How to get appointment with GP and not PA

[ReadthemAndWeep]

I've had ongoing health issues for around 7 months that seem to be escalating.

During this period, I have contacted my GP surgery 6 times. The receptionist has booked me in for 3 phone appointments and 3 f2f. Each time I've been told I would be seeing a doctor and I've turned up to a physician associate.

I wouldn't normally have an issue with seeing a PA however, I'm pretty certain I'm being misdiagnosed and I am scared! Things are getting worse and I really don't know what to do.

Can anyone advise me on how I can request an appointment with a doctor and ensure it's a doctor I see when I turn up?

It's appalling that they are telling you that you will see a doctor, when they know that's not who you're booked with. Misrepresenting a non physician as a physician is pretty dodgy. There are some fairly established laws around this. I would suggest "I hate to seem pushy, but I've already seen a PA about this several times, and we're no further forward, so I would really appreciate seeing a doctor so we can get to the bottom of this, as I do hate to waste appointments."

You need to tell the receptionist what you've told us and tell them you won't accept an appointment unless it's with an actual doctor.

When they say they’ve booked you an appt, ask is it with a GP. I’ve seen some very scary posts on twitter about PAs. It’s ridiculous. Refuse to see them

Can you request a specific GP?
At my health centre we can, may have to wait a few weeks for an appointment but at least we know exactly who we'll be seeing

The last time I called I asked for an appointment with a GP. I was told I would receive a telephone call with a GP and when I received the call it was a PA.

@nocoolnamesleft I will try again tomorrow and hopefully they listen to be this time.

I probably could but I don't think I can wait months to be seen again. My condition is escalating and causing me a lot of problems and pain.

I really hope it does work for you. PAs have a fraction of the training of a GP. They may be able to cope with the simpler issues, or indeed more complex issues where they fall within a very limited scope of practice. But when the situation is unclear, you really need a diagnostician, not a protocol driven undertrained person who has been thrown into work outside their depth.

A small number of practices have replaced retiring GPs with PAs, often leaving one GP to oversee them and sign prescriptions. Check your GP practice website to see if they have more than one doctor listed.

If you ring 111 can they make an appointment for you with a hub service ?

Call and specifically say you want an appointment with a GP, if you then see a PA you need to make a complaint.

In that case find the names of the GPs at your practice on the website and if it’s not one of those then say this isn’t a PA is it? I would also write a complaint letter to the practice manager about your past appts and being told they were a Dr.