To expect to get a gp appointment

[Kemer2018]

On the first phone call i make?

My dd has severe cluster verrucas which hurt when she walks to school.

Went gp 3 years ago, was given the usual "its viral, all kids get them, try wartner shpiel. We tried wartner which caused a huge hole in her toe...but verrucas survived.

They've got worse, i want a referral for freezing at hospital.

Phoned on mon, was told to phone next day 0800 to get phone interview....unable to get through.
Tried daily, same.
Tried today, got message ssying "closed 1230 to 1630 for protected learning, call after 1630"
Which is precisely what everyone will do.....how the heck do i book an appointment?
Are your gp's like this?

You have done better than me. I have been trying all day and all I’m getting is that the surgery is closed today.

Outs has triage, from 8.30-10.30 if you don't call in that time period then you don't get an appointment,

If it's veruccas why not try an appointment with the practice nurse, she can treat it and ask the dr to come through if she thinks the dr needs to see your daughter...

Does your drs surgery offer booking appointments online through patient access website (many drs surgery do) if yours does just book a suitable appointment slot using the website

Your not alone. It's a nightmare most places to get a gp appointment. We are very fortunate that we have online booking too but most appointments are for 6 weeks away. We also have econsault so just fill in a massive form for the doctor to look at and call back within two days.

If it's hurting your child daily call and ask to be put on triage so the doctor/ nurse calls back same day.

*ours...not outs

I rang up five weeks ago to book the soonest appointment...it was yesterday....they rang me at 8am to cancel. Now there’s no more appointments for 4 weeks.

We have 22 doctors in our practice, it’s absolutely mad

Our doctors surgery is great. You email, then you either get a phonr call or an appointment. 99% of the time a phone call from a doctor is enougg

Persistent verrucas are sometimes indicative of very low immunity. They are caused by a virus which the body should be able to overcome, sometimes with a little help from topical treatments.

If your DD can't get rid of them, it's maybe time for a blood test.

I agree that the GP system has gone massively downhill in the last 2 years (not the quality of advice just the ability to get an appointment or even speak to someone to triage you). Our GP's office regularly refer people that need to see a Dr to urgent care at the hospital, which is of course nuts as that will all be booked up soon. I don't know what the cause is but I do know that I would vote for a politician that was committed to sorting it out.

You don’t need an urgent appointment for verrucas.

Freezing them off is painful and can cause damage to the skin.

Why not go to the pharmacist and see if there’s anything you can buy over the counter? A trip to the GP might just lead to the same advice.

Or you could pay privately.

My dd had absolutely loads on one foot for SEVEN years. GP wasn’t interested. Happily after her second HPV Vaccination we noticed they’d all gone!

My surgery is the same. Why has it give like this? Is this the austerity cutbacks..?

*gone like this, not give 🙈

Have you tried a chiropodist?

We aren’t allowed to treat verrucas anymore where I work - I would go to a pharmacy.

www.pushdoctor.co.uk

You could try push doctor op and have your appointment and prescription in minutes

I don't know what the cause is but I do know that I would vote for a politician that was committed to sorting it out.

Do you live in a bubble? Years of underfunding and people don't understand when they can't get an appointment. The mind boggles.

Treat the veruccas with high strength bazuka! I has numerous GP appointments to no avail so saw a podiatrist who told me to do this!

Treated all summer & gone now. My dd had twelve in total

Sorry it does not solve your GP question

We tried wartner/duck tape etc etc etc
The veruccas get the messge in the end

That's awful. We need more funding for the NHS.

I've always got a same day phone back and an appointment when I needed it.

Oh heck, I know it's not in the spirit of the UK and free at the point of care, but I'm pleased I live somewhere where (if you're not receiving income support) you do have to pay to see the GP (around £40) but at least if you phone in the morning you'll be seen that day! Probably that morning.

My daughter's currently being treated fortnightly for a similar issue - initial appointment and follow-ups for the last two months (it's a stubborn bugger because she left it too long to seek help!) and it's basically pick your time, when would you like to come?

I know that's not in the spirit of the NHS (I grew up on the mainland, with that system - but it was very different 30 years ago!) but paying to see the GP here means a) no time-wasters (unless they have more money than sense!) and b) the initial appointment if you've got a serious concern is same-day, and then the referrals to the hospital are free thereafter. Where, yes, there are waiting lists - no system is perfect - but if I wake up with an ear infection (get bad ones), or cystitis (mine always needs antibiotics) or anything else that would merit a GP appointment I know that if I phone that day I'll be seen that day.

I had a GP like this. Called for weeks. Never did get an appointment. Go private or move to a different surgery.

Do they have an online portal? Mine does and there’s no battling with the phone lines. Lots of surgeries do this now.

In terms of verucas the only thing that worked for me was duct tape. High strength bazuka peeled my skin off and left the verucas. But so many could indicate an immunity problem.