... to ask what the system at your GP practice is for appointments?

[nomorespaghetti]

I've seen a few thread on here along the lines for "should I make an emergency or routine GP appointment for this", and it made me wonder what the system is for getting GP appointments where others live.

My GP surgery has a fantastic system. Between 8 & 9:30 they have a telephone triage system, where you call up and leave a message with a receptionist or voicemail asking for a call back. A GP or nurse practitioner (presumably one is assigned each day to deal with the phone calls) phones you back and you can discuss the problem. Outcomes are that you're invited in for an appointment that day, or you're dealt with on the phone (a prescription issued/referral made), or you're politely told to call back if problem persists, but they don't need to see you.

Me and my family have had same day appointments for things like suspected infections (ear, chest, uti, etc), acute stress, suspected sprains (turned out to be broken ).

We've had prescriptions issued for things like eczema. When I found out I was pregnant I was referred to the maternity hospital after a phone consultation. It's great not having to actually go in when it's something straightforward.

I think this system must keep a fair amount of people out of the surgery, freeing up doctors time for more urgent appointments, but allowing everyone to speak with a healthcare professional. If you miss the triage hours they will generally arrange a call back if possible.

Routine appointments take several weeks, for general things like smear tests, vaccinations, etc.

I think this is a brilliant system. So, being nosey, what's it like where you are?

[Cath2907]

Ring up and tell them you need an emergency appointment and get given one that day. If there are no appointments left they'll give you a "sit and wait". You arrive at 11:00 or 14:00 and wait until a Dr is free. It can take up to an hour of waiting but you always get seen. I can book routine over the phone too but after 2pm only and it normally takes a week to see a GP (longer if you want to see someone specific).

[GrannyGrissle]

At my parents' surgery in Northamptonshire you can't get an appointment for 2+ weeks stuff is always being messed up/lost/missed and it is supposedly choc a bloc and over subscribed. However DDad had run out of antibiotics and was no Weller (prescribing nurse missed his lung infection fuck knows how) GP surgery refused him an appointment as non available. Was told to phone the following morning to make an app. DF started talking official complaint proceedures and asked how he could be sure of an app to be told the receptionist said that He Would (!) Rung up at 8 am to be asked if he wanted one at various times between 8-1pm basically they were nowhere near full.
So why the fuck do they turn people away and claim to be fully booked when they are nothing of the sort? (Waiting room also often empty/near empty when surgery is full. dodgy fuckers probsbly falsifying appointments and playing on x box or Mumsnet all day
My Doctors are bloody amazing, you can always get an appointment, staff who weren't trained by the SS. our 2 local chemists, both Boots, are utter shite, missing items, wrong items, fuck off and die quietly, preferably as far away as possible from here attitude

[twoplytwoply]

Ours is really good and they've tried various different systems. Currently you can either book online/phone up to 4 weeks in advance for any sort of routing appointment. If you need Same day you can call at 8:30. Morning emergency appts are with the duty doctor and are 5 mins each, or you might see the nurse practitioner. If you call later in the day and need to see/speak to a doctor the duty doctor calls you back and sorts you out. They won't give out appointments for repeat prescriptions you need that day unless you'll literally die if you don't get the medication, I've seen plenty of people get turned away because they weren't organised enough to request in advance. They also have a pharmacist at the surgery now who can deal with most medication issues. When you book an appointment they triage you to see who is most appropriate for you to see. System works well!

[TartanDr3ams]

Ours is a little hit and miss.

If you ring at 8 and its obvious what your issue is (uti etc) theyll give you an appointment to bring down your pee (as an example) discuss your antibiotic needs and youre sorted. If its a bit more of an unsure issue a dr will ring you before 12 and discuss if you need a face to face appointment or not. If the appointments have "ran out" you can ring at 1 for an afternoon version of above. You can ring any time for an advanced appointment (check up, pill check, blood tests etc) and can be waiting anything between nect day and 3 weeks.

