To ask how long you have to wait for a GP appointment at your surgery?

[Ocsic]

Currently 6 weeks to wait for an appointment at my GP surgery - offering appointments for 27 March today.

I can’t imagine many people are able to wait that long to see their doctor.

(I work for the NHS btw, & am aware how hard the majority my colleagues work - not trying to apportion blame, but sadly I think this service is broken, & no longer fit for purpose.)

If you want to book an appointment, and might not be available 24/7 yourself, then it can be 3 weeks or more, however my GP surgery has 9 'open surgeries' a week, so if you are happy to sit and wait, you can always get seen the same day on weekdays.

So depends if you are asking 'how soon you can see a Dr?' as opposed to 'If you only had 10mins and wanted a specific time slot'.

6 weeks if you need to book in advance (bloods, general checks etc)

Same day for emergencies. I had an appt within 15 minutes of calling recently, which was great.

Ours can be a mixed bag. They seem to have a lot of registrars going through the system at the moment so if you don't mind an appointment with them, it's usually a 3 or 4 day wait. Named Partner.... you're talking 6 weeks and that's only when you call daily for about 4 weeks beforehand to get a slot when the diary for that partner opens up. They only run a 3 week diary. It can be enormously frustrating when you're trying to book a follow up for a long term condition at times. I've been trying to see the GP who I saw at the start of my condition since the beginning of December...........

Having said that, they will normally give you a 3 minute appointment with the Duty Doctor same day if you can convince the receptionist of your emergency. Luckily I went to school with one of them so I keep trying the line until she answers

We have a walk in clinic at our surgery every morning so you're guaranteed to get an appointment. If you want to book a appointment with a specific doctor you usually just wait a few days.

About 4 months :-(

But we can see a nurse the same day who will let you know if you are ill enough to need to see a doc sooner but then you still wait 4 months.

As a PP said, if you’re not fussy about which dr you’ll get, around 3 days. We’re in London.

You're pretty much guaranteed to get a same day appointment at mine regardless of what time you call. I know this isn't the norm though and we're very lucky

DimplesToadfoot 4 months! I would think most people would have got better, ended up in A&E or popped their clogs by then.

We are in the south east by the way.

I rang The other day at 2pm to be seen the same day if possible and was give. 445!

9/10 I can get a same day appointment. Always offered same day for DC.
In stark contrast to my old GP who my parents are still registered with where you can't get an appointment for 4 weeks unless you queue round the block at 8am or 1pm and can't schedule appointments.

Same day if it's an emergency. 2-4 weeks if not

At least 3 weeks to see a GP, not necessarily my own. I did once try to get an emergency appointment and none was available; the receptionist asked if I'd like to put on the waiting list for an emergency appointment. (I dragged myself off to a walk-in centre.)

Same day or after- small rural practice,

Emergency appointments on the day, non-emergency appointments are like hen's teeth.

The on the day appointments are a bit of a skill though. You have to phone at exactly the right time, hit redial 57 times and then hang on through the call waiting system and hope you get through before all the appointments are gone.

I'd agree, not fit for purpose. Thanks to Austerity and the dicking about with the organisation of how GPs work. I have a friend who is a part-time GP and she's on her knees with the pressure she's under. I don't think it's their fault.

Book ahead ones - many weeks.

Same day ones - loads if you go online first thing in the morning (5/6 am). HAndful if you phone at 8:30 (if you can get through ....)

3-4 weeks for a routine one. They will see you same day though if it's an emergency - if you are prepared to wait 1-2 hours. Usually a week or so to see a nurse.

I have an online account, and occasionally pick up a cheeky cancellation.

My practice is a large one in a market town, that serves 17,000 people from the main town (of 14,000,) and the surrounding 10 or so villages within a 3 mile radius (that have around 3,000 people in total.)

There are around 15-16 doctors, 10 or so practice nurses, and a parent/baby clinic, a chiropractor, a chiropodist, a well woman clinic, a well man clinic, an ECG room, a small minor op theatre, an X Ray room, and a dental practice with 3 dentists.

It's practically like a small hospital really. There are about 10 receptionists, and they are all really lovely. They also help train student doctors by sitting in on them whilst they do consultations.

Nothing - you can no longer book face to face appointments at my GP anymore.

All you can do is ring at 8am to book a call back (good luck getting one). When they call you later in the day, if they think they need to see you, you have to come in there and then. Tough shit if you aren't near the surgery at the time i.e. at work.

3weeks.... you can't make one more than 4weeks ahead though

If you need an "emergency" on the day appt you have to ring the surgery and they give you an appt at the hospital

We aren't able to book appointments in advance can only get same day

Always same day if emergency
Few booked appointments are kept for testing etc.

Around 2-3 weeks for a routine appointment with a locum.

Your looking at about 2 -3 months for bloods. Only one nurse who works 2 hours a week.

We only have one permanent GP left though as the others have retired. If you need an appointment with that GP, your looking at 4-5 months as they only work 2 hours a day. Said GP also goes away for 2 months every year, so can sometimes be a longer wait.

Emergency appointments - The previous times i've called for one, i've been told emergency appointments are reserved for under 5's, so I needed to attend the walk in centre.

Biggest issue for me is smear test. Am due one but very unpredictable cycle as have EBF 3 month old. Came on about 45 minutes before appointment ffs. Wasted double appointment with nurse.

They really need some double slots bookable one week - 10 days ahead - should waste very few that way. As it is have booked for 4 weeks - hopefully will avoid a repeat and at least have more warning to cancel!

Have had no issues getting appointments for the kids, haven't needed for me/dh. Best was wandering in at 9.15 and getting a paramedic nurse appointment 5 minutes later! Nearly died of shock (ongoing therefore non urgent issue with baby)

What part of the country are you in? Sadly, some areas have severe GP recruitment crises at the moment, because no young medicine graduates are particularly keen to move there.

Same day for something urgent, 2-3 days for anything else.

All the doctors at the surgery are ladies working job share in pairs. It seems to work well.