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Original poster

How the feck to get a GPs appointment?

46 replies

Gabiabbi · 30/12/2023 19:50

Any tips anyone? My GPs don't take bookings online or in person. Only call up at 8am. However, when doing this you tend to go on hold for 50 minutes only to be cut off, or told that no appointments are remaining. I've tried since August, also I'm at work by 8am - sometimes I take time out to try for an appt but I can't do this every day.

It's not an emergency. I have what feels like a rock behind my ribs. It's not painful, just a little uncomfortable and would like to know what it is...

Am I missing a trick? Is there some form of lottery one can enter to win an appointment with a GP? Is there a GP dating site, perhaps I can date a GP in the hope of getting him a bit tipsy and playing it fast and loose with medical advice? Happy to think outside the box here 😂

OP posts:

Original poster

Gabiabbi · 30/12/2023 20:56

Thank you all for the advice! I have a plan now - I'm off work on the 2nd so I'll try then - if I can't manage then, then I'll try through 111. Have thought about this before but been worried i was overreacting.

To answer some previous posts (sorry I'm slow!)

my MP has announced she won't be running in the next election and has all but disappeared
i guess it feels like a fairly big lump, but behind my ribs, so I can't physically feel anything with my fingers if that makes sense? I guess I'm worried about my liver from what I read online. I rarely drink, am fairly active and a healthy weight so if it is that, hopefully nothing too serious! I've explained this to reception and they said I just need to call at 8 🙄
there's only me and my teenage daughter in the household, but will try rope her into speed dialling duties on the 2nd if by some miracle she's awake! Generally it's just a queue though, sometimes a never ending one 😆
will Google that condition

Thanks everyone, hopefully will get somewhere on Monday! 🤞

OP posts:

Aydel · 30/12/2023 21:00

Our local practice is still doing barely any in person appointments. My mother was told for over a year that the pain in her chest was a pulled muscle, by a doctor who refused to see her and would only do a telephone consultation. It wasn’t. It was terminal lung cancer. She lived for about three weeks after it was finally diagnosed, when she went into hospital following a stroke.

Papergirl1968 · 30/12/2023 21:01

I'm a GP receptionist and I totally get the frustration as the phone lines go mad when they open at 8am. Often there might only be a couple of face to face appointments with GPs. We are instructed to prioritise the elderly and young children, book as many as possible with the advanced nurse practitioners or paramedic, and "signpost" others to services such as opticians, pharmacies, the walk in centre etc.
You could ask if your surgery does extended hours - ours is open late two evenings a week and one Saturday every couple of months, and these appointments can be easier to obtain.
Otherwise the ANP might be able to help.
Or it's always worth calling late morning or early afternoon as appointments sometimes open up, for example if all the 111 or home visit slots haven't been used, or if another patient cancels.
If I took your call I'd mention it to the duty doctor though who would probably say to unblock a slot for you. Some of my colleagues would, however, just say to keep ringing back.

Interested in this thread?

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General health

NearlyMonday · 30/12/2023 21:01

Doggymummar · 30/12/2023 20:03

I use online doctor's mostly now, usually about £40 including the prescription.

Could you share the link?

Papergirl1968 · 30/12/2023 21:05

It could be you need a referral to a gastroenterologist.
Mondays are always particularly busy though and this time Tues will be because of the bank holiday. Surprisingly between Christmas and New Year was pretty quiet.
Good luck.

elephantoverthehill · 30/12/2023 21:16

I ask for an appointment with the nurse practitioner. They can usually sort me out. But on one occasion the GP was ushered in very quickly.

ActDottie · 30/12/2023 21:16

Can you go down in person once they open? My mum managed to get a same day appointment that way because they essentially wanted her to stop pestering them! On the phone it’s easier for them to say no.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 30/12/2023 21:18

I was having this same conversation with my friend on Friday. She told me she went to her surgery in person after days of not being able to get through on the phone. The receptionist told her to go out to her car and ring from there!

TroysMammy · 30/12/2023 21:33

I'm a part time receptionist. If someone tells me "I've been trying all week to get through without any luck" I tell them "ring me at 8am in the morning and I'll put you down for a consultation" . Next morning I do speak to them but they have got through early enough to go on the list, I haven't snuck them on. I work at the end of the week and it's generally calmer and more civilised (I'm not allowed to say the "q" word) than the beginning of the week.

anothernamechangeagainsndagain · 30/12/2023 21:34

We can email our gp about non urgent matters but only during surgery hours

TroysMammy · 30/12/2023 21:36

@Gabiabbi Monday is New Year's Day and your surgery will be closed.

itsgettingweird · 30/12/2023 21:56

Nope it's ring here at 8am only too.

