To wonder what my GP surgery are playing at

[midsummerflowers]

They open at 8. I’ve been calling since 8. It just rings out and now I can’t get through at all.

What the hell is the point of being a doctor that no one can get through to?

I'm with you on this OP and I hope you get your little baba sorted.
My DD was recently wrongly diagnosed with foot and mouth, stayed in A&E overnight for obs, told she may have covid, amongst over things they couldn't come to a conclusion over. My GP wouldn't touch us and 111 told us to go to A&E. I lost count that week at how many medical professionals I spoke to on the phone. Was wrongly prescribed antibiotics that were doing nothing for her and it later turned out she had herpetic gingivostomatitis. It was horrific. Just feel like we are constantly being fobbed off. Hard to 'just go to A&E' when you have other commitments and no idea how long you'll be waiting for 😩

I start calling at two minutes to 8 and hit redial until I get through. Sometimes I'm redialing until 15 minutes past but always get through.
Ours won't make an appointment if you just turn up, never have.
Doctors in town near us have a queue system, you call and go in a queue, say you are caller number 8 or whatever, and they then move up the line till you are number 1.

@NotMyCat

Mine doesn't even triage You ring at 8am, it cuts you off if more than 20 in the queue. I get through and say "I'm immunocompromised and have an infection and high risk for neutropenic sepsis"

"Sorry, no appointments left, try tomorrow"
Repeat. It doesn't matter if I ring from the very second they open, I can't get an appointment and they don't do online ones

I think that’s the point at which it becomes unacceptable, regardless of how overstretched your GPs are.

Triage by photo, fine. Triage by e-consult, fine. Triage by receptionist, OK if you must. Triage by Fastest Finger First at 8am is manifestly putting patients at unacceptable risk.

It’s a joke and it’s certainly not like that at my GP surgery. You can call at 8, have a telephone triage by 9 and be seen the same day.

OP, not that you should have to, but is there a walk in clinic/ children’s A&E that you can attend? Small babies can get sick so quickly.

My GP's surgery has gone completely online and it's so much better than the old days of calling at 8am. You fill in a form and get a text back within three hours.

I did it yesterday morning (I have had tonsillitis on and off for a month). I got a text saying the GP would call that afternoon, the GP called, prescribed me more antibiotics and booked me in for a blood test to rule out glandular fever, which I've just been in for.

It's not the same everywhere. We get stats about call waiting and don't have this problem. We have never stopped offering face to face appointments. Many patients prefer or insist on remote. We provide same day and prioritise children. This has on occasion been life saving last year IMO. We have had to cope with acute consultants throwing care over the wall and running away too.

In my surgery and also in my DD's surgery, when I've needed to call for an appointment or to talk, the service is the same, once I get past the long COVID statement. I know this isn't the same everywhere but equally I know appointments are available and calls answered in some practices.

And this is while we've delivered a PCN-based vaccine programme quicker than most which we would still be doing if the government hadn't sabotaged it. And we're now planning for a massive flu and COVD booster vaccination programme from September, it seems.

We are struggling with recruitment and the England government's tin eared approach to practice funding and pay (NHS staff are 'lucky to have a job') isn't welcome. Still remember the chaos of PPE and track and trace. Will be interested where the £10s of Billions went.

@GolfEchoRomeoTangoIndia you can ring back at 1pm for afternoon appointments but same scenario. And you can't book in advance
I've had stomach pain for a week which I suspect might be IBS (never had it before), keep needing painkillers for cramps and stomach is bloated like a football but I can't see anyone

You need a timer clock when calling the surgery!!! Where you can see the seconds count down. Have the number ready to dial, you need to work out how long it takes to start ringing after the machine tells you your option. That way your call goes through straigt at 8am. I've called bang on 8th sometimes and been the 24th caller waiting

It doesn't have to be bad.

My GP practice allows me to book a tel appt with a GP via their website - usually within 1-2 days.
Doc then gives advice etc, & if a face-to-face is needed s/he books it there & then.
There's a queueing sytem for the 'phone that can take a while, but it doesn't cut you off. Most painful part is the crappy music they play on hold.

@midsummerflowers

BeHappy but it’s still sending me halfway round the county with a yelling baby.

I REALLY don’t think it’s unreasonable to just want to see his fucking doctor. Not A and E or pedi attics or David beckham. Just a fucking doctor.

