicked and really do need to be seen to.

My GP surgery is just the same. Can't get any appointments, not even when pregnant, and they don't offer online consultations. You can't even walk in and get an appointment. I would change mine, if they weren't rated the best in the area, despite their poor service. It is truly shocking.

Unfortunately I have no advice, other than what has already been suggested, but you have my deepest sympathies. Good luck getting sorted, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Pleaseeeeee don't fly like this! It could cause serious issue. Go private if you have to but do not under any circumstances fly in this condition

One of my friends has this sort of thing near them too. Cheaper than this I think (I'm sure she said it was less than £50) but her whole family goes to a private GP now because of all the issues already mentioned on the thread.

I wish I had one near me tbh because given the amount of time I end up trying to get a rushed appointment at whatever time they can fit my DCs, I'd much rather pay £50, avoid the 8am rush for appointments, and go at a time that's convenient for me.

I have the same problem as the op; haven’t been able to see a GP since pre Covid. Last time DH had a concern he tried for three months to get an appointment and in the end paid to go private.
It’s all very well saying change your GP but the next nearest one is seven miles away and they won’t take on any new patients out of their ‘catchment’ area.

All appointment requests are triaged by a nurse.

I never have a problem getting an appointment

It’s awful. I had severe hip pain that was getting worse and worse very quickly to the point I had to use a stick, and nobody would see me. The receptionist said I had to see physio not the GP. The physio said it had to be a phone appointment 🤦🏻‍♀️ He told me I’d have to have another phone session then 2-3 months of physio before any health professional would see me, I wouldn’t even get an X-ray. Eventually when the pain actually had me in tears, DH emailed our local councillor and explained what was going on, she got in touch with someone high up in the NHS locally and by the end of that day I had an appointment with a GP who sent me for X-rays. The diagnosis - end stage osteoarthritis and needing both hips to be replaced asap.

Not sure what the equivalent will be where you live but in London I often go to a private GP group called Doctap. It costs about £60 for an appointment which you can generally get the same day. They can prescribe etc just like a regular NHS GP and also can, with your permission, share your records with your GP, so everything stays joined up. Unfortunately I've never been able to get an appointment with my NHS GP so I basically just used this service now. I think it's worth the money, especially with a trip coming up.

That is bad. Ours is online, starting at 8am. But I can always get an appointment if I go on straight away. By 9am, 1 hour, it's full to capacity. Reading others on mn threads, others have it much worse than me, so ours seems quite good.

No. There isn't 111 here. Ring your local OOH as soon as GPs close. Hopefully they can sort it.

Call 111, I got antibiotics after a telephone assessment which they sent electronically to the local pharmacy so worth a try

For something like sinuses, I would head straight to the pharmacy.

Our surgery also had etriage.

My other suggestion would be is if you have life insurance- lots of the companies offer same day Gp video consulting for free through the insurance....

My surgery now has "total triage". Everyone goes through econsult, is triaged by a doctor, and put on various pathways. It works really well. If you need to be seen, you are, if you can have a call they set a half hour window for you, and apologises if late, if you can been seen by a nurse or physio, you are allocated there.

The simple answer is there is a significant shortage of GP’s- demand for appointments far, far outstrips supply in many surgeries. There are other complex reasons than just the shortage of gp’s but whilst there has been a decline in gp numbers there have been other factors at play making workload difficult. One significant factor is an increasingly elderly population who are not only living longer but most do so with multiple chronic health conditions and so require a lot of input. The significant waiting times in secondary care have also led to increase in demand for gp appointments -e.g. patients condition requires monitoring or treatment isn’t working or their condition is deteriorating. Or because patients are frustrated and want to complain to someone or want their gp to expedite their appointment. Pressure on beds means patients are often discharged before they would have previously and community care are having to visit these patients more often to monitor- in some areas the re-admission rates are reflecting that. To that you can add the genuine need for routine gp service for illness and chronic disease management etc. add on to that the increasing issues with mental health in patients of all ages. And then add onto that the significant increase in worried well (including parents re their children) which is noticeably worse since the pandemic.

Some surgeries are not helping themselves by setting up inefficient systems for managing appointments. Some surgeries will not be well run and yes, before anyone says it, there are certainly some gp’s who are lazy/don’t see as many patients as they could. In some surgeries, however, they are doing their best but are essentially fire fighting as their resources don’t even come close to managing demand. I’m a hospital dr but I have friends who are gp’s and there really are significant problems within primary care which are nothing to do with lazy gp’s- however much the media and some politicians would like you to believe it.

My GP surgery doesn't accept this. We had a 111 dr say on a Sunday afternoon that my 18 month old needed to be seen within 24 hours and they sent a note to the GP surgery. The receptionist wouldn't give any kind of appointment, phone or face to face.

But I do tend to use 111, as it's the only place I can speak to a dr. I wait until the surgery closes so they don't send me back there, and then call. I just hope they don't tell me to see my GP in the morning, and are able to resolve it over the phone.

I agree with the posters that suggest changing your G.P.

I think mine is really good. Phone almost always picked up by a human within 3 rings (even on a Monday morning).

eConsult submissions get a response from the G.P. or nurse within 24 hours. Same-day appointments are always available.

I have relatives at a different surgery in the same town - they do nothing but complain about the awful service, but won't consider changing!

We don't bother. If we're ever sick enough to need a doctor on that day then we go to the walk in clinic and wait.

It's relatively easy to get a phone appointment or email advice at my GPs. Getting to see someone in person is much harder. Even most physio appointments at my practice are via phone. Surely a physio needs to see a patient' movement limitations?

I would look at other surgeries in your area.
We have online triage and I always hear the same day for an app or prescription sent etc.

I would ring 111 they'll get you an app

How on earth does one get to see their GP? Change your GP. Ours has an on-line triage. Last 3 times I’ve had 1. Same day text telling me I’d been referred to physio 2. Same day appt 3. Same day phone call from same doctor as had dealt with the matter previously.

People who can’t cope with internet ring receptionist who fills in triage form for them.

Another surgery in the area runs the “ring at 8.30” lottery system. I know, because the community facebook page is full of complaints

Do they offer an e consult? I do one every time and always get a solution or an appointment the same day.

My recent experience - which to me falls short of how it could be done easier

Received a text message from the Dr I had seen previously who had referred me for an x-ray on my hip. This message asked me to book a telephone appointment. Leaving the 'live' telephone scramble for urgent cases - I requested a phone appointment via an online message.

Still waiting after 5 days for them to get back to me.

Bear in mind - the Dr asked me to book the appointment.

It’s the same system at my GP practice. It’s abysmal.

If I can’t get an GP appointment I usually ring 111 and explain then get allocated an appointment at a nearby “walk-in/same day health centre”.

Though I appreciate this service isn’t available everywhere.

That's crap. Not all GPs are that bad. My child had a weird rash. I phoned the surgery mid-morning. They told me to bring them in at 3pm. I did. They were seen 15 minutes later, given a prescription and we picked up what we needed at the pharmacy on the way home. That's how it should work.

The problem is lack of funding and problems recruiting enough staff.