What's your experience when it comes to getting GP appointments? And other questions...

My GP only really does same day appointments to see a doctor. It works quite well except on a Monday. The only problem is that it can take ages to get through on the phone and if you don't get in early you've little chance of getting an appointment. I prefer that to it being impossible to get an appointment for days/weeks.

You can book in advance for nurses appointments though, and you can also get emergency appointments with a practice nurse for straightforward things and she can also write prescriptions.

My GP surgery is terrible. You can phone any time of day to make an appointment, but the waiting time is 2-3 weeks. If you feel you need to be seen before then there is no emergency option - you can go to the drop in clinic in town.
They do telephone appointments which is sometimes great if you've a fair idea what's wrong, it's minor, but you want to discuss with doctor / get a prescription. But often they are just used to replace face to face appointments and I have no faith that the doctor is really able to diagnose accurately over the phone.
The GPs are so keen to be on time they turf you out of the room, understandable, but standing on the stairs in tears from antenatal depression that the doctor wasn't interested in because your 10mins is up was an unpleasant experience.
I've needed a lot of medical support for various reasons during my pregnancy and definitely the GP surgery is the weak link in the otherwise outstanding NHS care I've received.

We're with a very large practice, every GP practice in our catchment area is fairly massive, unfortunately. Lots of elderly people and young families, so a heavy demand.

Getting through on the phone is pretty much impossible. The phone rings and rings forever, then there's a pre-recorded message that seems to last hours and has a million options. We've never had to try for a same-day appointment so god knows what that must be like. Actually turning up physically is the best way to get booked in. If you miss out there's a triage system, apparently - a doc rings back and rules whether you're ill enough to be seen.

If you do get through, the usual wait is 2-3 weeks to see the GP you want. There's an online booking system I now use because it's slightly less frustrating, but the quickest appt. I've ever had using that route is 2 weeks - and I was really surprised at such a short (ha!) wait.

I had some hospital tests recently and the doctor there told me to make an appointment with my GP in a week's time to get the results. I laughed hollowly and he was horrified when I told him why.

Friends in adjacent small town (5-ish miles away) have a brilliant small practice where they say you can always be seen on the day or within 2 at the most. We're very envious.

My surgery has 6 doctors and an automated system. Very easy to book a routine appointment day or night by calling the automated service. The appointment will be 1 to 2 weeks ahead. You can book, cancel and change by calling it.

For urgent appointments you need to call at 8am and speak to a receptionist to explain what it's for. I've always managed to get a same day one for my children though, no matter what time of day I've phoned if urgent. I have also used ooh drop in centre at the weekend and had brilliant care for the DCs.

Maybe being Herts and a big town helps? Maybe it's the surgery being big and well run? Very happy here though.

At my surgery the GPs do telephone triage for non-routine appointments. You ring up, give the receptionist a brief description, GP rings back and assesses whether you need to be seen and how urgent it is. I've always had an appointment on the same day within a couple of hours when needed. It's fantastic with a baby when you don't know when to be worried and when not: you can always speak to a doctor and they can assess whether they need to be seen. You can still book routine appointments for vaccines/contraception etc.

They've been using this system about 18 months. My GP said she was very skeptical of the whole idea, but is a complete convert. She says it saves a huge number of appointments, both because some you save on unnecessary appointments and because you don't have the problem of patients missing appointments the way they do when they're forced to book them weeks in advance.

Our surgery is brilliant. It used to be really hard to get in but they really listened to patient feedback and made a lot of changes.

They set up a different phone line for prescription requests to stop the usual phone line getting clogged up.
They also brought in a system where you ring up and the doctor rings back within 30 mins to discuss your problem. If it can be sorted out over the phone that's great, if not you can usually get in for an appointment within an hour.

You can also book in on the website if it's after 6pm. Can order prescriptions etc on there.

I can't praise them enough.

My surgery and its GPs are wonderful. They always find a way to fit us in if we are ill, and once or twice I've just turned up with my poorly baby and they've managed to see him.

Online booking is great for less urgent appointments and repeat prescriptions. I can choose my preferred doctor, day and time and have my medicines ready to collect from the pharmacy on my road.

you have to call at 8am sharp, any earlier they won't answer, any later and it will be busy till 9am by which time there are no appointments left.

For a regular appointment several weeks. An emergency appointment for an adult usually the same day after waiting on the phone a while. However at all three surgeries I've been registered with in the last eighteen months, they've managed to slot my baby in very quickly, even for things like conjunctivitis.

Our surgery is perfect, appointments easily available and telephone consultations at a specified time during the day.

