To be fuming that I can't get a GP's appointment this morning?

[MintyChapstick]

I'm so angry and upset.

Since before Christmas I have felt that my mental health has been declining. Feeling panicky, wired, on edge and its now got to the point where I am no longer sleeping properly. Keeping waking up very early even on the weekend, with this overwhelming feeling of doom and terrior. I have been medicated before, I know this will make me feel better but I cant get a fucking GP'sappointment, they only have one doctor in the surgery you see despite covering a massive area and you can longer book an appointment in advance.

There is no drop in service like there is in other surgeries, you have to ring on the morning and get an appointment like that. I rang at 8.30 on the dot the surgery was still closed, a minute later I tried again engaged, I finally managed to get through at 8.36 and all the appointments had gone. How is it possible for every single appointment between 9am and 1pm when they close for lunch to have gone in six minutes?

I had psyched myself up to see a doctor this morning, I could have started my medication today and it would have been in my system by next week when I go back to work. I know from the last time that it makes you worse before it makes you better. I've been in tears all morning, I need my medication! The receptionist was nice, but sort of non plussed, I guess it's not hear fault but I don't believe there are no appointments. In fact I can just picture the fucking waiting room now, elderly people who are there several times a week with bunions and in growing toe nails (we all know the sort) clogging it up whilst people who are really unwel can't get seen.

How they fuck is this right?

If you can't get an appointment with the GP, please do see the nurse practitioner. She/he can consult with the GP if necessary, ask the GP to prescribe if necessary, or refer you on to the most appropriate service. The nurse might not be the ideal person for you to see to immediately solve your problem, but she/he can open the door to the right treatment for you.

I can't believe no-one has called you on this atrocious statement:

In fact I can just picture the fucking waiting room now, elderly people who are there several times a week with bunions and in growing toe nails (we all know the sort) clogging it up whilst people who are really unwel can't get seen

How dare you?

I lost all sympathy for you when I read that nasty, ageist shit.

Did you tell the reception is it was to do with your mental health? In my experience of suffering badly in the past they have always squeezed me in on the day to see somebody. If this is queue-jumping then I think they'd rather that than somebody in crisis getting even worse without treatment.

It's all very well to say that people with depression shouldn't leave it to the last minute to seek help and get medications from the GP, but what with the possible feelings of apathy, fear, anxiety, insomnia, exhaustion, it's no surprise some do.

I work at a GP surgery and we face this on pretty much a daily basis. We have far too many patients and not enough appts for them all, but its only recently we have been allowed to not accept new patients.

We have received a lot of abuse from patients because they are so frustrated and feel very bad for them.

well i'd take myself down there and explain the situation. ask if you can wait and if anyone doesn't turn up then could you please have their slot?

then while you're there get your nhs number so you can fill in the forms.

Biwi I think most of us realised that the OP was letting off a bit of misdirected steam

And tbh some of it is a little bit true. My bloody grandmother has a weekly appointment with her Gp for no reason other than its just in case and someone for her to talk to in her every day life etc. Wednesday is the hairdressers, Thursday is the butchers, Friday is the GP. Obviously not every elderly person is like that, but she frustrates me and I know she frustrates other patients desperate for an urgent appointment. There almost needs to be a weekly clinic for these patients outside of the normal GP practise, but resources sadly don't allow.

And my grandmother is far from needing someone to talk to - she chews my grandads ear off enough

We are very lucky that we have free healthcare in this country so moaning y can't be seen the instant you want to having waited six weeks is shocking. Even more so when slating people who have appointments as you seem to think you are more important than then.

School workers can take time for medical appointmens so that's just an excuse.

If you want on demand healthcare when you click your fingers then call a private GP and pay. Otherwise, in a non emergency its expected to have to wait a few days. Given you have ignored it for six weeks, a few more days won't hurt.

I wouldn't suggest camping out at the surgery waiting for an opportune missed apt, but turn up as the booking line opens and book one for that day in person, with the receptionist in person.

My GP and team look after so many of my health issues, no way would I ever disrespect any of them with a temper tantrum because I can't get an appointment, but they have always suggested trying to get missed appointments, and I always figured being there is the quickest, simplest way to do that.

My mum works for NHS (within surgeries, although not as a nurse/doctor) and the number of DNAs she has is ridiculous, I know how much pressure there is in the GP environment on all the staff, so I've always been really polite. If that is still considered bad practise, I'll stop doing it, as I'm sort of embarrassed that it might be. My mum told me to try it, but she's not always the best source of what to do in any situation.

Going directly into CMHT is mostly easier as they are at the end of my street, I've stopped doing it when it became clear the psychiatrist didn't really want to see me there (appointment from hell) and signed me off.

What Autumn said.

With bells on.

OP, if desperate can you visit a private a GP? there is a private Polish GP near me (London) that are very reasonable (we are talking less than 100£)- however maybe get OFF thread and ON phone

for everyone bashing the OP, yes you have a VEERY valid point, of course you do but seeing as OP is distraught with MH issues maybe go a bit easier hey?

