My GP has told me that 80% of their appointments don't need a GP appointment.

I've visited a pharmacy many times for rather simple afflictions (a small child with thrush, antibiotics needed for infected eczema, a suspected UTI) and been told every single time I need to see the doctor which is then a hassle to get an appointment. Quite often I'm aware of whats wrong and what the treatment for it is but cannot access it without the prescription from the GP. Added in that there are no walk-in and sit and wait services in my area, its either a GP appointment or an A&E trip for most people so its no wonder both services are completely overwhelmed.

It does sound like a very silly system! In my country long term meds are usually prescribed for about a year at a time, then to renew you just log into the health portal and click renew, a doctor reviews it within a couple of days and then you get a text telling you its renewed, then you can just go to any pharmacy, show your health insurance card and pick up your meds (which, unless something rare, they will have in stock so no need to order in advance, and no waiting ages for them to fiddle about dispensing them because they come pre-packaged).

And phone triage at GP clinics is done by nurses here, instead of non-medical professionals, so can feel pretty confident you're being triaged appropriately, and there are always same day appointments available for those that need them (but its not an exact time, its a time to turn up and wait)

No they are not but they are trained to take and pass on messages to clinical staff who with the information provided can make a clinical decision.

I know but I meant colds. Not coughs from virus or bacteria. I guess people don't know which it is.

We need to stop thinking of “going to the gp” healthcentres have a range of clinical people in them from healthcare assistants to physios, practice nurses, advance nurse practitioners, but so many people still demand to see a gp

Same as my husband who went backwards and forwards to the GP for 6 months. He was diagnosed after going to A and E and being admitted. He died a month later.

Thing is, like obesity, loneliness takes real effort on the part of the patient to do something about. Nobody has to be lonely there are absolutely loads of free groups people can go to.

Yes, but the cost is prohibitive. Receptionists are paid peanuts.

I don't think that's true about 'the old days'. In the days when antibiotics were handed out for everything people were always at the doctors.
My own childhood (I'm in my 50s) I was taken to the doctor for the slightest sniff. My mother was a massive attention seeker though.

I pay my taxes to fund the NHS.

If I have a health concern, I expect that system to work for me.

Our AE told me the opposite-that because no one can get in to see their GP, people are literally dying at AE because people are forced to go there.
As for the fact people could go to their pharmacy, the problem with that is you can't book appointments for most things (at least at ours, only jabs etc get booked) so if lots of people just turn up, they'd be queued out the door, and most people can't do that. Yes, there's waits at a GP, but at least they have a list of who they're supposed to see that day, so emergencies aside, they know how many people are due in.
There's actually far fewer people seeing GPs in our area than say 20 years ago (desite many more people living here). First of all, there's far fewer surgeries, and none of the doctors are available full time, so in 2000, at all the then small surgeries, you'd have a couple of doctors seeing people all day, there's now only 3 big centres that they've all merged into, with only a couple of doctors at a time working at them (of course there might be some video appointments going on). A social media post shows there used to be literally dozens of GPs, who all did home visits and you could see them Mon-Fri for routine things. But none of them did private work then, they were all NHS, so that's another factor.
Most of you will agree a very positive change is emergency contraception needing a GP!

Problem is, the people with the most free time to have a day out at the doctors, the unemployed and retired, wouldn't have to pay.

They are trialling this actually. However, so far the AI is not doing brilliantly at it.

But this isn't the correct use of GPs very expensive time. Loneliness is not an illness although it can lead to MH issues. There should be more MH support that doesn't require a GP to access. Like a triage service for MH issues which would offer psychologists, counsellors, support groups for people suffering grief, eating disorders, loneliness, post natal depression, DV. These hubs would also offer social prescribing. It's the kind of thing councils and governments cut to 'save money' but costs more in the long run for GPs, police, social services, A&E etc.

Yeah but it’s like the boy who cried wolf. When 80% of your patients a time wasters, it’s not really a surprise that GPs fail to take things seriously.

In the old days, people would have to be extremely unwell to see a doctor.

You know you can buy hydrocortisone and eumovate over the counter?

I know plenty of people who go to the GP/hospital just to fill their day. My mum has been doing it for decades.

Problem is, people aren't experts so they don't know what's wrong with them. Example, I had pneumonia years ago, I left it and left it, eventually went to GP and was told off for not coming sooner. The next year I had a cough and symptoms that seemed exactly the same to me so I went to a walk in centre. I got told off there for time wasting as it was just a cough not pneumonia.
Another time I had a black mark under my nail after suffering no known injury and it looked like a type of skin cancer. Sent pictures to GP who fast tracked refered me to skin cancer specialist. It wasn't cancer. So was that whole thing a waste of time? Maybe it was?
Actually, I think the skin cancer thing is an absolute ideal opportunity to make use of AI. If I could have uploaded the picture straight into some NHS AI reader it almost certainly could have told me immediately if I needed a doctor appointment or not. Not a minute of human time would have been wasted.

Doesn’t surprise me. You see it on here all the time - people asking whether they should see a GP for the most trivial issues. I think there should be a charge for visiting a GP.

I totally agree with you @CreativeGreen . When I was a teacher those blooming children they were nothing but a nuisance 😂.

But why is the onus on us as citizens to treat the NHS as a finite resource rather than a service? It should be on the government to fund it properly.

My dad calls the GP when he gets a cold because it will always go to his chest and give him a chest infection. Better to nip it in the bud than to suffer and risk being really poorly. What seems trivial to some of us could be awful for someone else.

It’s a difficult one. I can honestly say that I’ve never ‘bothered’ my GP with anything trivial. It’s always been something that they’ve agreed needs investigation or attention. I think I’m fairly well-informed about symptoms and really, we all should be. It’s your duty as a citizen to inform yourself and not waste resources if at all possible.

Years ago I remember getting told off by a colleague who was shocked that I didn’t go to the doctor with a cold. He always did, he said, as if it was something to be proud of!

I assume most people would only go for something important or which was worrying- not just something they need Lemsip for? And it’s different with small children who can’t communicate their precise symptoms.

Infected nails such as parachonea (as I know very well) can be dealt with by a pharmacist.

A broken toe and the child would have been seen before eight hours, I am sure. Plus the child managed to have two shoes on - I don't know many people who can have a shoe on with a broken toe!😁

But either way, I think after eight hours, if they were serious they'd have been dealt with.

If we could do more self-referrals and give pharmacies a bit more responsibility, things would improve massively.

You do realise nearly all serious illnesses start off being mild?

@Thisistyresome

Inefficiency is built into the system.

As imposed by the BMA who have always wanted the GPs to be "front and central" so that they're indispensible. The same BMA who at one time voted against more GPs and against more medical schools as they wanted to keep a shortage so as not to dilute "remuneration" etc.