I understand that GP practices are under a great deal of pressure but lots of the difficulty in getting appointments is down to poor organisation and an unwillingness in practices to change. I've seen very persuasive research that shows practices with more open access have far fewer DNAs - the thesis being that people book appts in advance "just in case" as it's too hard to get an appt when required, and then DNA.
My surgery is great.
On the day appointments - with a named GP if required - are available from 8am. They've managed to install a phone system that (usually) takes your call and queues it, so you don't have to keep redialling. These appts give you a ten minute morning appt. If you can't get one of these, you can turn up and wait for the duty doctor later in the day. It may be a long wait but if it's urgent you will be seen. I have asthma, so this is essential for me.
Phone appointments that morning are usually available with named GP. Sometimes you have to wait, and book a phone appt for the next day, but not often.
A number of appointments can be booked by phone or on-line up to four weeks in advance. Other appts are released for booking three, two or one day in advance, meaning no doctor is every completely booked up weeks and weeks in advance. And if the doctor thinks you need to come in after a phone appt they can book you into one of their slots.
Their DNA levels are very low and patient satisfaction is very high.

Our surgery has recently changed system. It used to be the case that lines opened at 8am to make an emergency appointment for that day. It was impossible to get through and you had to, as your OP suggests, hit call back constantly, while trying to comfort a sick child and get the other one off to school or nursery. I have never failed to get an appointment for a child although often the appointment was in a branch much further away than our normal one, or was "be here in five minutes". ( or both!).

The system has now changed so you don't make an emergency appointment, you just roll up at 8.30 and wait to be seen. I have not tried this yet but I would hope some form of triage is carried out with worse cases and children seen first. And what if you get ill after that time?

We do have in our town an excellent out of hours/ walk in service which I have been pointed toward when I have failed to get emergency appointments for myself. TBH I feel the GPs are over happy to point you towards that service, they have done it before to me and the walk in has said they shouldn't as the walk in doctors were unable to prescribe the repeat prescriptions I needed.

In terms of non emergency appointments I am currently a few months late for a smear test because I can't get through to make an appointment. When it is not an emergency I am not hanging by the phone for an hour to get through, you think I'll try tomorrow but then tomorrow is full of distractions.

You can also phone up - not sure what that's like as I always use the online booking but I presume a bit of listening to an engaged tone.

I am very lucky compared to many on here I think. My GP surgery is one of a group of 4 so if you are able to travel you can go to any of them. There's online booking where you can book up to about a week in advance I think and you can have either a telephone consultation or see a doctor. I made an appointment for me on Sunday for Monday and had a large choice of appointments in my village surgery but could have gone elsewhere if I wanted.
On the occasions where I've taken one of the DC to the village pharmacy and they've said she should see a doctor we've gone up to the surgery and she's been fitted in.
There are evening appointments available in some of the surgeries and I think Saturday appointments. Also a drop in at one of them.

My GP practice is awful for appointments. Monday's are only for "emergencies", it takes on average 6 weeks to get a routine appointment and if you are an emergency there are about ten steps to go through before you get an appointment.

Step one is call and be on hold for anything up to 45minutes. Step two give details to receptionist. Step three wait for call back from doctor or nurse doing triage. Step 4 is give them the excat same information again. Step 5 is wait for appointment lady to call you with time of appointment. Step 6 is to finally be offered a time which clashes with school pick up time.

Practice is very under staffed and all appointments run over as they are good doctors, trying to help people. But a 3pm appointment usually means you being seen at 5 or 6.

Its a nightmare getting to see a GP especially on the same day. Its even worse if you want to see a specific Doctor such as a female or one you know specialises in your condition/ailment.

The phone is permanently engaged from 8am through to 10am. Once someone answers the phone you cant see a Doctor at all (they're not allowed to book appointments for the GP's) you have to speak to a triage nurse who calls you back later in the day.

The nurse will see you same day only if they deem you ill enough to need to see a medical professional. I have been referred to a Pharmacist before by the Nurse who then referred me back to my GP

If you get to actually see a nurse and they deem you ill enough they will then refer you to a Doctor.
Sometimes its a waiting session to see the next GP available on the same day other times its come back in a week.

The problem with waiting to see the GP is that I have previously sat there waiting over an hour to see a Nurse. After my consultation with the Nurse she said she couldn't help and I needed to see the GP (I had already said this on the phone) I then had to sit and wait another 2 hours for a space to come up to see the GP. I left not bothering to see the GP because I had to collect my children from school.

Its no easier getting an appointment in a few days time. I had to return to discuss x-ray results but I couldn't get in for any of the dates my GP said. I had to go off to the hospital for scans without any knowledge of the results of the x-rays.

I don't bother now for myself. I only sit through it all for my children.

It used to be easy to get an appointment. Up until the local Doctors in the town all joined force in a mini hospital type set up. Suddenly we were competing with 20,000 other people for an appointment with the same few Doctors.

Ours is in that 'either turn up outside the door at 7.45am (yes really!) and get an emergency appt or have one for 3 weeks ahead' state. No point in ringing when the phone lines open because all the same day appts have gone to the people standing in line.

Booking for one the same week, or in a weeks time is v hit and miss (more of then than not, miss) and seems to depend on who answers the phone. I've had the GP booking me a further appt at the end of the consult before now 'so they don't make it difficult' which was really quite extraordinary.

