To wonder if doctors surgery's will go back to normal.

[Ciaram55]

In light of the latest news that covid restrictions are ending and things supposedly getting back to normal, I wonder if doctors surgery's will go back to how they were, as in get to be seen more easily.

@ofwarren

I prefer how ours is now too. Ring at 8 for an appointment that day. Face to face if clinically necessary or over the phone for simple things. Saves me a visit.

Same, this is how ours is done now. Stops people not bothering going to appointments unless it's necessary, doesn't waste the doctors time. No issues with it.

I doubt they will change anytime soon as they will still want to continue to reduce the risk of GPs isolating and putting pressure on the system.

Our surgeries e-consult has been brilliant, prescriptions sent directly to the pharmacy without the need to arrange time off work or take ds out of school and I hope that continues and they keep the face to face appointments for those who need them.

My main concern would be for the very elderly who are not IT literate, or are hard of hearing, who even struggle with getting through on the telephone either because it is constantly engaged or they have to listen to long messages and instructions to press buttons and still don't get through to someone to help them.

I'm envious of those of you able to get telephone appointments so quickly. I had a text at 2pm this afternoon asking me to make an appointment to discuss my recent smear test results with a doctor. Clearly, there is some sort of problem, so I phoned in a blind panic. the earliest I can have a telephone appointment is 25th Feb, so now I'll be spending the next fortnight googling 'cervical cancer prognosis'.

@edwinbear

I'm envious of those of you able to get telephone appointments so quickly. I had a text at 2pm this afternoon asking me to make an appointment to discuss my recent smear test results with a doctor. Clearly, there is some sort of problem, so I phoned in a blind panic. the earliest I can have a telephone appointment is 25th Feb, so now I'll be spending the next fortnight googling 'cervical cancer prognosis'.

That's crazy.

We are lucky here have to admit. Ours was the only gp surgery in the area holding their own vaccine clinics for covid. None of the others bothered.

I think there are a whole load of things that may be done more efficiently in the future. My daughter has had three or four appointments during lockdown - in each case, it was a telephone appointment with me, while she was at school, sometimes with a photo uploaded that I'd taken before DD left for school. Much less time involved for me, and no need for DD to come out of school at all. On one occasion the nurse did want to see her in person, but because she was doing most things by phone, she could be flexible about the timing, and so it was straight after school.

Our previous surgery offered telephone appointments, and I never understood why our current one didn't. Okay, so for some things you need to be seen, but quite often a description over the phone works well, and avoids spreading anything infectious.

What I do not think will change and was always there is how variable the experience of contacting and seeing a GP can be.

I'd like the option of a telephone appointment to continue, not that I have needed the GP for four years.