Is your GP online triage system good? NOT bashing - mine is brilliant.

[Merryoldgoat]

I messaged today using the online portal thing.

Message sent at 8.29 with details of my issue. I had a call at 8.36 from the triage doctor.

She asked a few questions and sent a prescription to the pharmacy but told me to get back to them urgently if x/y/z and they’d want to see me.

She told me likely issue which I suspected but also the things to watch for in case it was more serious.

She also asked for a picture of an affected area to rule out something.

They still take triage calls and see you same day when needed and it seems like a brilliant system.

So many here complain about their surgery - are they still making you call at 8.00 if you need an appointment? If so
why haven’t they moved with the times?

2 weeks for non urgent/routine appointments but they’ll arrange follow ups for more pressing stuff within 2 days.

People don’t believe me when I say I’m seeing a doctor same day - feels mad.

Ours is great too, the online consultation submission is literally the best thing to come out of covid!

We don't have a triage doctor.
We also don't have anything online.

You call the reception in a morning. Lines open at 8:30am but can join the queue a bit before. You can then get a same day appointment if you call early enough.
If you want an appointment later in the week/following weeks you call at a different time but appointments aren't particularly plenty.

When you see the doctors or nurse they are great usually.
But it's not always easy getting appointments.

So many here complain about their surgery - are they still making you call at 8.00 if you need an appointment? If so why haven’t they moved with the times

Where's the incentive for them to do that? Doctors' lists are full here, you are not allowed to move elsewhere to another NHS surgery with better provision. All the local surgeries are the same, none have e-consult or online anything. So why would one surgery invest the time/money in a new system and training up people to use it when they can get away with not doing it?

So-so at my surgery. You have to fill in a detailed form online, which is only available for 4 hours per day. Someone will then review it and mark it as complete, normally within 2-3 days.

On different occasions, as a result, I've either been given a prescription or had a telephone appointment booked on a day and time of their choosing. They don't tell you what they've done, or when things will occur, so you have to keep checking your online account periodically and notice any new prescriptions or appointments that appear.

It's a pain to juggle when you're working. And I always wonder how people who are less confident with technology cope.

Ours uses Ask My GP. Awesome service from the surgery, never failed to get a face to face appointment when needed, when the online booking system has closed for the day and I've needed a GP for me or my children they've been amazing and seen us at short notice even when I rang at 5.30pm after spotting a swelling to my daughter's neck after crèche we were seen by 5.45pm.

Our gp surgery is brilliant too. Always can get through, can get urgent appointments same day, were doing face to face appointments throughout the pandemic. I found a lump on my back, called at 4.30 amd was called in at 6pm that day. They do weekend appointments now too. Crazy thing is another surgery in the same area, so same NHS Trust, gets terrible comments on our local FB page. They are about 1.5 miles apart and serve the same demographic. Must be to do with systems, management and staff, that's all I can think as surely funding would be the same?

Mines really good either a prescription or an appointment same day.

Yes ours is great. Have got a same day nurse or GP appointment every single time I have called it.

And if I phone after hours or the weekend I get an appointment at the local hospital within a few hours.

We don’t have such a system. All appointments made on the phone at 08:00. 30 seconds later and it’s too late, even if you do get through, apparently it can be weeks before an appointment is made. No telephone appointments system either.

Surely it makes their life easier though?

It used to be terrible - the 8am scrabble to get appointments- calling 100+ times.

Recently they have the online system.

Used it last week. I needed my HRT prescription ( I only get 3 months at a time as I have high bp on meds) . A questionnaire was sent to me and I filled it in, put in my bp ( I have a machine), was asked if I wanted to talk about anything else. 30 mins later another message tells me my prescription was at my local pharmacy.

As far as I'm aware, it's still a call at 8 am system.

But I don't think they particularly care about "making their life easier". Easier is not asking the staff to learn a new system. Patients can't vote with their feet and go elsewhere. If you hang on the phone in a massive queue they will see you if there's an emergency. Why should they change things and cause upheaval?

And anyway, the Scottish government says our NHS is SO much better than in the rest of the UK so there's no problem, is there.

