Poll: Can you get a GP appointment within 3 days where you live?

[JudyBlumesBlubber]

Is the lack of GP appointments a particular problem in the South East or more uniform across the country?

My GP practice has an emergency "same day" phone line in the morning and the appointments are gone within ONE minute. Today there were 150 people calling for less than a dozen appointments. GP friends tell me that they prioritise babies and the very sick (e.g. cancer) which is fair but what about the rest?

Where I live, an appointment queuing system has been introduced to allocate non-emergency appointments using 3rd party commercial software; I've never had an answer or appointment from it yet other than a text to say to book an emergency "same day" appointment instead.

Is this the same around the UK? Anecdotally I've heard it's as bad in Devon/Cornwall and better in Scotland.

Likely to get a phone appointment with a doctor but it might be a day or so later that you get a face to face appointment depending on how urgent if you need to be seen

SW england

Yes. Unless i want a specific GP

No. Central Scotland.
Been trying for 2 weeks. Today lines cut off at 0836 as all appointments filled for the day, they only opened at 0830
I'm out of my prescribed medication but they won't repeat without seeing a GP so I just have to phone daily.

Only out of hours. But if we wait till 6pm and ring 111 we get a same day OOH appointment. So just use that now, works well.

Can’t think when I last saw the gp for something more routine where you couldn’t see out of hours. Probably before covid. I can’t work the website out. You used to be able to book advance appointments online and don’t seem to be able to now. The phone lines haven’t worked for months. They say they know there’s a fault and to fill out an online form. And someone will respond in 3 days but nobody did when I tried that. I’d like to talk about hrt and my bad hip but it’s too difficult.

I can get a same day appt quite easily here. East Anglia.

I'm in Scotland. My practice only offers on-the-day appointments for GPs, so you have to ring in the morning, but if the GP says you need a follow-up appointment you can just pop back to the reception and schedule one. I think the on-the-day thing is probably because it cuts the number of people not turning up to appointments. The wait can be quite long (up to an hour) on a Monday morning, but I've never not got an appointment. If it's for DC I can call any time of day and get a phone call or a F2F appointment.

Yes I filled in the online form with something I wanted advice on and receptionist called today GP wanted to see me that day.

Non urgent ones can book on the app.

Only for children.

Adults tend to have a phonecall.

Yes, at my own surgery, my partner's surgery and the one where I work.

Yes

Yes and no. Routine appointments can take longer (e.g asthma review/diabetic follow up) but for most other things yes. I had a dodgy mole- sent a picture in, seen the next day.

You can usually get a same-day face-to-face appointment at our GP surgery if you ring on the dot of 8.30am. In a recent survey at our GP Practice, 85% of people who took part (about half the people registered there,) said they managed to get an appointment on the same day on the occasions they had tried.

Also, if you have an online account, you can look for an available appointment online. Often when you look, there is none for 3-4 weeks, but cancellations pop up quite often. I usually only have to look for an hour or two, and I get a cancellation (often for within the next few days.)

Hi

Yes

Phones diff to get through but if you line up outside, good as guaranteed an appointment - if you fail the first day, often the next day you get through and its relatively easy to get phone appt and a bit more diff, F2F appt - but they are pretty good on the whole

Telephone appointment usually same day, but you have to phone and hold for ages and often just get a nurse.
Face to face much harder to get.
What is impossible is a non emergency appointment- I can’t see anyone about HRT for example.

No e-consult.

We are rural east mids.

our meds that are on repeat - just an email and pg sends prescription t nominated chemist - we live in London, greater london

Yes, same day. Always even during covid. Superb service.

I’m south London and it works very well but only for people with access to the internet and the wherewithal to follow quite convoluted instructions in an app. If you can crack what they want you to do then it’s pretty great. I can fill out a form with details (including photos if I want to) and I’ve always had a call back same day.

Not a hope in my part of the world(Pembrokeshire).
I received a letter about having an HRT review, very important I made the appointment etc., tried ringing yesterday no forward appointments and ring at 8am. Bonkers

Always an appointment the same day. But I don't live in the UK
My mum who does live in the UK waits a couple of weeks. Outrageous

No. West Yorkshire. Can't book an appointment at the desk, told to call or e-consult. If you call then you're put on hold until all appointments are gone or your phone disconnects.

The e-consult claims to be available between 8am and Noon every weekday, but it's usually full and closes within the first few minutes. So it's only available at the time you're doing the school run, and asks you so many irrelevant questions that it's not practical to do while on the move.

If you do manage to submit an e-consult, and they deem you worthy of a call back, then they'll make an appointment for a phone consultation at a random date and time at some point in the next two weeks, but not communicate the date/time to you.

Attempting to bypass the GP and see a local pharmacists doesn't work, as they just tell you to get a GP appointment.

Yes - our surgery is great at getting children in. I’ve had times when I’ve filled out the form at 8, had a call within half an hour and be seen by 9.

For an urgent appointment yes but with lots of trying and 100s of phone calls at 8:30am until you can get through.. Usually it will be a telephone assessment unless there is a real need to go into the surgery which suits fine for me

Scotland.
I can always get a same day phone appointment, which I can book on-line at any time. To see my specific GP, it might be in the next day or two rather than same day. If the doctor wants to see me based on that call, I will be seen that afternoon (if morning call) or the next morning (if afternoon call). The on-site pharmacist also sends people straight up to the duty doctor if they present at the pharmacy with something they think needs looked at (v useful with small children).

Until Covid, you could drop in at 8-9 or 5-6 to see any doctor, so there are a lot of complaints about that service being dropped, but I think the on-line booking works better as the Dr can read your notes etc in advance.

Can’t get one at all for adults or children. You can log in on the app and there are no appointments. It only shows six weeks in advance, and there are literally no slots on it - all booked. You can ring and they say, we don’t have any appointments. Check the app for cancellations. You try and explain the problem and that you really need a doctor for something that’s actually important and/or worsening and they say, well we don’t have any appointments to give you. If it’s urgent ring 111. And check the app for cancellations. And then they put the phone down on you.

Four years I’ve been with the surgery and I’ve not managed to get an appointment with a doctor yet for me or my children (and we have had some serious and life altering health problems during this time).

We basically don’t have a GP.