Jesus there's no need to be like that. If you are so worried you feel it's appropriate to snap at strangers on the internet who are trying to help you then maybe you shouldn't be holding out for "his fucking doctor" and you should be taking him to a&e. I get that you are concerned but there is absolutely no need to speak to me like that when I was just trying to reassure you that you wouldn't necessarily be sent to a&e. But you just want to complain clearly so crack on.

If you think your baby needs seeing today by a clinician then pick them up and take them to your nearest Walk In.

I have lots of autoimmune conditions - I haven’t seen my Gp since February last year. Was told in hospital I need to see my Gp for my diabetic screening as my blood sugar was off the scale. Can’t get an appointment.

I’m currently having a IBD flare and desperately need some prescriptions - got through to the reception was told to email and they would decide if I was worthy of an appointment. So I emailed them photos of my shit (blood, pus, the lot) this was 2 days ago I have to wait 5 days for them to look at the email.

Emailed my consultant - who’s tried to contact my Gp no luck…111 tell me I need to go to A&e

I am now beyond fucked off

Seems the same everywhere at the moment. I see a lot of posts on community pages complaining about not being able to get through. I guess it’s because there all overworked

I work in the nhs with my 2 housemates both of whom are Irish. They say it costs 50 euros back home for a gp appointment, there are a lot less no shows and generally more appointment available as people only go when they need to otherwise they ask a pharmacist for advice as it’s free. Im not suggesting that this is the system we should employ here but just that for all its flaws, the nhs is a great system and the staff that work in it do care and give 100% but the years of chronic government underfunding and downgrading/cutting of posts means sadly the system is not able to offer what it used to where you could ring up and get an appointment with your own named go. The system is so stretched it just doesn’t allow for that but if it is urgent care you need, there is always 111 or A&E.
FYI there is also a blue nhs app that links direct to some gp surgeries that may be worth a try. You have to answer a series of questions and if it feels a clinical decision is needed it automatically arranged a call back with the gp bypassing the receptionist. I used it when I was bleeding/miscarrying and the receptionist would only tell me to go to A&E. the app got me through to a dr who organised a scan. It may be worth a try?

I have the same problem re. surgery phones.

In addition, I have had to chase a referral over a few weeks now and chase it some more, leaving various messages. Ironically I suffer from a stress related condition and it's done nothing but exacerbate it.

Then to be told (in a non too sympathetic tone) "I know you're frustrated but xyz." Actually that's not my problem. Although I am sorry to hear other people are unwell, it isn't my problem. Too me this referral is urgent.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. It's far worse when it's your baby, compared to when it's you. The practice might be struggling even more than usual at the moment if, for example, the receptionists have had to isolate unexpectedly (it's always unexpected!).

Do you have a walk in centre anywhere that you could get to? We have a couple in our town and they are really helpful. You might just have to bite the bullet and go to A&E if 111 suggest it.

At the time of your OP, you’d been waiting 12 minutes at most

And I couldn’t get through at all.

It wasn’t even connecting. That’s obviously worrying when your child isn’t quite right.

So take your and put it somewhere safe.

Wow, you were waiting for twelve minutes at 8am, the busiest time on the surgery phones and you are kicking off about it?

This is why GP bashing it occurring so often, people are so bloody entitled if things are done immediately and exactly how they want them.

12 minutes is really nothing to have to wait, christ I hope you never have to phone your local council - ours took over two hours the other day!

Our local surgery h

@StrictlyAFemaleFemale

Have you tried turning up at 8 am and booking in person?

Not allowed to book in person at my surgery. Has to be by phone or fill in an online consult form.

Has resorted to recruitment of GPs via the local social media because they are so short staffed and other methods haven't been successful

At the time of your OP, you'd been waiting 12 minutes at most

And this is part of the problem, people are just accepting that "only"12 minutes wait is quite good. No it's not and if they're advertising themselves as doctors, then be doctors. Not some invisible, unnatainable enigma!!!
Sick to death of the excuses!!!

Too right I’m entitled when my child is in pain.

Too right I am.

And if you’re not, then I’d question your priorities, quite honestly.

It’s also hugely misrepresenting myOP to claim I’m angrily throwing a tantrum because I had to wait twelve minutes. That isn’t what happened, as I’ve clearly said.

I couldn’t get through at all. The phone was not ringing or connecting, leaving me with no way of getting in touch with a doctor.

It isn’t the case I was politely told, by human or machine, that the line was busy and please could I wait. Twelve minutes is reasonable in such instances. We all recognise doctors are busy.

But when you can’t get through at all it’s very worrying, since you can’t get into the surgery either and the problem wasn’t an emergency but was causing some discomfort.