To ask what using your GP is like (trying to work out if mine is typical)

[HealthRobinsonCrusoe]

I can only make an appointment by phoning at 2pm. There's no online booking system. All the appointments are gone by 210pm. When they run out you just have to try again tomorrow.

This includes when they have texted you to tell you to make an appointment (otherwise they might stop repeat prescriptions).

There are no in person appointments except to see a nurse for samples. They call you over the course of a morning or afternoon. So you can't just take a short break from work.

They don't do shared care agreements. They don't recognise private diagnosis for prescribing so you have to go in the nhs waiting list before you can get treatment.

When they register new patients it's Tuesday mornings only. First 25 people only. You have to queue outside to physically collect a form. People go away disappointed.

The prescriptions are quite often wrong. When you try to phone to get them fixed you're cast into the chaos of the appointments system.

So aibu to think they're spectacularly awful jokers getting rich on suffering? Or is this pretty typical? It feels humiliating and scary dealing with them.

I'm in Edinburgh so I'd love to know if England/elsewhere in Scotland is better. Seriously thinking about moving because I feel like I've essentially no one to go to if I get seriously ill.

My GP surgery is amazing. Doesn't matter whether you ring them at the start or towards the end of the day if something becomes urgent, they will see you or speak to you. No, I am not kidding.

@HealthRobinsonCrusoe Have you tried contacting the Practice Manager? It sounds like you have grounds for a formal complaint. As far as medication/repeat prescriptions are concerned - medication should only be withheld if there is a belief that it may be doing you harm, it is being misused, is no longer appropriate for your condition or the medication you use has been discontinued. Medication should never be withheld or withdrawn as a punishment for your failing to make an appointment. A GP doing this is potentially putting patients at risk - which could be actionable.

There are others but I'm scared to move in case they're somehow worse 🤣 mine is regularly in the evening news top ten of bad ones tho

That does sound bad but saying they are getting rich on suffering is a low blow.

I now call in sick for a full day shen I need to access GP services

Half and half.

We are with a large practice in suburban Glasgow with 6 GPs. There is no online ANTYTHING. I can fill in a repeat prescription online but only for my thyroid meds, not my HRT or ventolin inhaler. You cannot book appointments online, or see test results online - there is no NHS app in Scotland. So everything has to go through the phone line to reception.

You are number.... 17 ... in the call queue.

Once you manage to get throug you can book in advance but unless it is extremely urgent, you'll wait at least 2 weeks. They usually get the prescriptions right though and our local pharmacy does have things like online ordering for repeat prescriptions, and they deliver too.

My mum is with a rural practice in the south of Scotland with just 1 GP, she calls in the morning and speaks to reception, the doctor calls her back a couple of hours later, arranges to see her if he needs to, if not he arranges a prescruiption which she collects later that same day from the pharmacy attached to the practice. SO much better.

Same with us - they are so good. I've had call-backs about minor issues (blood results, for example) and they've always offered a same day appointment to discuss.

Ours is incredible. It has an in house pharmacy which helps.

Mainly female GP partners, one male partner and then salaries GPs.

Can ring for a same day appt, though it find it easier to do econsult. For asthma they get me in the same day. When I'd had surgery and I felt I had a post surgical issue, they saw me that day.

For less important issues they send a text response to the econsult with an appt on for three weeks later (which is fine).

Can speak to the pharmacy twice a day. Can request double appts.

They are amazing.

England

I moved here a year ago.

They have an e consult system which is open from 6am to 8am.

If you miss that you can phone reception for a telephone appointment.

I have put in a few times on the consult and was told to go a pharmacy (for an issue that pharmacies will not see adults for). I eventually wound up at minor injuries and they phoned my surgery (I could hear them) and gave them a bollocking for referring people to a service that didn't exist.

I have repeat prescriptions (am disabled). Every single one has been wrong in some way. I always check before I leave and often have to go back into the surgery and say sorry you missed this one can you send it through please.

