Angry at GP set up

[chedderz]

Has anyone else experienced this and have any advice?

I wanted to move GP practice as the one I’m at right now isn’t great. I have a few health problems and don’t need to go regularly thankfully but sometimes need reviews, urgent help, new prescriptions and so on. There’s no option to book appointments in the future, you have to do the 8.30am lottery to get one on the same day, but usually you end up position 100+ on the phone and can’t get an appointment and have to try again the next day. And sometimes that’s not even possible as by 8.31 they send a text saying they can only run an emergency only service that day due to staffing, sickness, all sorts of reasons. The reception is closed for booking appointments in-person and it’s still running similarly as it was during Covid. No services like email, online, ask my gp, apps etc. it’s 8.30 appointment run or nothing.

even when you do get an appointment, it’s almost always a phone call which I actually don’t mind but it’s impossible with work as they don’t give a time, they just say you’ll be called between 9-5. unfortunately with my work I can’t have my phone on me at all (and even if I did, we don’t have any signal!) so you can see why it’s not a practical set up and I’m sure that would be the case for lots of others.

theres a practice in the area that’s generally bigger and better and has services like ask my gp and online services which would be much easier and stop the waiting about with the phone all day situation.

but we’re not allowed to move GP! I asked and explained why I wanted to but they said the health board isn’t allowing anyone to move unless they move house outwith the postcode area. The practice manager confirmed it.

im not blaming the GP surgery as obviously this is completely out of their control, but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t allow people to move? The set up at my current GP was tolerable before Covid but it’s awful now and basically in accessible for me and lots of others I imagine, but yet we’re not allowed to move practice and have to tolerate it until we move house?

Maybe they are really full and have to keep space for people new to the area who otherwise wouldn't have a GP? Do both surgeries have the exact same boundary?

Be noisy about their terrible accessibility - poor access to appointments; poor phone consultation protocols. Nothing will change quickly of course but the louder and wider their patients complain the better. Practice manager, local commissioners (google your local ICS), NHS England, Patient Voices, local healthwatch. GP surgeries are independent businesses and vary so much in how well they work.

Did you ask the new or old GP practice?

Well if everyone moves from your current one to the other one you’ll all be in the same situation with lack of appts

Moving only creates extra work as people chase the quietist GP taking away from actual clinic time

Yes, I suppose I hadn’t thought of the fact everyone would just move and the problems would transfer. That does make sense.

I just honestly don’t know what to do. It’s impossible at the current practice and completely inaccessible but I can’t move either so it feels impossible.

they definitely have availability at the new practice- I was in the process of being registered until they realised I was coming from a practice within the same health board and that’s when they said it wasn’t allowed

Are you in England or Wales?

Fairly sure this is against the patients charter. The surgery you want to register with has to give you the reason in writing for refusal. They can obviously if full or if you are out of their catchment area.
This sounds a bit iffy to me.

Op, I have had this same thing.

I wanted to move because on surgery was closer than the other but was told I couldnt

The OP refers to a health board, which don't exist in England.

The rules on this sort of thing are devolved and are different for each country.

Our GP is run like yours OP. It is impossible and I am suffering consequences as j love rurally in an area where signal is so poor I can't even get a smart meter as our signal is too bad.

The receptionists also act as gate keepers at 8am so I have to spend a long time explaining to them my health issues then often cut off on that call so end up with no GP appointment. Then when the doctor calls the call cuts out and they don't have time to keep calling back.

I can't even plan to take a lunch break in a better signal area either as GP won't give a time for the call. It's all hard work and I'm getting sicker not being able to contact anyone. Hope you find a solution!

Are you in England? If so there’s no such thing as a health board. GP practices have boundaries and you can choose to register with any practice you live within the boundary of.

They can close their patient list to new registrations but they have to apply to do this.

Apologies if you're not in England /UK (it's not clear whether this relates to England or UK)

How to register with a GP surgery

Can a GP surgery refuse to register me?
A GP surgery can refuse to register you because:
they are not taking any new patients
you live outside the practice boundary and they are not accepting patients from out of their area
you have been removed from that GP surgery register before
it's a long way from your home and you need extra care, for example home visits

Changing GP surgeries
You can change your GP surgery if you need to.
This might be because:
you have moved
you have had problems with your current practice
you were removed from the patient list
You should tell the GP surgery if you change address or move out of the area.