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?!

15 years ago Doctors didn't know they were basically going to get a pay freeze and have their contract turned to shit. Doctors weren't leaving this country in swathes due to awful working conditions. There were more nurses and around 15000 more hospital beds, so caring for patients was easier.

So, GP's don't deserve a work life balance? They should work 12+ hour days 7 days a week now?!! Maybe if they started getting paid for somewhere near the hours they actually work...

I was number 7 in the queue earlier this year, after half an hour I had moved to 6. I didn't bother waiting, as in reality after 8.35 all appointments are generally gone anyway.
I tried again the next 2 days and then gave up and drove to a walk in centre

It’s disgusting.

We have a call back thing where you hold your place in the queue and press the button to hold your place and they call you back.

It’s awful: on Friday I rang at 8am when they open. They called me back at 8.49 - told me they was full to capacity.

What kind of shit show is this.

I was furious- it was for my asthmatic child. Not good enough. No way near good enough.
There is an huge huge amount of patients at our surgery and they absolutely cannot cope.

I changed doctors and can't fault them at all
Rang at 6pm and got straight through, appointment at 6.30. Seen on time and including collecting antibiotics I was home by 7pm

Our practice has a really good system. You send a message with your symptoms (and picture if you want) You always get a call back the same day, no need to queue at all.

Well they don't all have to work all the hours. It's not difficult, other NHS services, hospitals being one example seem to cover 24 hour shifts. None of the GPs in my practice are even full time, let alone working unsociable hours, although to be fair, my lovely GP has called me in the evening before.

Our surgery uses econsult for appointments, which I find great, but they had to switch it to only being on during their opening hours, as they were getting swamped. If you can't use a computer you can ring and they will fill it in for you over the phone. That way everything is triaged. It's also useful for some admin queries.

There's still normally a queue on the phone, but nothing like the numbers being talked about here. Appointments are usually quite a few weeks ahead, but they will get you in if it's urgent by their criteria.

They have recently stopped taking on new patients for 3-5 months, but not sure of the long term solution, as we've had loads of new houses in the last ten years, and thousands more planned. No plans for a new GP surgery or much room to extend the existing one (and you still need staff to fill it).

Have you missed the fact that there is a massive shortage of GP's? Where are they going to get these GP's to cover the additional hours?

How on earth do you know the GP's in your surgery aren't working unsociable hours - even though you also admit you were called back by one in the evening?? They will be doing hours of paperwork at the end of their shift. Checking blood tests, prescribing, checking letters from hospital appointments. Many will also be doing things like visiting care homes, palliative care patients at the home. Do you think they only work the hours they are actually having appointments and there is nothing outside of that?

I know a number of women GP's who have gone part time. 3 days a week, but still working 40 hours a week.

@BananaSplitsss did you vote Tory? Then this is what you voted for. Everyone said the NHS isn't safe with Tories. If you didn't vote Tory then I have a bit of sympathy.

As others have said its Monday morning

I am in London and, though I don't often need an appointment luckily, I think the highest in queue I remember being was 8th and thought that was taking the piss, lol

It is infuriating though as sometimes you finally get through to be told all appointments are now taken for that Day and call again at 8,00 the next morning

Not just Monday. It's many days.

That's pretty normal across the country now. Our local - which is the only one in town, since Lakeside bought up all the surgeries - will only book appointments for the same day, but if you call more than one second after 8am (when the lines open) you end up 60+ in the queue and, when it's answered an hour and a half later, all the appointments have gone and they tell you to go through their online service...which involves explaining everything from scratch by text, and you only ever communicate with a nurse.

We moved to a surgery in a village outside town, where an actual person answers the phone within 10 seconds and you can book appointments whenever is convenient. I put in a non-urgent request on AskMyGP, and within 10 minutes I had an actual doctor call me back, having read all the relevant parts of my notes, and even offered me a low-cost private solution when it turned out the NHS won't allow the medication I need.

Y'know...basically, the way GP surgeries used to work. It's worth looking for other surgeries in the area (there are listings on the NHS site) and calling around to see if any are taking registrations.

if you can go down, then go down face to face, also phone in the afternoon not when they open?

I popped into my surgery one morning to make an appointment for a non-urgent problem.
They told me I had to use the App.
So I sat in the empty waiting room using the app to do my appointment just in case it went wrong...
There were no patients to be seen - none coming out or in.
It was really strange, as though the apocalypse had come & all patients had been killed.

Haven't you heard of GPs Out Of Hours? It's where GPs cover weekends, Bank Holidays and evenings for urgent care that isn't suitable for A&E (Accident and Emergency). It's not for routine things but you are being totally ridiculous thinking a GP should work in their surgery 7 days a week, evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays. The Reception staff and Nurses would also have to work alongside them. Not on your Nelly.

My surgery has cover weekend mornings and 6.30pm - 8.30pm
About 8 local surgeries are in it and it rotates between which one is open, so it might not be your actual surgery but it's not hard to get an appointment
I went last night and there was 2 on reception, 2 doctors and me and one other person there

This is what it says

Staff at the locality clinics will provide a range of appointments from Practice Nurses who will be available to provide chronic disease reviews, cervical screening and childhood immunisations along with pre-bookable GP and other Health Care Professional appointments.

Open 6.30pm - 8.30pm m - f
9-5 - Saturday
9-12 Sunday

How do you mean it's not for routine things?
My son needed anti biotics for an ear infection , we ended up going to a walk in centre after 3 days of not bring able to get an apt either my gp but we've been on a Saturday to an OOH gp for a similar thing.

The issue I have (and I'm sure it's the same for a massive majority of people) is not only not getting an appointment in the first place but the time spent trying to get one. If I need to wait an hour on the phone I can't start my journey to work in case (by some miracle) they say the only apt left is at 11.30 for example.....then I would get to work and turn around and leave for the apt....but if I wait an hour and they haven't got any left (more likely) I am late for work. Then have to repeat the next day. In the end I took a morning off to go to the walk in centre

Well we can hardly staff a 5 day a week service with current staffing levels, how do you think we’re going to staff a 7 day week service?

We already do extended access 2 evenings a week and some Saturdays, and we also carry out the flu and Covid vaccine programmes usually on Saturdays.

Out of hours provision is contracted to provide exactly that. The days of GPs working 24/7 is long gone, thank goodness.

It’s all a crock of shite… NHS in wales is Labour run… NHS in England: all absolutely shite.

@BananaSplitsss The tories trashed the economy and also cut all budgets. Labour in Wales don't decide the full budget. Just how it's spent.
Anyone that voted Tory has responsibility for this mess.

I know . I’m done with it all to be honest.

💩🤪😏

@Fizbosshoes routine - not urgent, my knee is hurting, could I have an xray? I need a medication review. I'm 50 and male, should I have my prostate checked? I've got an itchy scalp.