If you're lucky not to be it off because too many people are in the queue you'll get through at 8.10am to be told "sorry all apts are gone - you need to try ring at 8am"

Creamcrackered10 · 30/12/2023 21:58

Those suggesting 111 obviously haven't used it recently. Used it in October and had a 15 hour wait by which time I'd resorted to a private GP and minor injuries. Used it this weekend and still waiting for a call back (10 hours and counting) ... It may well be another private GP appointment in the morning. The system is completely broken. Those who can pay are paying and those who can't are suffering.

Please vote wisely at the next election. Contact your local MP and generally, as suggested by a previous poster, make polite but insistent noise.

millymae · 30/12/2023 22:39

In our practice phone lines go live at 8.00am. Monday - Friday.
On 18 December it took me 30 attempts before I managed to get through and then I waited in the queue for 24 minutes before I spoke to a human being. It was beyond frustrating but despite being 47th in the queue I did get an appointment with a doctor for late in the afternoon, so it worked out OK in the end.
Luckily I’m not rushing to work at 8.00am, have time to sit and redial and have free minutes on my phone but I feel sorry for anyone who finds phoning at this time difficult and are having to pay for their calls.

The practice also operates an on line consultation system which results in either a telephone call or a face to face appointment but this isn't particularly easy to negotiate.

Gone are the days when you could just queue outside the door or call into the surgery for an appointment.
There are also a number of appointments available for pre booking a fortnight in advance but unless you are quick off the mark getting one of these is virtually impossible.

Kaja1980 · 30/12/2023 22:44

Appreciate not everyone is in the position to afford it, but I have give up on the NHS a long time ago and go private. I pay £40 for a gp consultation and get same day appointments.

Original poster

Gabiabbi · 30/12/2023 23:03

Sorry, mean Tuesday - I'm losing track of days now!

My surgery does not give appointments out via walk-in. I've tried and they say to call. And regarding private, I've actually used them in the past. £40 for consultation wouldn't be a problem, but if/when it starts requiring private blood tests, scans etc and racking up into the thousands that's where I'd struggle! Plus it's exactly what the tories want us to do, and I'm stubborn 😂

My friend used to be a GP receptionist and she had some horror stories! She's genuinely really sympathetic towards anybody and tried her best but still bore the brunt of it from disgruntled patients - hats off to anybody who does this job

OP posts:

AzureBlue99 · 30/12/2023 23:23

Bloody hell. How did we get here. I dread having to call a GP. The standard of medical care now is a scandal.

JenniferBooth · 30/12/2023 23:24

Hellocatshome · 30/12/2023 20:01

Our GP now has a form you fill in on their website that someone reviews and decides if you deserve an appointment. I called for an appointment and there weren't any for 4 weeks. I filled this form in and then magically there was an appointment at that very day.

Have you had a look at their website in case there is something similar?

Our surgery is doing this from next month

JenniferBooth · 30/12/2023 23:27

Neverpostagain · 30/12/2023 20:45

We had this and this is what you need to do...
Everyone in your household (so three of us) start speed dialing the number at 7:50. Repeat repeat repeat. Obviously it will be constantly engaged, but sometimes someone will strike lucky. We also brought in up to there neighbours, so six of us dialling. Whoever gets through passes their phone to the person who needs the appointment.
Clearly this is ridiculous, but we always got through within a few days. If feel very sorry for single elderly people actually dialling the number long hand they will not get through ever.

And this is why my elderly dad says Fuck it and goes to A&E

Creamcrackered10 · 31/12/2023 08:44

Currently 21 hours since first contact with 111 and still waiting for a call back with a doctor. Welcome to the state of the NHS in 2023.

WolfFoxHare · 01/01/2024 20:59

Creamcrackered10 · 30/12/2023 21:58

Please vote wisely at the next election. Contact your local MP and generally, as suggested by a previous poster, make polite but insistent noise.

Have you tried using the online 111 service instead? I used it for my husband on a Saturday a few weeks ago, and we had a call back from a nurse within 20 minutes, and for myself on Boxing Day, and had a GP call back within half an hour. You do have to know what keywords to use to get their attention though - I find the more dispassionate factual medical terms I use, the faster they respond. In our case, we both had chest infections, and I have asthma and have been really struggling, so obviously that set off alarm bells when I was triaged.

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