What should emergency GP appointments be used for?

[ElsieC22]

Hoping those who work in GP surgeries might be able to help here, what should emergency GP appointments be used for? Which conditions take priority?

Mental health
Severe infections

My experience with our surgery is you get emergency apps for:
Illness in young children
Infections that have quickly progressed
Illnesses that need to be seen urgently, but aren't A&E worthy

Basically not routine medication reviews/I hurt my ankle a week ago and it's still sore sort of things

I have had and needed one with a chest infection. Tiny babies with a fever, had one for that. Strangely enough had one for a hair wrapped around my babies toe that I couldn't remove. There are as many reasons as you could imagine, why?

Agree with what pp have said, also chest, abdomen pains and end of life patients, where I worked it was down to the duty doctors discretion, we were also not allowed to use the term emergency for those appts

Thanks everyone! I’m asking as our GP surgery (like many others) operates with an appointment system where you call at 8.30 and can either be allocated a same day “emergency” appointment or be booked in for a routine appointment (10-14 day wait). I guess everyone who calls for an appointment is ill, so I wanted to check when it’s appropriate to ask for a same day appointment

I think every surgery is different. Plus things have changed since covid too.

At ours there are hardly any pre bookable appointments. I tried to get one and explained I had something on urgent I needed my daughter seen for. They didn't have any so said I should ring at 8am on the day I wanted her seen!