How does your doctors booking system work?

[Queen9875]

Getting increasingly frustrated with my doctors surgery and contemplating joining a new practice. You cannot book an appointment in advance, as they only offer on the day appointments which you need to ring at 8am for and wait in an hour long queue before you even get through, by which point, all appointments are gone. I don't have time to be sitting around on the phone all morning as I have kids to sort out and a job to get to. How on earth am I meant to get an appointment? I really need to go, but am yet to be able to get myself an appointment. Is this the norm for all doctors now?

At ours’ you can book in advance, call and book on the day (the nurse triages you and you come in/ get a prescription etc. as needed), or fill in a computer form and the doctor calls you either that day or the next (or email if you’ve stated that as your preference, handy if you work). Last week I filled in a form at 10am Monday and had a specialist referral letter in my hand on Tuesday afternoon. They are busy, but run a good service.

The fastest finger at 8am thing has been in operation for years in some practices. Helps them to say in their figures that everybody who asks for an appointment gets one the same day. (what they don't mention are the 300 poor fuckers who couldn't get through)

Ours is done online via the askymygp system. It's only open something like 8-9.30am so you need to be fast. You then get an email or phone call (you specify how you want to be contacted) and might get a face to face appointment or a telephone appointment or just sorted out online. If a prescription is involved they send it to the chemist you specify.

We have exactly the same here. Total pain in the arse, or I can book an advance appointment for one month's time. Getting a telemedicine package via work from 1 Jan and cannot wait.

Imagine Sister Michael from Derry Girls running an admin function. It's like that.

Online econsult or call up, 8am for same day. Have to say I feel very spoilt with how good our gp surgery is.

Phone after 8.30. Receptionist takes details. One duty doctor phones back and triages everyone, from which you might get a prescription, an appointment with the nurse, or an appointment with a doctor, depending on what you need. Phone or face to face as appropriate. Urgent cases are seen the same day. It works well, and once you’re in the system, if it’s an ongoing issue, your doctor will make your follow up appts each time you see or speak to them.

Bag of shite here too. Used to be able to submit e-consult any time - now you have to send during business hours. Which is the absolute definition of bullshit for an online service.

Can book a telephone appointment on nhs app can usually get a few days in advance if not bothered by which Gp you see.

Can ring on day and ask for triage phonecall if wanting to be seen that day. They usually ring back by 11am and will ask you to come in if needed.

Can ring and book a gp/nurse appointment f2f usually 2 weeks in advance and telephone same week.

Throughout covid we've not had issues with being able to see/speak to someone when needed and 3 of us have long term conditions/disabilities.

My neighbours with a different practice and they are struggling to get an appointment when needed.

No idea what happens if you ring as I never try - 8am, busy with getting ready for school run, can’t be on the hold for ages at that time.

So I do their online form - you can send all the details, photos etc. I’m happy for the doc to decide if we need to be seen in person or not from that. They 100% always see children that same day as you send the form in. They have one doctor who goes through all the forms and has free appointments to see people on the day if necessary, or they can advise go to pharmacy, refill prescriptions, order blood tests etc. It’s fantastic and really can’t complain! Plus you never have to get through the receptionist 😄

Mine is great thankfully. Online consulting room anytime for non-urgent issues, they will either message/phone you for more information or text you with an advanced appointment, occasionally same day/next day. Been great for booking kids vaccinations, getting rashes looked at by sending pictures, got same day antibiotics prescribed for mastitis after a phone appointment etc.

Call in the morning for urgent issues. Call in afternoon for lab results.

If you’re lucky you might be granted a telephone consultation. Last one I had the dr guessed what she thought was wrong with me. —- trip to a private hospital proved her guess wrong.
I’ve given up contacting GPs.

You do an online form and then they text you back with an appointment. If they want to see you same day you'll get a call, or an appointment with the nurse/paramedic/doctor that day. It is actually more efficient than pre covid

We live in a remote Scottish village and we just ring up when we want an appointment. The receptionist answers immediately, no matter what time of day it is. You can get an appointment with any of the doctors or the advanced nurse practitioner either the next day, or (if it's urgent) you'll be seen on the day you call.

No triage. When I go up there, there's never more than two people waiting, and usually, there is nobody waiting.

I know we're very, very lucky. Repeat prescriptions take a day, too.

DH got a fish hook in his hand (and was trying to take it out himself with a Stanley knife when I got home and caught him) so I rang the surgery (it was 4 pm) and they told me to bring him straight up. He was seen immediately.

Mine is the same as yours it's ridiculous. Absolutely no hope of booking in advance even if the gp asks to see you for follow up or you have your smear reminder

I've been trying to get an appointment now for 4 weeks, I don't think its urgent but every-time I get through to the receptionist it's either fully booked or emergency only and those appointments are for "heart attack and stoke patients". The staff are bloody awful too and really horrible/unhelpful.

This is what our old surgery was like (like 10 years ago, it was a nightmare). Ours now is fantastic. You submit an online form. You hear back within about 30 minutes by text about what the next steps are. Either they send a prescription off for you or set up a phone consultation or they send you an online poll where you can state what times/days you are available (for f2f appointment).

For dc, I have always had a phone consultation same day. Or if not urgent, they'll request I see a pharmacist (which to be fair, I usually do first anyway if I can). For me, it's usually within 48 hours, unless it's a follow up and I choose the time myself. It's so streamlined and easy. Much improved over how things were pre-COVID.

On the day only now, nothing can be prebooked. It was possible to pre book some on line but they stopped it due to Covid and have only reinstated nurse ( ie smears, bloods) not doctor appointments.

Mine is actually really good. You can call at 8am for a same day urgent appointment. You can also book appointments in advance (telephone or face to face) by calling or booking online. They make them available a week in advance. In my experience there are always appointments available.

Ours is the same as yours. After getting through and not getting an appointment DH asked reception if they still had the online system for requests. She told him it didn't work. He tried it anyway. The doctor called him later in the evening to book him in an appointment for the following afternoon. It's baffling but worth a try if yours has an e-consult option.

I call the office number. If receptionist doesn't answer, I leave message. Nurse or receptionist will call back with appt. day/time. Depending on issue, appt. will be same day or within a few days.

If I prefer an online appt., my insurance allows me to get an appt. with a primary care doctor within a few hours. Primary care includes mental health, so I am able to access a psyche doc or an internal medicine doc (gp) within minutes.

I have waited a month or so for some specialists, but never longer. I'm in the US.

My surgery is the same. They’ve basically removed the ability to access health care for anyone who can’t redial in excess of 200 times at 8am.

Mine's great, I can book ahead or book on the day. Usually get an appointment on the day within 90-120 mins if it is urgent. Sadly I have had a lot of urgent appointments in recent weeks. Doesn't have to be first thing in the morning either, you can phone at 3:30 and get a call back that day/asked to come in once they've spoken to you.

Call at 8 am. Then explain to the receptionist what your problem is. She will then decide whether or not you warrant a phone call from the doctor. The phone call will be on the same day if it’s urgent, booked in for days ahead if not.
If the doctor decides you need to be seen face to face they will give you an appointment. Then it’s very hurried and they haven’t read your notes because of time constrictions . So bad reactions to antibiotics in the past are not looked at because there is no time.
Plus every single week I get a text saying there are no GP appointments today because of shortages. Fun and games.

Ours use AskMyGP, you submit a request between 8-9am and they review it and either send a prescription to the pharmacy, do a telephone consultation or call you into the surgery.

It’s worked fairly well the few times we’ve needed it, except when dd had an ear infection and they said it was viral over the phone but it wasn’t and she had a nasty bacterial infection that took 2 courses of antibiotics to clear.