GP didn’t call me because their “workday has ended”

You definitely should be allocated a call tomorrow if the Dr couldn't fit you in before the end of the day, however it isn't fair to say that they couldn't leave before making all the appointments. You have no idea what happened that day, what emergencies may have cropped up etc. If your 15.40 appointment wasn't carried out before 17.30 when the practice closed then there were clearly significant problems that the GP was dealing with.

That GP may have had to finish due to collecting children from childcare etc... they do have a commitment to the job but are also only human.

It is the practice's fault in the way this is being dealt with- you should not have to try and rebook tomorrow.

In the meantime, you can get cocodamol 8mg/500mg from a pharmacy which may help a bit more with the pain while you are waiting for another appointment.

You tell them you are an asylum seeker and that your taxi is collecting you from your hotel, bringing you over NOW.

When this happens at my surgery they call you at 8am to book you in though my surgery is open until 8pm anyway

To clarify - without you having to initiate that further appointment yourself/jump through all the hoops again

I'm a GP and I agree that's very bad form. They should have at least offered you an alternative appointment the next day, regardless of the circumstances

Open days/specific meetings/extra duties...you mean something pre-arranged...like a pre-arranged telephone appointment?

(But also emergencies like children not being collected or safeguarding reports)

Can I just point out that only the first paragraph, shown in italics was written by me.

I do not agree with, and did not write, the second bit about feminisation.

Maybe there's only a couple of people waiting because the appointments are well organised and on time? Can you do appointments via the NHS app? (I think they're trying to get all surgeries to do this now.) I find it really useful and get a choice of times and days. I do appreciate that my surgery seems to be less busy than others though.

Absolute bloody piss take.

Ours still have that system. Call at 8am or E-consult between 8am and 10am for urgent appts, but it's often shut by 8.30-9am. Calling dead on 8am, usually means you're 30+ in the queue and all appts are gone by the time you speak to someone.
They've got around the new guidelines by saying you have to be invited by them to be able to book a same day online appt. Can't access it without a link and it's only for 3 things eg, smear test.

I’ve never had a doctor fail to call, but I have had them call later than arranged. We’re given a two-hour window for the call, which I find very frustrating, as it means I’m waiting around. However, this is an improvement, as they used to provide no indication of timing at all. I’ve reached the point where I try to avoid booking appointments whenever possible because the whole process is so frustrating , but this has sometimes left me very unwell.

100% this! ^

So what if the GP had an emergency- they were taken ill, or had to pick up a sick child, or their parent was dying?
Yes it was rubbish how they have handled it- but the GP may have had to leave for an important reason- I have had to leave to pick up sick kids from nursery or deal withy husbands seizures. Unfortunately my patients just get cancelled.... I have also gone home throwing up due to a migraine.....

100% this. ^

100% this! ^

An absolute farce - at the very least you should be automatically booked in for the next day.

No, it isn't ok. Can you at least leave reviews to warn other patients, and put in a complaint? You seem to be very competent and literate. There are several people in my family who find it very hard to access care, for various competency/literacy reasons, and this sort of thing would possibly stop them getting any help. One would actually think this means the doctor didn't need to see her (and yes, I help her out, but not everyone has anyone to help, so it is important that these things are stopped).
Lots of people in the NHS say the reason so many people literally die is because we're all (rightly) grateful for the good staff and we don't want to complain. You would complain if any other service you are forced to pay for was inadequate.

I mean who would stop you?
Other than open days, specific meetings, or if they’ve arranged to do bus duties I know several teachers that leave when the children leave. Marking or planning doesn’t need to be done at your desk. I’ve never come across a head to dictate that.

Plus you also have to manage the emergency to a point as well. If someone is having a heart attack or an acute episode of psychosis you can't just stick them in the waiting room you have to manage the situation until the emergency services arrive. There'll also be emergency situations from care homes or other staff they need to support with as well as urgent contacts from hospital/laboratory etc. It's just complex and not an exact science. Plus appointments just often run a long way over, often for very good reasons. Other days might go more smoothly.

If it is agonising, book an appt with a private GP first thing. Pay £100 ish and get it sorted. Dicking around with 111 and A&E is pointless. Payup and get rapid service. Stop worrying about how things should work and focus on a solution.

Think of it this way - if you had a leak in your roof at home you wouldn’t stand there waiting for it to be fixed for free would you? You’d pay a premium for rapid service. Well, that’s how things work in the U.K. now. Pay up and get it sorted. Stop trying to rail against the system. It’s exhausting and pointless, fix yourself first.

This is so true! I’m a teacher and can you imagine if I walked out of the door at 3pm because ‘my working day is done’ 😂😂. These are the same GP’s that were refusing to see people in Covid whilst I was running round houses delivering free packed lunches because of Marcus Rashford 😂

People should call 111 if they really can’t wait.

Me too. When my GP didn't call me back on the same day, he texted me to say he'd call after the weekend (it was a Friday) and called me back on the Monday morning. It wasn't so urgent it couldn't wait until after the weekend but I didn't have to fill in the e-consult again.

That is straight-forward customer service. Complain OP.

It wouldn’t be one thing though, there will be a baby slotted in at the last minute, several appointments all running over by a couple of minutes each and then you only need one “emergency” of 20-30 minutes and you’re nearly up to 2 hours of a delay.

This is what happens when there’s too many people competing for a service.

Tony Blair fucked up GPs for the end user (not for the GPs though!) when he gave them autonomy to pay their own wages, work whatever hours suited them and made them bosses of their own practice.
Oh, the heady days of the 70s and 80s when GPs worked for the NHS and if you phoned the out of hours service on a Saturday night you got a visit from a doctor in your own practice. No waiting weeks for appointments either.
The millions of extra people really hasn’t helped the situation either - but clearly I’m a right wing Nazi for daring to say that.