[phoenix1973]

Call.
The desk takes details 🙄They're not doctors but there you go.
They decide whether a gp will call you back later.
If so, gp calls you after their morning surgery.
If they deem your issue as important enough, they give you an appointment the same day.
I don't like the system because I don't want to tell a receptionist my health issue, I want to tell a doctor.
Also, I'm still waiting over a fucking hour after my time. It's not good enough.
No evening or weekend opening.

[Chouetted]

I honestly haven't got the foggiest. Same day appointments are released at 8am, but if you want a routine appointment it seems to be pot luck when those are available.

For extra fun, I'm unable to use the phone, and the surgery is unable to offer any other methods of contact, so I'm unable to book any appointments where the doctor/nurse needs to phone me back to arrange the time themselves. I've taken to getting other NHS personnel to email them for me instead, from their work address, because apparently that's allowed .

[TinaMena]

Shockingly on the rare occasion when I have been in there are always loads of people who don't turn up for their appointments.
Well, if its that difficult to make an appointment, people aren't going to go through all that hassle to unmake one

[PeerieBreeks]

You phone during opening hours. They give you an appointment. Often same day, sometimes next day. Rarely day after that.

Yes, I realise how damn lucky I am.

[silkpyjamasallday]

You have to ring at 8am on the dot, and wait up to an hour on hold to ask for an appointment that day. You cannot make appointments for any other day, if you do miraculously get through to the receptionist, and they are full for the day, usually by 8.15, you just have to call back the next day. Shockingly on the rare occasion when I have been in there are always loads of people who don't turn up for their appointments.

Because of this I still haven't had any contraception sorted since Dd was born 17 months ago, because you have to be able to book a first consultation with a Dr, then book an appointment with the nurse for STD checks prior to booking the final appointment to get the thing put in.

[nomorespaghetti]

Loads of variation, and sorry to hear it's stressful for some to get seen. That's very frustrating. Seems like, for some, the system we have wouldn't be preferred, but a lot down to personal preference and circumstances i suppose. For us, the system at our gp is great, because we will always get to talk to a doctor (or nurse) that day, and see one if it's needed. That huge benefit, for me, outweighs the lack of routine appointments. And I'm not bothered about seeing the same doctor each time, but i understand that other people may care more about that.

[GoldenWorld]

Mine has the same system although you don't have to ring between 8 and 9.30. It's always a telephone consultation first. Which I can see is good but annoying for me as I'm a midwife and can hardly start talking about my piles or whatever during a consultation and I have no idea when they will call me back. So I have to wait till I have a week day off.

[Heismyopendoor]

We just have how you would make any appointment for anything else. You phone up and say you would like an appointment and they say Friday at 10 or Monday at 5.50? Etc or you can ask for an emergency appointment as sometimes it’s a week before they have anything routone. And then the GP will phone you and have a quick convo and if you need to be seen you go at the time they give you for that day. Some things can’t wait so I generally use the emergency more than routine. My dd gets tonsillitis a lot which is always treated with antibiotics and she gets really ill with it so can’t wait a week to get a prescription or checked out.

[Ssw1]

My doctors if brilliant. You just ring anytime of day (our receptionists don't triage over here). You get the next available appointment which could be the next day or when you want it.

If it's an emergency then a doctor will come on the phone or you get an immediate appointment

[Rumpledfaceskin]

We have same system as you op and it’s brilliant. But we can phone any time of day and I’ve always been seen that same day, even when I’ve called at 4 pm. I rarely go but take my dd on occasion. We are so, so lucky. I’ve never experienced having to wait for a gp appt.

[BernardsarenotalwaysSaints]

Mine is quite good. I normally call & ask for a call back from a gp/nurse for myself & if they think I need to be seen they'll then book me in for later that day. I usually call at 8:30 for the dc as it tends to be urgent & they've always been seen that day. I was very impressed over Christmas when dc3 needed a non urgent appt, I called at about 10am on the 27th, explained what it was & that it wasn't urgent & was given an appt 3 hours later with her named (& lovely) gp. Non urgent smears, coils, injections are usually a 3-6 week wait. It's usually no longer than a 48 hour wait for a blood test.

