To be surprised by how difficult it is to get (non-urgent) medical attention?

[VelvetSpoon]

I phoned my GP surgery today to make an appointment.

I am not ill, it is not life threatening. However, it is something that ideally I would prefer to arrange sooner rather than later.

The next available appointment is on 10 June.

The surgery used to operate open appointments on certain mornings (between 8.30-9.30 I think) where you could turn up and wait to be seen. This has now been replaced by an arrangement where you call in on the morning, and there are 10 appointments available (so if you're caller 11, hard luck). However, the next one of those is not til next Tues and of course absolutely no guarantee I'll even get seen then.

I asked if there were any other options - yes, apparently I can attend a local clinic. Great, I thought. Except it then transpires the local clinics only see the under 25s

I was left feeling distinctly unimpressed, and still no closer to actually seeing a Dr! Oh, and to add insult to injury, the only appt they had on the 10th is at 1pm, too early to get to if I take an afternoon off, and too late to get to work in time if I have the morning off. Surely I should not have to take an entire day off for a (pretty routine) Dr's appointment, and have to wait 2 bloody weeks for it?!!

Darkeyes am quite sure Bevan would not be turning in his grave because you could not get your depot when you wanted and after you've had the first dose every other dose is given at same time so advance planning should be simple.
As for taxation yes we all pay for it but the government does not pass it on to the medics , the number of administrators and managers is beyond ridiicous. GP receives less than 10% of the NHS funds.

It is not the same as paying for your solicitors time in 5 min increments.

macdoodle the Bevan comment was directed at hiddenhomes suggestion of charging

Bevan would turn in his grave if he saw the nonsense I see every day. Tues morning after a bank holiday an urgent same day appt for fungal toenails for 5 years. I and every other GP have thousands of examples like this. But the government and press will never highlight this as a major cause of the failing NHS.

If they don't start charging, the entire system will collapse.

Back in 2010 when this Gov got in I remember DH saying "a £25 charge to visit the GP is not so far away"

Its much easier to accuse GPs of being greedy and lazy, keep the voters sweet, and break down the NHS to see to their private cronies.

Fungal toenails, my point exactly.

People have no idea. They need to start taking responsibility for their own health.

Then why have they cut back funding if lack of money is the problem.

I have experienced a strange matching bruise on the inside of each thigh. Which was there for weeks Its gone now but I didn't bother ringing the surgery
Because frankly the way this world is going I couldn't give a rats arse what it was.

The general public will have brought the charges on themselves I'm afraid

I have clients who demand to see the GP at the drop of a hat.

No matter how much money is poured into the system, it will never be enough when you have patients who can't adequately assess their own needs.

People are becoming more ignorant and more demanding.

But what is 'urgent' in terms of GP appts though?
If I have bad pain in my shoulder, for example, which is not a life or death issue but is causing me problems with sleeping and driving, that is not an urgent matter, but should I have to live with that for three weeks until I get an appointment? Or chronic headaches? Thrush infection?

I would be interested to know what is actually regarded as an 'urgent' health issue.

YY Selks DHS heart attack started with a bad pain in the shoulder If I followed hiddenhomes advice and had assumed it was indigestion or something else and tried to treat him at home they would have had me in court for negligence faster than you can fucking spit.

If you have to pay to see the doctor then what's the point of the NHS?

What about those who can't afford it?

Not a fungal toenail that's for sure.

I had to wait three weeks to see my GP as the receptionist/person who answered the phone told me (in broken, barely comprehensible English) that a) this was the earliest appointment and b) it did not sound urgent. When I finally got to see the doctor, I got an appointment with the cancer clinic in just over a week, as yes, it was urgent. However, this could not have been diagnosed over the phone, and the receptionist either couldn't, or didn't want to, understand my reasonings for thinking that this might just be urgent - or let me speak to a doctor, who might have taken me a bit more seriously.

Where did I say shoulder pain was indigestion?

I'm sure the biggest time wasters will be exempt from paying, so the system will still collapse.

It's a done deal I'm afraid.

You were the one banging on about remedies at home

My dear neighbour died the very night after a receptionist decided he didn't need to see a doctor urgently. I saw him while he was waiting to see if a doc would see him - he looked dreadful. There must be loads and loads of cases like this.

Home treatment is fine for routine problems.

If you suspect that something isn't routine, but more serious then you need to see a nurse practitioner or the doctor.

One of the biggest problems with the "service" being free is that we have absolutely no consumer rights. None.

Are you a health professional, Hiddenhome?

Darkesteyes do you pop off to the doctors at the drop of a hat then?

What do you do if you get a sore throat, thrush or some diarrhoea?

Yes, I am. I spend my days figuring out what's serious and what's not.