to think immigrants are not to blame for the lack of GP appointments

[ThePinkHulk]

I have a friend who constantly moans that they can't get a doctor's appointment unless they make one two weeks in advance. They blame immigration/ EU, saying the immigrants are taking up all the appointments whereas you could get an appointment for the next day in the 'good old days'.

AIBU to think this is bullcrap? Doctors don't have THAT many appointments today to start with, as many work part time or they have to keep large parts of their day free for call outs or admin tasks (I would imagine). My doctor only seems to have a few appointments a day.

Next, if doctors really were in the position to offer appointments for tomorrow, you can bet the government would slash funding/the number of GPs as they'd view it as they weren't needed. The real problem here is not enough money is being allocated to the NHS, surely?

Its the government not the immigrants.

Part of the issue is we are not creating enough Dr of our own and "immigrants" quite rightly don't want to put up with those sort of shit attitudes in surgery so we are snookered - population explosion and health issues like diabetes, blood pressure, stress,, anxiety and mental health issues - not suprised the system is collapsing

Not enough GP/funding is the reason.

I work in a GP surgery and to get more funding, we have to take on more patients. We can barely cope with the patient numbers we already have. Yet we have to take on more to keep the employed doctors on.

It’s multifactorial.
The ageing population need more appointments.
More people seek help with mental health problems and things considered behavioural previously.
More GPs retiring or leaving as the job becomes more stressful.
Fewer junior doctors choosing general practice and moving outside medicine.
Fewer younger GPs being able to afford partnerships.
Inadequate funding.
Fewer EU GPs being attracted to work here.

Immigration helps the NHS rather than being the cause of a lack of availability.

Most of the GPs at my surgery are immigrants themselves, there'd be no appointments without them.

The government has found the perfect scapegoat for all the issues they’ve created. They couldn’t pin everything on ‘benefit scroungers’, but throw in forriners as well and 👌

Maybe your friend would like to consider how well the NHS would function without all the immigrants that currently work for it.

The whole system needs an overhaul. It’s inefficient, to get my pill I need a 10 minute slot purely for my blood pressure to be checked they want this every three months, I’m just in healthy bmi, non smoking, under 30 and no family history of related cancers or blood clots. It’s a waste and could be done at the pharmacy. My dh however needs a half an hour asthma review and it’s over due by two years now because they apparently never have the time slot available on the two days the asthma nurse works each weeks they just keep putting his repeat though but honestly his asthma is not under control.

However my practise is 100% bang on if you ring up for an under 5. You might wait 40minutes on hold to get an appointment but you will get one for an under 5.

Apart from my pill basically I’d have to be dying to even bother trying to get seen.

Aging population who live longer with more ailments

Not enough new GPs replacing those who are retiring or who leave or drop to part time hours (often still working more than some people do full time) due to the immense ever increasing pressures they’re under

YADNBU. My surgery is always full of people - young families with children and lots of older people. We are in an area with very, very low immigration. Getting a routine appointment is difficult and takes time. However, the surgery run a really good triage system and on those occasions when I've really needed an appointment for my DDs (teenagers) I've had one same day.

YANBU for all of the reasons above.

Errr, it might have something to do with the huge numbers of appointments that are booked and then missed every single day... it's shocking!

Well my surgery has a lot of immigrant patients and I can always get an appointment same day.

im in a small welsh village,population a few thousand at most and thats being generous.

all born here or from surrounding villages defo no immigrants and apart from the local shops family who are indian (but born in the village) everyone is white

95% are elderly,you still cant get a appointment for 2-3 weeks

The immigrants are indeed the problem.

Because we don’t have enough GP’s in this country to see the patients so really need to employ some from outside the UK. Let them in and cure the sick.

Think your friend may be a bit confused...

YANBU. My mil voted Brexit partly because “all the immigrants are taking our appointments”. No love, the reason you can’t get an appointment is because you ring up every week asking to be seen for a cold, toothache etc etc

The other thing is that although you can see a net population increase during increased migration to the UK, in % terms it was still pretty small. So the idea that a population increase above normal of a few % has brought all services to a standstill seems ridiculous. I'd suggest it's a long period of under investment which has caused most problems blamed on immigrants.

It is very unlikely that "Immigrants", from the EU or anywhere else, are causing the GP appointments problem we are all facing nationally these days.
But in certain specific places, Non-UK Nationals are definitely overwhelming Doctors surgeries, Hospitals, Schools, and the like.
How should the local people respond? They are resentful about being told to "Shut Up".
Hence the Brexit Referendum result.

Eeerrr most nhs staff are immigrants what does your friend say to that ???

As PP have said, there are a multitude of reasons. But some prefer the simplicity of a scapegoat

My sil is a GP. Reason why is as above
We have an aging population with those who go to the GP for serious illnesses.
Also, older people take up a lot of time because they are lonely, and need some company

She is right in the sense that in 2009 30% of doctors were immigrants. Now because of the hostile environment many have left and it is harder to recruit more so it has fallen to 26%. Fewer Drs = fewer appointments! Our local GP surgery is desperately short staffed!

YANBU, it's ridiculous. I agree with a PP about the ageing population with comorbidities and increasing ailments. But if you point that out your friend would no doubt say "old people have worked all their lives they deserve appointments" (IME bigots always do). Which is not always true (think of the rates of SAHM, my grandmas never paid a penny in tax) and also your friend's taxes prop up the system for these elderly people now, but once he/she reaches that same age they certainly won't see the same kind of care, it won't even be close and they'll probably have to pay for a GP appointment

Tell them to take it up with the government. People like this just use every possible reason they can think of to vent their thinly veiled racism

well it’s a mix of everything: under funding, aging population and unsustainable levels of immigration...:people who solely blame immigrants are as naive and blinkered as those that think 300k net migration yearly has no impact on services

Its an ageing population who often live with lots of things wrong with them. We’ve got better at keeping people alive but not necessarily well. Generally younger, working age migrants are not that unwell