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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to not want to wait 4 weeks to see my GP

30 replies

OhLori · 10/05/2013 14:40

I've been given a date of 4 June for next appointment (4 weeks hence).

I mean, whats the point?

I did ring the surgery back to check it was a "holiday" reason, but no this is just a normal waiting list. I live in London.

Before AIBU releases the Dobermans here, I have a chronic illness and am feeling totally ill at the moment and needing some personal kind of touch/approach.

OP posts:

chillynose · 10/05/2013 14:45

Sorry u have to wait so long for. Drs appmnt
Sorry u have a chronic illness too

RightsaidFreud · 10/05/2013 14:51

I find this with my GPs too. There are two doctors that you can just never ever get to see, you have to book weeks in advance, it's a total joke. And the ones with available appointments (and by available, i mean in about 3 days time) are totally useless.

hiddenhome · 10/05/2013 14:52

Do you have a nurse practitioner who can perhaps help? We always see ours, they're more effective than the GPs more often than not.

musicposy · 10/05/2013 14:55

I had to wait 4 months for an appointment a while back. Everything for the next 3 weeks was gone and they don't put appointments up for further ahead than that. They said to come back in 3 weeks to book one. Which I did. All the appointments were gone again. And so it went on, for 4 months, until I threatened to write and complain.

I guess if they leave it that long you'll either be better or dead and either way saves them seeing you

hiddenhome · 10/05/2013 14:59

Four months?

That's terrible. There's a hell of a lot of illnesses which could easily see you off in that time if left untreated. Disgusting.

XBenedict · 10/05/2013 15:01

It's getting bad isn't if? Not enough GPs and too many patients

NotYoMomma · 10/05/2013 15:01

I never wait. I ring up on the day I know preferred doctor is working at 8.30 sharp and ask for an appointment with xyz

I have Dr number on redial lol

Dawndonna · 10/05/2013 15:03

Same here. Next appointment (booked yesterday) is 11th June. Having said that, I had a blip yesterday and was seen by a doctor (not mine, but damn good) at 3.30 yesterday afternoon.

NotYoMomma · 10/05/2013 15:04

I think the NHS is fantastic and sad it seems to be slowly going to shit under Tories

No doc appointments,
111 bloody useless
A&E overcrowded due to the above
Nurses feeling villified for not having enough of them

Purple2012 · 10/05/2013 15:21

This happens to me. I see my doctor eventually he tells me to make appointment in 6 weeks. I try to do that and get told no, computer only allows up to 4 weeks. So I ring back in 2 weeks, and get an appointment 5 weeks later!!! So what happened to only being able to do 4 weeks.

Sometime you have a problem that isn't urgent enough to take a same day urgent appointment, but too urgent to wait 4 or more weeks.

EldonAve · 10/05/2013 15:26

Change surgery
We are in London & I can usually get an appt for the next day no problem

SmellsLikeTeenStrop · 10/05/2013 16:02

I think it depends on the GPs surgery. I have a friend who can get same day/next day/ 3 days time appointments with no problem at all. I can't, the pre-bookable appointments are all booked up weeks in advance so instead I have to start trying to phone at 8 AM in the morning and constantly redial and redial and redial until I eventually get through and if I'm lucky there are appointments left, if I'm not then I have to go through the whole process the next day.

andubelievedthat · 10/05/2013 16:13

round this way if you can manage it you can q outside surgery in morn and be seen that day ,which seems a lot like the good(bad) old days, phone for an appointment ?pointless.

andubelievedthat · 10/05/2013 16:15

round this way if you can manage it you can q outside surgery in morn and be seen that day ,which seems a lot like the good(bad) old days, phone for an appointment ?pointless.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 10/05/2013 16:16

Was that the actual next appt or next one you could make?

No Dobermans here..just I work f9r a dentist and people often ask for an 845am or 5pm appt and reject one the same week...then moan about having to wait weeks.

If it's the first appointment. .YANBU

Sallystyle · 10/05/2013 16:20

I thought mine was bad making me wait 4 or 5 days.

Where I used to live my surgery was great. If you rang up between 8.30-9.00am you were guaranteed a same day appointment, if by any chance they were booked you were offered a sit and wait after surgery.

My new one is crap and they just send people to walk in clinic if it's something that needs seeing straight away.

MrsOakenshield · 10/05/2013 16:21

in my surgery if you want to book an appointment it's about a 2 week wait, I think these appts are mainly filled by those who need regular repeat appts. But you can ring up every day at 8 and after a bit of a wait on the phone, you can get either an actual appt or a telephone appt on the day. Which seems like a good balance. 4 weeks is ludicrous. Time to find another GP's?

starlingsintheslipstream · 10/05/2013 16:26

YANBU. It's hopeless and so many surgeries seem the same. DH needs to discuss the results of a liver test and they wanted to book a time a week ahead for the doctor to telephone him about it. I assume the good news is he isn't dying but I mean, come on, a week for a telephone call!

valiumredhead · 10/05/2013 16:28

You need to ring first thing, the minute the surgery opens and ask for an emergency appt if it's something that can't wait 4 weeks.

GrendelsMum · 10/05/2013 16:30

We have the opposite problem - you can only get appts for today or tomorrow. Great if you have a real problem, a real hassle if you have a chronic illness and need to put in regular appts for checkups.

busymum1 · 10/05/2013 16:33

Same day normally easy to get routine up to 4 weeks but if you ring up and speak to receptionist not on appointment line you can do a phone consultation with doctor then if he wants to see you he books appointment whilst you talking to him.

valiumredhead · 10/05/2013 16:35

I find the nurses good, they are usually my first port of call, we have about 10 at our surgery, they are all lovely.( big surgery though)

Sirzy · 10/05/2013 16:36

I would be phoning up each morning for an appointment if it is a problem which cant wait. They should have some emergency appointments available on the day

quesadilla · 10/05/2013 16:39

It is depressing that it is going that way but not all surgeries are like this. Mine (South London suburbs) has a two tier system wher pre-booked appointments are usually impossible to get within three weeks but you can get seen the same day if you are prepared to call the surgery at 8 and basically sit on hold for a bit. It's far from ideal because you rarely get a choice as to when you are seen but it does mean people get seen on a same day basis.

It's shit that it has to be like this but you should shop around a bit.

elah11 · 10/05/2013 17:21

4 weeks!!! Thats mad, I know I give out about having to pay here in Ireland but at least you always get an appt either the same day or definitely by the next day. Surely whatever was ailing you would either have cleared up or killed you by then??

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