Ours has just moved onto the online form triage and we’ve gone from a great service to an excellent one.

Before, we did the whole phone at 8am thing but you sat in a queue and if it was urgent you’d get a same day appointment. Choice of telephone or face to face. Routine appointments booked via phone later in the day.

Now, we have the online form thing and we just get a text with the outcome of our request. So far, I’ve needed one same day face to face appointment and one same day telephone follow up and got both of those without question.

You can also message them securely about things like prescriptions.

People in the village are not happy about it because it’s a change, but I have never struggled to get an urgent or suitably timed routine appointment at our GP surgery for any of us, so I do think that the vast majority of people who complain are ones who are probably requesting things they don’t need or just going about it the wrong way.

We are about to change GP due to a relocation and I’m gutted.

Mine was great when it was first introduced - great time saver (vs spending up to an hour on hold after calling on the dot at 8am), very responsive etc. Could submit at any time so far more convenient too.

Then a few months ago they changed it so that you can only submit the eConsult forms between 8 and 9, Monday to Friday. You can't get any kind of appointment outside those hours, even non urgent routine ones. So unless you're available between 8 and 9 to either fill in the form (which is long and needs to be actually submitted by 9 or you lose it) or sit on hold from 8 onwards, you have no way to get an appointment.

It's not too bad for me as I wfh, but what about people who are working or commuting or something at those times?? There's also no flexibility at all on the rules - the receptionist suggested that one person I know take time off work to enable them to call/submit the form!

Ours is terrific. Our GPs are universally loved, basically the whole catchment adores them. Haven’t met anyone with a bad word to say. The online system has only increased their speed and efficiency, I have had a good number of minor / not so minor ailments either quickly dealt with or quickly given an appointment.

With my mum's local one if you use the online portal everything gets sorted and arranged, normally on the same day, online appointments normally the same day or medicine requests within an hour of pressing submit.

Ringing up takes ages often just to get through to prescriptions.

It'll be interesting to see how efficient it remains once everyone is using it as primary contact method. I think at the moment it's probably quite streamlined and maybe at the expense of other methods of contact.

Ours is the same and is brilliant too. So much better than the 'call at 8am' lottery we had until recently. To be fair they would always see my son if I thought he needed it, but last time I rang I was 48th in the queue.

I've had a couple of non-urgent/admin queries recently and they've been dealt with within a few hours, no need to even speak to anyone.

@Merryoldgoat joy off nhs postcode lottery !

Ours used to be good - they changed systems, and now its awful

Not our GP, but I had a great experience with NHS111 online at Christmas. Inputted details, received a call back, and had required antibiotics all within 40m. It was brilliant.

Mines great, I love the fact I can get an email and not have to see a doctor when I know what's wrong. Had a UTI, went to the pharmacy, had a quick chat and got antibiotics within 15 minutes. Had spots (ongoing problem) emailed at 8am with a photo, prescription ready to pick up at 9.30. I love not having to see the doctor for everything, sitting in the surgery with 100 people coughing over you. If it's urgent and you email at 8am you get a call by 11 offering you a same day appointment. Really can't fault it

I'm jealous of everyone who still has a decent online system! I really loved ours when it was first introduced - just find it ridiculous that we now only have a one hour slot per day to fill in an online form. Surely the whole point is that it can be submitted, and then processed by the surgery, as and when possible/convenient?? So frustrating 😬

Our surgery is wonderful. The doctors and all receptionists are fab, so friendly and helpful.
All through Covid they was a link to follow. You send a photo it was reviewed almost immediately.
I can always get through on the phone, they do ask if a telephone appt or face to face is needed.The only change is they do ask you to say what is wrong.
So lucky to have a surgery like that. Very happy with them.

Ours isn't great. Phone or online at 8am to provide details. They stop accepting once at limit. Limit is generally reached by 8.10am at latest.

I've always managed to get on in time but that's because I'm there on the dot and often write the detail out on a text so I can just copy it in.

Phone call sometime that day between 8am and 6pm but you can tell them if there are times you aren't available.