They seem to be more reliable on paper repeats than electronic so I've stopped using electronic

I have had telephone appointments. They reviewed my asthma medication but it was an external review paid for by a grant and the reviewer didn't know I use a wheelchair and have significant other problems and tried to ask me standard questions "can you walk 20
Metres without getting out of breath" and then got confused when the answer was no (because I can't walk)

The only time I've had an in person appointment was when minor injuries sent me back to my GP as it wasn't a simple infection and told my GP they needed to see me in person. My GP was visibly pissed off about it.

My GP surgery is pretty good really - just the odd blip here & there. Phone at 8 for appointment although they book up pretty quickly and always end up waiting in a queue to speak to receptionist. Receptionist gives some appointments, others are triaged by Dr so may get a call back from receptionist with f2f appointment, a phone appointment or non- emergency appointment. Have to wait for non-emergency appointments although there is option of also making non-emergency appointment at larger health centre a mile or so away. Can phone again at 1pm when some afternoon appointments are released. Blood tests usually done in 2 weeks. Pretty consistent with what GPs you get to see - I usually see one of 3 although there's sometimes a locum there. Reception staff are friendly and helpful. It's book in via screen when arriving at surgery for appointment. Online for repeat prescriptions. When I've been sat in waiting room I've seen people come in to register - it doesn't seem to be confined to specific times.

Contrasts with the surgery my DM used to go to when I used to take her: Reception staff all sitting at desks meters away from desk, took ages for someone to get up to come see what you wanted. Phone never answered. My mum never saw the same Dr twice all the times I took her. No online repeat prescriptions, arriving at surgery had to speak to one of the Reception staff who liked to ignore you, just to check in for appointment . Always sat in reception for 30 mins waiting for appointment, once we waited an hour past appointment time with no explanation or apology. Radio played loud rap/R&B music in reception - couldn't have a conversation with my deaf mum it was so loud. At my surgery an electronic screen tells patients how many minutes late Dr is running, no horrible radio, the waiting room is fairly quiet.

Ours is similar, although you can call and have the staff member complete the form if you can't do online yourself. You can only do the form in the opening hours of the surgery. It seems to work pretty well (unless the form says you need to see someone urgently and it's Friday 4pm. Then you go round a loop of GP doesn't have any urgent appointments, ring 111. Then 111 say the surgery is still open, ring them back. GP surgery says go to A&E 🤷)

That's my problem too. I don't want to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire

Mine is excellent. Online or phone to contact them. Triaged and offered and appt same day of needed or sorted by phone or online

I also recently had to call 111 on a Saturday morning and was assessed and treated by a gp within 2.5hours!

Not sure why there's all the vitriol for supposed sitting on pots of gold GPs. In real terms their income has gone down. 7.5% I believe. From that they have to pay for staff etc in the surgeries. Most work overtime to cover patient demands and most of the time these measures like restricting new patients , call at 8am etc are to throttle the demand because they can't cope. A survey earlier this year found them to be the most unhappy of all the doctors.
If you're angry speak to yourMP and your ICS and so on. Get proper funding for the GPs and they can then provide services as you want.

It does seem that NHS across Scotland is exceptionally behind the curve when it comes to offering e-consult. Also no app to see results or anything, seems like every practice is being left to its own devices. Some are doing amazingly well (like my mum's GP with one doctor) and others not so much.

Also, there is no impetus for them to change, in many rural parts of Scotland you just don't have the choice as the next nearest GP is miles away. Also round here you have to be registered with a GP who covers your postcode area for house calls which they don't do anyway....

There is a private clinic just opened near me which is offering a 30 minute GP appointment for £150 and they are doing a roaring trade.

Our GP is excellent , you can fill out an online form anytime between 8-4 and they get back to you promptly . If I want to see some on face to face I put it on the form and they send a link to make an appointment . My sisters GP is dreadful , they take weeks to respond to anything , you can’t get even a phone call unless you wait 3/4 weeks and when they do call you they are useless .

