Prescriptions should be available elsewhere than just the GP?

[HouseIsOnFire]

Feeling very sorry for myself, I have tonsillitis and am in agony, hurts to drink, eating is a definite no-no and have been feeling awful since Tuesday.

I frequently have tonsillitis, there's no question that it's not and I need antibiotics.

The earliest I can have a telephone appointment is Saturday 20th May! My gp has nothing sooner, no ring and be seen on same morning, nothing but wait it out for weeks.

111 won't prescribe new prescriptions and pharmacist can't for tonsillitis.

AIBU to think there needs to be another option when it's such as obvious condition??

Some pharmacies in my area swab throats and provide antibiotics of necessary. If the throat swab is negative then advice is given. More than 2 occasions of a sore throat in a year are advised to contact the GP.

Exactly this. For 111 to tell you this is not an emergency is bizarre, 111 is not for emergencies, they are there to signpost you to the right place. An out of hours GP, and yes there will be one near you, can see you and 111 can give you an appointment with them.

Lots of people can prescribe. Not just doctors. Phone round local pharmacies and ask if they have prescriber trained pharmacists on the premises?

Online GP. This is the governments plan. Make the NHS so rubbish we all willingly use other services. To be fair it’s working

Most people who have it regularly generally know what type they get
I've never had viral tonsillitis in my life, a doctor asked if it could be viral then looked in my throat and backed away
One doctor was adamant it was viral despite pus everywhere and I ended up at OOH and 3 courses of antibiotics to shift it

I agree with making an online GP appointment. Had video call one for DD this morning for recurrent UTI and had a prescription ready to collect from any pharmacy within 15 mins. There would be no way to access anything through the NHS unless we sat for hours with her in urgent care centre.

I highly recommend Babylon.

sanityisamyth from having tonsillitis with my period each month for years I ended up being prescribed them almost continuously as was missing so much school. Whether it was me or them which was resistant or immune all I know is the hydrogen peroxide worked better than the pills and didn't mess up my gut at all!

Shemademedoitmum of course it's safe. It's clinical grade used for killing bacteria in the mouth and can also be used for whitening teeth and cleaning out ears and little other infections, it's good for infected nails too.

Re econsult.. this is not a universal service offered by all GPs. Mine doesn’t.
OP.. hope things went well with your appointment and you now have your antibiotics.

A few years ago I had a Bartholin's cyst just before a holiday in the USA. I couldn't get an appointment with my GP before I flew and it was pretty painful to sit down let alone fly for 10 hours so I used an online private doctor. Think it was called PushDoctor or something like that. It was about £20 and then the prescription charge which was a bit cheaper than an NHS prescription for some reason. I met the doctor via a video link and he was happy that I knew exactly what it was and that antibiotics had worked before. He was happy to prescribe the same as I'd had before. He sent prescription to my local boots. Sorted. Quick and easy. As my luck will have it, the antibiotics gave me a horrific stomach and that wasn't fun on holiday 😂
I bet services like that still exist though if you Google.

Lloyd pharmacy offer and online GP service

I too suffer from recurrent tonsillitis. It's miserable trying to get a GP appointment. I haven't seen my own GP since before COVID as I've never been able to get through on the phones when the lines open.

My life insurance is with Direct Line and I have access to a GP on the phone or via video call. I've used them about 5 times over the last three years, usually for antibiotics or when I had a weird eye infection. I can book an appointment slot for the same day and they can issue prescriptions. Best £30 a month I've ever spent on life insurance as it comes free with the policy. Highly recommended. The only thing they can do is physical examinations or procedures so they will refer you back to your GP if they think you need to be seen in person.

Can't do*

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/09/pharmacies-england-prescriptions-seven-conditions-amid-surgery-crisis

I entirely sympathise OP. I also get tonsillitis every couple of years, so badly I can’t even swallow water, it’s quickly treated with antibiotics but never possible to get a GP appointment soon enough. If I’m desperate for antibiotics I go to A&E (a waste of that resource’s time) because pharmacists can’t assess and prescribe. I find that over the counter meds like Diflam rinse, Diflam spray, lozenges with anesthetic and painkillers keep the edge off, if that helps

I entirely sympathise OP. I also get tonsillitis every couple of years, it’s quickly treated with antibiotics but never possible to get a GP appointment soon enough. If im desperate for antibiotics I go to A&E (a waste of that resource’s time) because pharmacists can’t assess and prescribe. I find that over the counter meds like Diflam rinse, Diflam spray, lozenges with anesthetic and painkillers keep the edge off, if that helps

I voted YABU because we should have better GP services. The government doesn't think that GPs and dentists are services that we should have, when needed. Teeth are about to become the biggest indicator of income.

Humans don't become immune to antibiotics, bacteria become resistant to them.

Antibiotics should be OTC.

I've lived in the far east and it has never been a problem.

The private option is a great idea I've never thought of it!

We are lucky enough to have Babylon with DH company insurance. They have been great with same day appointments and online scripts. For basic meds private prescriptions are no more expensive than NHS (if you pay anyway, that is).

Antibiotics should not be OTC anywhere.

Absolutely not! People would be taking antibiotics for every little sniffle. They predict by 2050 that antimicrobial resistant infections will kill more people than cancer and other big killers.

Wow! People aren't capable of managing their own health?