I really mind this business of taking up emergency appts because there aren't enough bookable in a weeks time ones, but that's what the receptionists tell us to do

I rang today to make an appointment for some time this week.
Tomorrow is ring on the day. 8.30 redial.
Thursday is ring on the day. 8.30 redial.
Friday is ring on the day. 8.30 redial.
Online is booked until October.

Gps fine when you do get to see them.

Could there be an early morning gp service, specifically for working people, maybe schoolchildren as well? So they can go to the gp before work/school.

My dentist (NHS, excellent) has routine appointments from 8 am some days and it really fits it with our day.

Our GP's surgery is pretty good I think. On the occasions we have needed an urgent/same day appointment we have been given one. They have the option of booking advance appointments online too, which is useful and saves us taking up time receptionists can use for more urgent cases. I get through a lot of repeat prescriptions too, and I can order them online or through an app on my phone, which is a big improvement on having to drop it off at the surgery then go back 2 days later to pick it up

Ours is the 8:30 free-for-all for a same day appointment. If you don't manage to get one, you can turn up to the lunchtime surgery which is appointment-less but then you just have to sit and wait (upwards of an hour usually).
On the odd occasion where you try and book an appointment in advance on a particular day (eg, I try and book when I know i'll be child-free), the receptionist just tells you to phone on the morning and use the emergency appointments instead which is why it's so bloody hard to get one of them when it is an emergency!
The one time I've needed them late in the day though (baby with temp of 40 degrees), they fell over themselves to get me in and seen asap.

It might have issues but it's not as bad as other surgeries I know of where a normal appointment is always at least an hour late and sometimes up to two hours.

No crisis here. If I say it needs same day, they fit us in. If not, it can be booked (and changed) online. Practice nurses are great,too. Receptionists are friendly and polite and non-intrusive. I love our GPs (rural West Midlands)

At my surgery it is only ring on the day appointments. You have to call and the gp rings you back. This is ok if you have a job where you can take calls, but not ok if you are unable to talk calls, or you are a child, or you don't wish to discuss your health problems with everyone in your office. Also unsuitable for those who wish for someone else to be with them. I get panicky on the phone, so phone consultation doesn't work for me. I am also disabled so if the gp does actually want me to go in,(if I'm deemed worthy of an appointment), then it is difficult to organise for my husband to take me at such short notice. It would be nice to be able to book in advance for those who need to organise carers, or childcare.

Our online booking system is great, IME. You can book a named doctor (might have to wait longer if they're on leave, or only do part-time hours), or any female doctor or any male doctor. If you need a follow-up appointment, the GP can do it then and there from their surgery room.

You can also book the duty doctor, which is what you'd most likely choose for something urgent. Last time I had to do that (which was a couple of years back), I got an appointment the same day. I am fortunate enough not to know if that's typical or not. I've also not tried phoning for an urgent appointment (I love the online system - but I realise that not all patients will have internet access at home.)

You have to phone or call in person to book the nurse or phlebotomist. I was a bit miffed that I needed two separate appointments for a blood test and an inoculation on the same day, as at the practice I was previously registered at, the same nurse could do everything, but it's not actually a big deal - I just had different expectations because of what I'd had before.

I've also not had problems booking a couple of weeks ahead, for things like smear tests or blood pressure tests. It's also comparatively easy to get appointments first thing in the morning before work (I think the earliest is 08:15) - and there are a couple of days where they do evening appointments, though I've not tried to use those to know if it's easy to get a slot then. I think you can also get phone appointments, but again, that's not something I've tried.

When we arrive for an appointment, there's a touch screen system to check in, or you can talk to the receptionist. I think it helps that you don't have to take the receptionist's time if you don't need to, but that the option is there, if you're not confident with using the screen.

I can also manage repeat prescriptions online, or by writing, or by going to the surgery in person (via the receptionist) but I can't do those by phone.

However, I'm registered with a large, town-centre practice which has a number of GPs and a few nurses and thousands of patients. They've got (human) resources that previous practices I've been registered haven't had - more doctors, more nurses - so they can offer more appointments and longer opening hours. It's nothing like one practice I was registered with (I've moved towns quite a few times), where it was a single GP with a part time nurse. I can't see that smaller, more rural areas I've lived in would be able to run a practice like that in the same way.

Our GP surgery is bliss - emergency appts same day every day, and if ie when they run out, and you're really desperate they'll fit you in if you plead. You get five minutes and can have one problem. Which is fine.

Otherwise it's a wait of a week. But they bust a gut at reception to help, and I love them. Rock on Balham GPs.

My surgery used to charge premium rates to call them. I don't know if this still exists, but I think it's unethical. I also found it problematic that untrained clerical staff were making the decisions if my child was sick enough to warrant a same day appointment. I found that on more than one occasion I ended up in the emergency room because the day before the person answering the phone at the gp's had decided that my child was not sick enough to warrant a same day appointment. Also for sick infants (and young children), doing the walk-in and wait for 2 hours until the doctor can fit you in is not really a healthy or practical solution.