Walk-in doctor's surgery closed down because too many people use it!

[livingontheedgeee]

Yes, "too many people use it".

We had a great service near me which was a walk-in NHS surgery inside the local Boots.

Like everyone, we are registered with our local doctor's surgery. When I want an appointment, I have to wait several weeks or, ring up on the day I need to see the doctor and hope that I can get through given everyone else who needs an appointment is also trying to ring at exactly the same time.

It's a crap service but one we've been brainwashed into thinking is the best way of doing things.

So, my saving grace in the event I really do need to see a doctor (which isn't very often) is that I could drive the 20 miles to the next big town and see a doctor at the walk-in surgery. I might have to wait an hour or so but it's not much more difficult than that.

I googled the opening hours today only to find out it's closed down because it was too popular and people were using it as an "alternative to the practice where they were registered". Yes, they were because they can't get a bloody appointment at their local practice unless they are prepared to wait 3 weeks or more.

I've tried for 8 consecutive days to get an appointment for my DD at the local surgery. The doctor was on holiday, then off sick. Now I have to sit in the queue with all the other hopefuls. I was told she should sit outside the surgery in the morning and insist on seeing a doctor right there and then. She's 16.

I don't even want to go into the inefficiencies that have led us to this point but surely it's time for someone sensible to take the reins of the NHS and look at things from a patient perspective. It's driving me nuts.

Well at least the question of the PR people saying oil companies were raising prices "to remain competitive" every other week in the 80s retired to is answered ...

I wonder if it was one of these virgin places (they're not always obvious).

Basically too many people means it costs too much against any forecasts/budgets/state subsidies to be profitable. Same thing happened with a whole hospital iirc.

Our local one is one of the very few in the county they shut the next nearest down for similar reasons. So ours no is ludicrously busy because everyone comes to this one. I needed to be seen a couple of weeks ago, rang at 7ish for the waiting time and was told they're not accepting new patients they're shut for the day. They're meant to be open until 10. 111 were being awful and difficult about making me an OOH appointment because technically the WIC was open...

It's so frustrating

No wonder so many people go to A+E with things that their GP could sort out, can't get an appointment for love nor money!!

It is nuts, but a lot of it is down to shortages of GPs. Basically, most people who train as doctors don't want to be GPs. And then those who do become GPs get fed up and go part-time, or leave to work somewhere else, or take early retirement. The GPs who are left become even more stressed because there's not enough of them to cope with the workload, and so they leave too. And all the time patient demand is rising because of an ageing population.

I realise none of this is helpful, sorry.

They've closed down my local walk in as well and blamed the fact students were using it as alternative their GP. My nearest walk-in is now over twenty miles away and I don't drive but I felt I couldn't really justify going to A&E for my complaint so now my only choice is to ring my GP at 8am everyday to try and get an appointment

I use the term 'fact' in my previous post very loosely as when the figures were published the number of students using the service were very low in comparison

My HA has spent a large fortune relocating the walk-in centre from one end of town to another.

Now, after a financial review of services, they plan to close down the newly relocated, very-much-smaller-than-before walk-in centre, because the same people keep using it instead of registering with oversubscribed GP practices.

They can't register because the practices are full and will end up in A&E at this rate.

It does seem that walk in centres are what people want. There isn't one anywhere near me so I don't know how they operate but it sounds like a great middle ground between GP and A&E.
Sometimes you really want your own GP but often that's not important. If these places dealt with common minor injuries and ailments it could free up GPs for more serious stuff.
Actually my GP are pretty good. You can see a nurse specialist the same day for lots of minor ailments.

The solution would be for GP surgeries to offer walk in clinics at morning surgery. Works well here.

They could put junior doctors on a GP rotation so they have to spend a year doing it before they can fully qualify.

Nurse practitioners know just as much as any GP so they could run the surgeries.

Also, if you see a specialist, you should never need to be referred back to your GP for treatment which is associated with the specialism.

We have had two wasted trips to the dermatologist (both with a 4 month waiting time for an appointment), seven wasted trips to the doctor to get an appointment, an appointment with the nurse who could easily prescribe what we need but has to defer to the doctor.

It is absolutely ridiculous. Everyone talks about the NHS being a failing service. It is and it's not difficult to see why.