To wonder if other Drs surgeries are as shit as mine

[Ohmegerd]

I've been unwell since January. Horrible hacking cough, burning lungs and i suspected it's a chest infection. Managed to make a doctors appointment at the time but they could only offer a phone consultation despite me calling at 8am sharp after being on hold for 45 minutes. Was told GP can ring anytime between 12pm and 8pm. Not ideal to be worrying all afternoon incase I miss the call but hey. GP did indeed ring and prescribed antibiotics, advising cough will improve slowly itself. Antibiotics made a slight difference and I muddled through a busy month of Feb in the hope I'd start feeling better.

Over the past few days I'm struggling again. I fall asleep but suddenly awaken gagging and unable to swallow. It's freaked me out and then I'm too anxious to go back to sleep. Horrible spluttering cough which leaves me feeling lightheaded. Chest hurts. Bladder seems to have given up on me and I'm leaking atleast once day after an episode. Rang GP yestrday but to no avail. Re-attempted this morning 8am sharp and after 25 minutes on hold again offered a phone consultation. I insisted on a face to face app but none left. I feel so fed up and upset. It's an absolute shitshow. Wtf will it take to be able to actually see a doctor??

I was also prescribed antibiotics over the phone - I'd had a bad chest infection for almost three months. It's the third time this has happened in four years. I've had pneumonia in the past.

I just found out, during an HRT review with a nurse (also over the phone), that a blood test taken over a year ago showed I had high cholesterol. There's a note about needing to give me dietary advice. They didn't pass that information on for thirteen months and then, only by accident.

You can't get an appt with a doctor in person. And, like others, unless you are able to sit on the phone, you can't get a phone appt either. They also make you phone the exact same number to order repeat prescriptions. It's absolutely maddening.

@HeartofSaturdayNight 13 months?? That's awful and I hope you put a complaint in.

My younger sibling lives abroad and I'm so envious at the amazing medical care offered. Sure they pay health insurance but its affordable and honestly at this stage, I'd pay because I can't see any realistic way to reverse the years of cuts and damage done to our NHS.

This is the government long term
plan though. So expect more of it. The government centrally fund anyone but a GP in primary care via AARS. Now 46% of appointments in primary care are not with a doctor. This is inefficient, inadequate for patients and just results in needing the doctor in the end anyway.

thousands of doctors have been turned away from GP training posts this year alone as government won’t fund more posts. They fund physician assistant posts instead.

many GPs can’t get work- check out the GP working for Uber as can’t get work as GP in news today

if you can’t get Taylor Swift tickets, it doesn’t mean she’s in an empty stadium. It means there are limited tickets / appointments.

and this is entirely manufactured.

Blame MPs. Not GPs.

At mine you ring first thing. It's a two week wait for routine appointments face to face, and about a week for telephone.

Same day appointment you ring first thing and doctor rings you that day, you are either treated over the phone or given an appointment for later in the day.

Most surgeries have a "hub" referral pathway. They don't like to mention it - if you ring up and have missed the face to face appointments you can ask to be referred for the hub appointments. All the surgeries in the area are part of it... It may mean you have to travel and it might be an appointment out of usual hours.
I've done it for my daughter and I've done it for my dad. Both were in different Primary Care Trusts.

I’m sorry but it is simply not true that ‘most surgeries’ will have this type of service available. This is something your practice will be providing with a network of other practices. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) don’t exist any more, but Primary Care Networks (PCNs) do.

Oooh sorry... I'm not a health care professional and not aware they changed it from "trust" to "network"... You knew exactly what I meant, so no need to be pedantic about it. Whether it's regional or not, I don't know, these were different practices in different counties but both North West... No point saying "it's simply not true" it's an avenue that the OP can reasonably explore to see if it is something available in their area. And it's something others can ask if in a similar situation - if the answer is no, that's fair enough. Don't ask, you don't get.

Your local surgery may have an agreement with neighbouring practices to provide a hub. These are usually used if the practice has no more capacity and there will often be criteria- e.g need to be a cough/ infective illness. They aren’t a secret that we aren’t telling people about.