Phone bang on 08:30 for an appointment, same day. No e-consult. It will usually be over the phone but occasionally they’ll say it’s in person, I’m not sure of the internal logic. Repeat prescriptions through the NHS app which occasionally they’ll get wrong but are helpful if you phone up or pop in. Sometimes I’ve been told I need an appointment but when I phone up they sort it for me just by speaking to the doctor.

On the whole I’m very happy.

This thread has surprised me as I didn't think there would be so many satisfied people. I assumed everyone's GP surgeries would be like mine

This is shocking. We have online booking which we are encouraged to use to keep the phone line free for people who can’t use online booking. You always get a call or message back (your choice) within the hour and if they need you to come in it will always be on the same day.

The surgery has a dispensary and generally they have your prescription ready immediately after your consultation. Thry are quite happy to do shared care and accept private diagnoses and take over prescribing (eg for ADHD meds).

Rural SE practice with an affluent, generally older local population.

I'm in England but ours has online booking service. Appointments are released throughout the day so no 8am scramble. You can usually get the same day appointment, ie I rang at 10am and I was seen at 4.30pm.

Receptionists are lovely, polite. We do have a triage system and you can request a phone call if an in person appointment isn't available. You can also see a nurse or physician associate if you feel your appointment could be dealt with by them.

There are partners as well as doctors, around 16,000 patients and each doctor has a specialist area so you can be internally referred. They also allow photos to be sent so when Ds aged 13 came out in a rash and then hives with no other symptoms the GP initially rang me and then asked Ds to come in to check him over.

I cannot fault them, we have been with them for 15 years. They also follow up too, it isn't left to the patient to remember to book in.

Large city centre group of practices here, small city ion SW England.

We have the e-consult system which is brilliant, if you want a certain GP to reply they asvise to check on the website which days the GP works and you can request a call back from them- good if e.g. one specialises in HRT or you have seen them in the past etc.

They usually text within an hour or two and tell you if you are getting. a call back from the GP and when usually the same day.

You can click online to request full clinical access so you can view all your notes via the NHS app, I have done this.

If you order a repeat prescription that is also a click on the app and it is usually send to the named pharmacy within around 2 hrs and will be there to collect same day.

They are, though. I'm not saying they're to blame as individuals for a bad system but the variation in GP policies shows that some are choosing to put extra hardship into the system. And they earn huge sums from it all.

England here - Yorkshire specifically.

You have to call at 7.30am to get an appointment. By 8am they're all gone. If it's urgent then they'll get a GP to call you anytime until they close at 5pm, but if it's medication related then they'll get the pharmacist to call you instead which is actually really helpful.

They do accept shared care, but on the basis that you have it privately for the first 3 months with a written up plan from your private health care practitioner first.

We have two lovely receptionists and one other receptionist who seems to eat pissed on cornflakes for breakfast each morning.

Pharmacy is right next door so that's handy. I've never had any major issues with any staff, but they often don't send out my medication on time so I'm forever chasing them up on it and needing bridging prescriptions.

I'm in Glasgow. You have to phone at 8am for a same day appointment and get stuck in a queue. I have never not got an appointment when I needed same day for me or the kids but have had the GP contact me really late in the evening so god knows how long they're in the place for. Obviously there aren't unlimited numbers of appointments.
You can ring any other time to make a planned appointment, usually 1 or 2 weeks wait for face to face but they can fit in phone appointments quicker. Similar wait to get bloods done by the HCA etc.
No econsult but does have online prescription requests. 48hr turnaround from request to being at the chemist's.
I'm not sure if this will last though as 2 of the GPs have recently resigned - one has left medicine and the other is moving to a hospital based primary care role as it's less stressful. I don't blame them!

No, that's shit. Our GP"s aren't perfect but.....

You get three hours in the morning from 8-11 to access enconsult. You are triaged. They text back immediately with meds, or a slot for a call, or an appointment, phone or in person. You get a fixed time for your call.

Every GP in England is supposed to run like that. It was a set plan in the last NHS digital plan, but you know, HCP's are resistant, so only the better ones adopt the framework.

Shared care.... Yes! DH has recently been under the local private hospital paid for by the NHS...... So yes, he is flitting between the two constantly