Can't believe how many people are saying turn up and wait that's not how this surgery works and tbh most are running late so a missed appointment would just be chance to run slightly less late

Although I recognise there is a huge difference between quietly and politely ASKING if you could wait and see if the doctor can squeeze you in, compared to marching in and demanding to be seen and refusing to leave if they can't help you

You don't need your Nhs Number to change practice (I've had five GP practices in 10 years due to me moving and have never needed it) and they will see you before your records arrive but as they wont have details of your prescriptions it helps if you have any packets or details of what you take

The open surgery thing really only works for those not working btw, who can afford to waste the morning waiting. Even if I'm ill enough to be off work, I usually wouldn't fancy a morning in a hot stuffy waiting room surrounded by sick people!

When I have needed an urgent appointment I have arrived at the surgery 10/15 mins before they open the doors at 8.30. First or second in queue and have always got an appointment, usually for before 10. If I've waited at the surgery usually been slotted into a dna within the hour.

autumn I agree with your sentiment except in that with MH problems it can be very binary - you can go from 'I can't face dealing with this illness' to the far side of breaking point in no time at all. And when the planets are in alignment and all the omens are good and you actually want to reach out and be helped, it is bloody dreadful when you get knocked back.

None of this is the NHS's fault, it is just that it is very different seeking treatment for mental rather than physical illness and the system doesn't cope anywhere near as well with the mental as the physical.

It took me months to properly acknowledge and try and deal with my mental illness and the first step I took was to contact a private therapist who hadn't kept their email address functional. That bounced email would have been the end of the whole journey for me because it would just have confirmed I was doing the wrong thing, being a burden and that I wasn't worth helping. Thankfully my DH stepped in and took over all the negotiating and organising so I got my treatment and rejoined the land of the living.

I think it is genuinely a serious problem that people with MH problems are being rebuffed by GP's even for a short period of time. I think they need a separate appointment list because someone with a mild physical problem can actually wait longer than somewhere teetering on the edge of reaching out for the help they desperately need.

Registering at a new practice is all very well, but usually you'll have to have a new patient check before accessing services...

I can't believe no-one has called you on this

...pretty sure I did BIWI?

My grandad (92) is one of those 'old people' you sneered at who has an appointment today for an in growing toenail. He urgently needs to be seen as he had a leg amputated and lost his wife in the space of a few months last year. If his one good foot is sore then he cannot walk on his prosthesis and then he can't look after himself. Maybe you think it would be better if this decorated war hero was put in a home rather than clogging up the doctors.

You sound very selfish and should have got yourself sorted ages ago if this has been going on since Xmas. I sincerely hope you have to wait a good time for an appointment now.

Shame on you

I think they need a separate appointment list because someone with a mild physical problem can actually wait longer than somewhere teetering on the edge of reaching out for the help they desperately need.

That wouldn't work though. How do you judge what is or isn't 'mild'. Some won't even tell the receptionist what the issue is.

Plus you will get people saying their health is maybe worse than it is so to get an appointment as otherwise they won't get seen.

The comment about old people might not have been well-phrased but is a valid one. There is a minority of people hogging appointments, often for chronic problems that are not treatable. A GP friend of mine gets very frustrated about this (and I, as a patient, get very frustrated at not being able to get an appointment when I really need it). That surgery started reserving certain appointments for online booking only to try to deal with this issue (the thinking being that this might effectively reserve some appointments for younger people (on the assumption that they are more likely to book online) who are actually ill!

Beaufortbelle if you did this at my surgery you would politely be told to phone like everyone else as our system is very clear and people who turn up are generally attempting to queue jump (obviously assuming you weren't having a heart attack at the time....)

How is it possible for every single appointment between 9am and 1pm when they close for lunch to have gone in six minutes?

To answer your question above MintyChapstick - it's not just people booking on the telephone.

If your surgery is anything like mine, when they open in the morning, the first priority for urgent appointments are people who are waiting there queuing. I have been in the morning for something urgent (I did I was there 10 mins before the surgery opened, and I was astounded to see a line of about 10 people). By the time I got to the front of the queue I was given an appointment at about 12.30 so had to leave and return.

The reception staff first deal with the queue of people who are there.

People who are telephoning get dealt with second and/or interspersed between the initial rush of people actually at the desk and answering telephones.

It's a brutal system if you are feeling really ill. I was talking to someone in the queue who told me that if you want to be sure of an early appointment, you need to be actually in line waiting outside at 8.20am (for a 9am opening). There is nowhere to sit and it is unsheltered. It's terrible for people who are physically in pain or cold/shivery etc - but telephoning often means there is no availability.

The comment about old people might not have been well-phrased but is a valid one

Would you say that about parents with PFB that run to the Drs with every sniffle etc etc etc because that does happen to!

Oh and younger people miss appointments for no reason too.

But hey it seems OK to 'pick' on the elderly.

I spent months suffering with anxiety begging my GP for help. They just ignored me and told me there was nothing wrong repeatedly. Ended up in a bad state at the local walk in centre. Despite my state they told me they didn't deal with issues and literally flung a leaflet at me. I had to survive a weekend in that state before I could even phone someone. Ironically enough, the lady on the other end of that phone call was the person who made the most difference because she was the first person who empathised with me and told me I wasn't imagining it.

I hope you manage to get an appointment. Its horrible when you're on the floor and they won't help.

My friend is also a GP and yes she does have some old people rock up for chronic problems and ridiculous ones. However, she treats them with kindness as sometimes that is the only way they can be reassured or quell the loneliness. No one chooses to sit in a doctor's waiting room for fun so maybe those that do also have some MH issues - something I would have thought OP would have been more sensitive about.