GP appointments

[BBCK]

With shops, pubs and schools all open, why can’t I get a GP appointment? The phone is engaged all day when you try to book a phone appointment and there are no/ very few face to face appointments. Why are we the public accepting this poor service?

If a member of GP practice staff gets covid, they'd have to close for 2 weeks whilst everyone isolates.

@VeggieSausageRoll

If a member of GP practice staff gets covid, they'd have to close for 2 weeks whilst everyone isolates.

not actually true. All NHS staff have to work in a COVID secure way, including maintaining distance and wearing PPE. This is so that whole teams wont need to be off in the event of a positive case.

I feel the inconsistencies in GP cover is wild! I've had 2 GP telephone appointments this week and one last week. (I'm really quite unwell with a sinus infection) I was just saying to my partner how well I think they're doing. So I don't think you should assume that this is across the board.

Then there are examples of not being able to get appointments. What were they like pre covid? I'd advise contacting the commissioning CCG, or perhaps health watch. It's positively dangerous to some people to not be able to even get a hold of the reception.

Mine have been really good considering the circumstances. Anything urgent gets a same day call and if needs to be seen then you can get an appointment the next day.

I have friends who are GPs. They're all working much harder than normal, and have been throughout. As a profession, they all had to suddenly change their way of working to keep their patients safe (no one wants a waiting room to be a hotbed of infection). No, you can't directly book an appointment as you would have in the "old days". Everything is being phone triaged (so, naturally, the phone lines will be busier than normal), if it can be dealt with over the phone, great, if not, they will arrange to see you in person.