Caller number 31 in the queue?!

[tiredmama23]

On hold to my GP surgery currently. The automated voice just told me I'm caller number 31 in the queue 😲 Is it just me or is this a bit mental? I know phone lines are busy in the morning and I'm used to being number 10-15 ish in the queue at busy times. But 31?! I don't even live in a busy city either, we live quite rurally. Is this length of queue normal in other areas?!

Similar numbers are normal with ours, too. The other day I called at the stroke of 8.30am, the opening time, and managed to get third in the queue, but they still only had one appointment left for that day. The alternative was a telephone appointment just over two weeks away or to try again the next day. The receptionist was also v reluctant to give me the same day appointment even after I'd explained it was for a suspected infection that a pharmacist had said needed swabbing and antibiotics, so just needed to get done.

Reading here I suspect that the same day appointments are going to people who have queued outside until it opens. No idea what the solution is.

I was number 17. Can't book online either!

@tiredmama23 I actually spoke to a receptionist at my surgery one day and I asked how many appointments were available before they opened the booking line" she sheepishly said "ONE" So there you have it. 300 people all trying to get the one appointment!

I tried ours Monday to Wednesday last week, could never get in the queue or speak to anyone. Ended up at the UTC at our local hospital sobbing in agony on Thursday morning with a horrendous inner ear infection. I dread to think how many elderly people living alone are coping, they’ll just give up and get more unwell.

Ours has a phoneline but if you call it will tell you to go online and "leave the phoneline open for those who need it" and then even if you wait for a real person to answer they won't give you an appointment over the phone they just tell you to go on the app.
The app opens at 7.30 and is at capacity by 8.30am every day.

@Tilllly when I finally got through the msn in the phone was so rude I made a formal complaint. The local surgery here is beyond a joke. If you don't get through immediately you're done for.

That's bad

Ours are pretty good, tho a bit brusque on the 8am calls but understandably

I had a horrific day at work on Thursday following a really bad couple of weeks outside of work but worked tipped me over the edge. Phoned the GP at 10.30am and they offered me an appointment for 11am. Was running a bit late but I was still seen within the hour and signed off for 2 weeks.

You do know that GPS have 20,000 patients on their books, depending on where you live ?

Our surgery has online booking , so people ringing first thing don't have much luck :(
(It's usually weeks in advance though to get the appointments booked online , so none of it is great !)

Well can the NHS sort out my local hospital?

Its maybe a few days wait if you go to A and E.

And forget about being referred to see a specialist. About 18 months to see a dermatologist.

If GPs do go under " NHS" control expect so see it get worse.

The reasons why it's like this are multifactorial. But no government seems to want to improve the situation.

It's like pharmacies. They are private but have to work with the NHS framework. So they don't make a profit and why a lot of community pharmacies are shutting.

OO00OO - yes i know GP practices are private businesses, but if anything surely this should make it easier for them to sort themselves out? Other private businesses have to or they would go bust.....maybe this is part of the problem in that a GP practice doesnt have to service all its customers properly to carry on earning money.

No, I didn't know this specific fact.

Regardless, though, I'm commenting on a change in what I am used to. Like I've clearly said in my OP, I'm used to being around 12-15 in the call queue. Number 31 is quite a change. That's what I was commenting on. Whether this is the "new normal". Seems it is from others' comments.

It shouldnt matter how many patients GPs have on their books. If you need to see a doctor you should be able to within in an appropriate timescale. If doctors cant cope with 20,000 patients on their books then the NHS needs to do something about it. Not just put their head in the sand and hope we will all go away or be happy stuck on a list/being in a queue.

How do you propose the NHS magic up new GP's to ensure there are enough to go round??

justteanbiscuits - not my area of expertise, but options you would use in the private sector are to train/recruit more staff and/or reorganise/become more efficient so you use your current staff more effectively.

What you wouldnt be able to get away with is expecting people to fund a service and then when they want to actually use it, put them onto long waiting lists. Imagine, if you took out household insurance and then when your house burnt down, the insurance company tried to put you on a waiting list for 2 years before they paid out.

You can't just train GP's overnight though. There are simply not enough medical students choosing to become a GP. And who can blame them - hideous working hours, constantly bitched about, peoples lives literally their responsibility. And the pay isn't all that, unless you become a partner which less and less do now.

Insurance staff probably take 2 weeks training vs 6+ years for a GP.

We can't force people to become GP's. The reality is, there aren't enough to go round.

justbiscuits.....and i guess that is one of the issues with the NHS when it comes to trying to cut the waiting lists and improving GP access. Instead of trying to find solutions everyone (sorry dont mean to pick on you) runs out the usual list of issues and nothing changes (apart from things getting worse)

I was number 19 this morning. Hung up and did econsult instead.

I've been caller number 50-something once. I called as soon as the line opened, got DS2 into his taxi and walked DS1 & DS3 to school then got through while on the walk home. Managed to get an appointment though!

anyone else tried turning up in person to book an appointment to be told you have to phone ?

I rang 6 weeks ago after filling out an e consult for a non urgent. I was 18 in the queue on a Tuesday afternoon. I was told I could see an ACP in 2 weeks or wait 4 weeks for a GP.

Most of the time I don't even get onto the queue as an automated voice says they are at capacity and hangs up. If I do manage to get through the receptionist says no appointments left please try again tomorrow.

If you visit the surgery you are told to call and shrug their shoulders.

Econsult shuts off around 10am due to maximum capacity, try again tomorrow.

Econsult won't accept my tick boxes and informs me to call 111 or 999 as it cannot cope with anything for lungs (asthma or copd) or high blood pressure.

I cannot get through to get blood pressure meds which I desperately need. Been about a month of trying so far .

Not looking forward to my other repeats being blocked until I've called in for a review...

My surgery has stopped phoning for appointments & closed Econsult now have an app which is quite complicated navigating & frequently says “at capacity” so you can’t contact them, have no idea what people do who haven’t got smartphones/laptops etc.

Not a surgery but I was number 252 in a queue for British Gas and unlike a doctors the numbers passed very quickly and didn't wait more than seven minutes.
At the doctor's to move up one number can take three minutes or much more so anything above number ten is a long, long haul.