Has anyone ever just turned up to a GP’s office because they can’t get them on the phone for an aopointment

[Plinkety]

Posting here for traffic. Sorry.

Just that really.

DS needs an appointment quite badly. Certainly can’t send him back to nursery until we know what’s going on. He’s 3. Can never get through on the phone in time for an appointment. They always say phone 111 if we get through later as they are ‘full’.

Don’t want to be an arsehole so wondered if turning up as they open was a reasonable thing to do.

@Manthide that is horrific, your poor, poor brother. In your position I would support him to make a formal complaint and also to consult a personal injuries lawyer.

Flensburg · Today 07:25

“No, but it sounds worth a go.”

Big queue outside our surgery by 8 am every morning, very standard way of booking an appointment here.

We got through in ten minutes for my daughter this morning. Her appointment is in two weeks time.

this system does not work.

I used to do that all the time. Could never get through so used to arrive as it opened and book in person. Good luck

Yep. In my surgery I always go at 8am to make an appointment otherwise when you call the phone is busy and when yiu finally get through they tell you all appointments are gone. So.its the only way really.

Try 111. When I can't get an appt for dc 111 have either made an appt with the surgery (there seems to be some reserved for 111 calls) or made an appt with the out of hours gp. I've also gone in in person before as the phone lines are jammed from opening to midday. My GP lets you book in person but I don't think all do.

I intend to, I'm actually devastated atm but I'd hate any other vulnerable adult to be put in the same position. Just trying to be there for him, he's my only sibling and our parents are 80.

Going to the surgery when it opens at 8.30 is the only way you can get an appointment at my practice. But they only have 13 appointments for that day apparently, so if you're the 14th you have to come back the next day.

My surgery is urgent (same day) appointments or nothing. It's infuriating! I had a minor infection which I wanted pills for and could easily wait a few weeks to get. But I had to take a same day appointment for something which wasn't urgent. Telephone only.

I tend to start phoning just before 8am on repeat and then can get through at 8 being early in the queue.

Keep thinking about changing but thankfully I rarely need appointments so I just stay to avoid the hassle.

Really depends on the system your GP surgery operates. I went in recently in the morning, receptionist said to phone after 1pm which I did, got straight through and got an appointment for 4pm that day! Good luck 👍🏻

Ours has moved to a 100% econsult. You fill out the on-line form, it's triaged, and then you are contacted. So Tuesday, I feared the worst, it being first day back etc etc, but it worked amazingly:

8.30 filled out form and sent
9.30 email saying doctor will call by 1pm
Doctor called at 10.30, long call, meds prescribed
Collected meds Wednesday afternoon at dispensary

I was actually really impressed.

Not so impressive, is the two week wait for bloods, and a further two week wait for a follow-up...... but in the emergency situation it worked well.

Have you actually tried calling 111? I had a throat infection and got a call back 3 hours later then a face to face appointment for half hour after I’ve used it for my kids (2 under 5) and had a quick response

Ours has introduced a system called Klinic (sp?). It told me I wasn’t registered so I called the surgery (so about a 30 minute wait), spent about 20 mins with the receptionist on the phone trying to do it for me… a million questions later it wouldnt work for her either. Bye bye lunch break. If I wasn’t feeling ill before, I certainly was by the end of the call. She would have to try a get someone else help to make me an appointment. About 5 hours later I got a call from someone at another surgery booking me in for an appointment at my surgery (?!). Eventually got my appointment about a week later. Only one doctor in the surgery so despite having an appointment I waited around 45 minutes. Was in the room with the stressed doctor for less than 5 minutes. Most of the appointment was her staring at the computer screen filling in answers to the many questions she had for me. Awful experience all round.

Yep I do it regularly. The phone either goes unanswered or is busy

Until very recently we didn't, the nearest ones were about 12 miles away and we don't live in a rural area.

But at some point before Christmas a new one was opened which is in the next town. Still no good if you are too ill to drive, or can't. But much better.

Yes, I’ve done it many times, when I needed an appointment for my children, but couldn’t get through the phone.

The only way I could get an appointment for something very urgent was to turn up and make an absolute arsehole of myself, as you put it.
I was totally respectful and polite but insisted I wasn't going anywhere until I got an appointment. It was a hell of a fight but I got it in the end. I literally have not been to the doctors for years. I'm in Scotland and the system is utter pish.

This! 111 have done it for me before...apparently the surgery keep a few appointments open for it.
It's a faff - try to get through to surgery for an hour, then on hold to 111 & wait a call back from a clinician who makes an appointment with the GP

It's called "Klinik". Our GP practice and its four sister practices are using this online triage system. If you phone to book an appointment you'll be put in a phone queue, then the receptionists will take you through the same questions as the online platform.

It's awful. It can take a very long time to plough through pages of symptoms, ticking the symptoms boxes and filling in responses to free text questions about your symptoms, whether you have been seen before with this problem, what you have been prescribed in the past for this problem etc. There is also a section at the end which asks word to the effect: "What are your needs and expectations from the appointment you are requesting." And then the same personal details, address, phone numbers etc and information about smoking, alcohol use etc are asked every time you complete a request for an appointment.

Your answers on the forms are fed through an algorithm which also provides the triage person with potential differential diagnoses. You receive a text or a phone call within one to five days booking you in for a F2F or telephone consultation, depending on how urgent the person doing the triaging has assessed your need to be seen. Sometimes you will get an appointment within one or two days or it could be in three weeks' time. Phone consultations can be for a very wide window, eg expect a call anytime between 2pm and 6.30pm. Not practical for many people.

busyhedgehog: "When I ring DS's pediatrician, they usually see us on the day...despite the fact that there are only two pediatricians for three towns.
We aren't in thr UK, though."

An adult family member was referred by his GP to a consultant urologist, in November. He has been issued with an appointment for tests and a clinic consultation in August.

Welcome to NHS England!

Yes guinevere, it’s an awful system. Is it used all over the UK? It made me want to crack up. Is it designed to stop people trying to make appointments? Awful for so many reasons (elderly, additional needs, lack of internet connection etc). Who on earth thought this was a good idea? Why can’t gp surgeries just open all day and let people sit and wait to be seen. The whole system is just too confusing now.

You can try but I wouldn’t expect to be seen, just offered an appointment in 6 weeks time or told to join the phone scrum the next morning.

my practice have recently moved off a great online system to one that is only operational during office hours and doesn’t allow you to do anything meaningful. It’s like they have gone backwards

My dad used to do this regularly after most of the appointments at their surgery moved to online booking.

Conversely my own surgery has just moved away from the online bookings and you have to phone . Can never get through so if I was desperate then yes I would probably just visit the surgery .

I have been known to stand in the queue in the surgery while also in the phone queue when I really need an appointment urgently

Lol! If you're not in the UK you will have no idea how utterly broken the NHS is! It's difficult to believe this shoddy service could exist in a developed country. You have to experience it to believe it.

Our GP is actually quite good and have never refused to see my children. This seems to be extremely rare. However if they happen to get sick on a weekend you have a choice of 10 hour wait in A and E or a 36 hour wait for 111 to call back. We now have a stockpile of antibiotics at home to avoid going in for urgent but non emergency things .