[ClaryFray]

Prey it seems.

[RadioGaGoo]

Our GP has a system where they keep you on hold for so long that you just give up. It's pretty effective.

[LizzieSiddal]

But most things I do go to the pharmacy first before I will consider the GP.. but that's because where we lived before that was the recommended advice

Me too. All minor things, skin issues, small aches and pains, etc. I visit pharmacists first and my DDs who are now in their early twenties, do the same.
It needs to be encouraged much more.

[LizzieSiddal]

I have not seen my own doctor since my 6 week check following birth of DC3, who is 10 years old!

That doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t care who I or my family see, as long as I can see a dr.

[LizzieSiddal]

We can phone at any time of the day.

I always say what the issue is and if I feel I need an urgent appt. if I do then a Dr will phone back, have a chat then either issue a prescription or tell you to come in that day/afternoon.

I’ve never been refused a same day appt for me or the dc. I know we are very lucky, it a small rural practice.

[topcat2014]

8:29 - our offices are closed (lines open 8:30 blah blah)
8:30 - all our lines are busy (redial etc)
8:45 - all appointments have gone,

repeat next day - or hope to get better!

[lalaloopyhead]

We have one Drs surgery in our town, though large is obviously not enough.

We ring (anytime to be fair) and the receptionists umms and ahhs until offering an appointment three weeks on Thursday or something ridiculous. There was one occasion where I explained I felt I needed to see someone sooner and was advised to go to the minor injuries unit.

I have not seen my own doctor since my 6 week check following birth of DC3, who is 10 years old!

[Tinysarah1985]

Where i work they do the doctor first system- phonelines open at 8:30, 13 phonelines coming into the practice, call in and the dr/nurse practictioner calls you nack within 2 hours (tbh it’s more like 20 mins!) and they discuss over phone and if needed book appt directly with the patient. For nurses and blood tests ee can book them directly. Absolutly brilliant system.
However where i am a patient, you can never get through to get an appt and if you do its for 3 weeks time.

[NoodlesLivesHere]

Our GP system.is perfect for us.

There are two sit and wait sessions a day 4 days a week (only one on a Wednesday). It does mean you could be waiting an hour or so but youll be seen by a doctor the day you want to be.

There are also a small selection of bookable appointments for routine visits so that you aren't waiting for hours to get a once over for medication renewal. These tend to be booked a few weeks in advance but as that's precisely the sort of reason they exist for it works well.

Our nurse is also fantastic and will ask the people lower on the list to see her if she's free to see if it's something she can help with instead...if it's not you don't lose your place in the queue. If it is then you're seen quicker.

I really feel for people who can't access a GP without hassle or stress and I'm fully aware of how lucky we are. It's a city practice too if that makes any difference to the average.

[lalalalyra]

Ours is a farce. You have to call at 8.15am to get an appointment that day. There is no pre-bookable appointments at all. There's no choice of time or GP unless you need a female/male GP for something specific (and you can't request a doctor you've already seen for an issue as they are all qualified...). Basically if you work, or your child is school age, then you need to be at home in case your appointment is at 9am, but it might be 6pm. They'll even tell you what bus to get if you say you can't make it for X time (from your home to surgery). If you don't get through by 8.30ish then all the appointments will be gone pretty much and you have to try again the next day. It took me 4 days last week to get an appointment for my toddler who had/has a raging ear infection.

Previously you had on the day appointments that you rang at 8.30am for. Callbacks that you rang at 10am or 2pm where you spoke to the nurse practitioner who would either do you a prescription or book you in with the on-call doctor that day or the next or general appointments that were a week or so away. They also used to have a walk in session one Wednesday afternoon a month.

The new practise manager and GP (husband and wife team) seem to think all patients are morons and don't see the bullshit in the "ALL PATIENTS SEEN SAME DAY" sign they've put up.