Getting a GP appt

[MidlandMary]

I was in our local pharmacy today to get help with my kids hayfever issues.
I noticed lots of self-service kits on offer, from thyroid to UTI infections and colon function.
All fine, this can be done via these services but I wonder, in that my daughter needed antibiotics for an ear infection recently, prescribed by a nurse, what is the role now of a GP?
I'd rather a GP but on the NHS this doesn't seem possible now.
Have GP's gone private now? I don't blame them if so 😔

That’s because there aren’t enough GPs for the number of people who want appointments. So AHPs have to see the minor things that don’t need seeing by a doctor. Your son will never be out of work and if by some miracle he is he can move to Australia and there will be plenty for him there

My surgery lists all their staff so I can clearly see who is a GP, who is the Advanced Nurse Practitioner, who is the Advanced Clinical Paramedic etc. I therefore know when it's a GP I'm seeing and it's all NHS. I'm not seeing anyone privately. When I went a few weeks ago I saw the ANP, my appointment next week is with a GP.

Seeing a nurse etc has been a thing for many years now... at least 20 plus.

A simple ear infection is either left to heal on its own or in some cases, given a generic AB, same most minor infections.

The GP is there, either as back up or to deal with more serious issues, my elderly in-laws have no issues getting to see a GP and people do have the intelligence to know the difference between a nurse and a GP, you'll be told at the time of booking too.

With a sicker and an aging population, your son should have no worries and GPs have always been "private", never part of the NHS.

Surely he did some basic research before embarking on this career or is there another agenda here?

Seeing numerous, mostly frail, elderly people in very large numbers with multiple complex co morbidities.
And statistically more now than before Covid. With less staff.
Practice nurse.

I’ve no idea what goes on at our surgery, it’s like the Mary Celeste. You can’t get anything done there anymore. All routine stuff like smear test, bloods, coil fittings etc are done elsewhere. Often very much out of area and need booking weeks/months in advance.

Any process that should be relatively simple necessitates 10 phone calls and hours on hold trying to push through to the next step. I asked for diuretics (via econsult) because I’ve got swollen hands and feet. It took two weeks to get an appointment which wasn’t at our surgery (I think they run a local overflow clinic that encompasses lots of surgeries) where I was told I needed blood tests first. More hoop-jumping to get an appointment for bloods (no appointments within a month). Finally had the blood tests, and they’ve come back massively out of range. I assumed the GP would call me but a week later I was still waiting so I rang them. I’ve been given a phone appointment in two weeks. We’re now two months on and it’s still not resolved.

Even two years ago that whole process that has taken weeks would have been done almost immediately. Even our pharmacist admits she’s at the end of her tether with them and doesn’t know what the hell they do any more.

Not everyone who wants a GP appointment needs one - many conditions can be treated or dealt with by a nurse.

I’ve got two health issues that I regularly have appointments for - one is dealt with by an ANP and the other I see my GP for. I’ve never had an issue getting an appointment with either.

I'm a paramedic who works in a shared role - ambulance service and GP.

At my surgery the GPs are still there and typically have 30-40 f2f appointments through the day - they're not obviously any private work there. In addition to this they have multiple phone calls and paperwork to do. I am extremely impressed by both there expertise and efficiency/huge volume of work they are able to cover in the day.

I'm there to cover what's known as urgent care - the appointments for people insisting need to be seen for same day appointments i.e the short histories of sore throat, UTI, cough, fever, ear pain, itchy skin/rash. The huge majority of which turns out to be self limiting infections will get better in time, some need abx, a small proportion sound atypical and I'm not sure what's going on/appropriate referral and I get them to see the on-call Dr.

The Drs are typically seeing the planned or routine appointments and those that probably could be summed up as 'complex'. Not the routine yearly reviews though - it's those with complex conditions needing regular monitoring and care. A proportion of the Drs also have urgent care slots - they'll sift through the patients and pick out the more vulnerable ones or those they think need a Dr not a paramedic to improve the chances of things going right - i.e. sick baby (I.e. id be more likely to be cautious and refer into a&e, where as the GP has more expertise to manage themselves if appropriate).

It is mad yes, paramedics and nurses seeing undifferentiated patients in GP. The simple reason it occurs is that the volume of people seeking appointments has massively ramped up and they don't have the Drs to cover it so this is one way of trying to improve capacity.

The simple reason it occurs is that the volume of people seeking appointments has massively ramped up and they don't have the Drs to cover it so this is one way of trying to improve capacity.

Is it really? Our surgery used to have 6 GPs on at any time, plus numerous nurses. The massive waiting room would be full of patients. Now there’s one of each on the board when you go into reception and no patients.

What are you batshit? Are you suggesting the practice website is lying about their doctors qualifications? Because I’ve looked up the 2 doctors I’ve seen and they are both qualified general practitioners registered with the GMC. Unless you’re suggesting they are falsifying information. Which would be a bold statement

I'm due my annual bloods, message on Thursday to book, rang on Friday, appointment next Wednesday. Find a better GP!

Stop and think about this. No one is in the waiting room because there’s maybe only two clinicians working and they have a patient in with them, and as soon as they finish with that one the next arrives and they call them in. One in one out.

Whereas if you have 6 clinicians working, their patients will be arriving and being seen at slightly different times. Hence more people waiting.

For the OP, I can’t speak for all of them but the GPs I work with are working 10-12 hour days seeing and speaking to complex, unwell, elderly, polymorbidity/pharmaceutical-reliant patients. Medicine now is increasingly complex, and the waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures is so excessively long the GPs are managing all those patients whilst they wait.

The rest of us - ANPs, NPs, ACPs, HCAs, PAs, PNs and pharmacists are seeing all the “simple” stuff to free up the doctors for the stuff only they can and should be seeing. It’s not exactly difficult to work out.

Obviously I get it. But my point is that the reason is because of a vast decrease in the number of GPs rather than an increase in demand by patients.

There isn’t a vast decrease in the numbers of GPs. GP numbers are actually fairly static since 2015 (the number of GP partners has reduced, and the number of GP hours has reduced) but the number of appointments requested is way up. The numbers of people registered with a GP has increased by 6.85 million.

44% of all appointments in GP practices were delivered by GPs in February 2025. GP practices delivered 368 million appointments in 12 months.

I tried to get a GP appt yesterday - first time in about 5 years.

First phone call they said no appointments but I could use the online e-consult form. Second phone call because I couldn't find the e-consult form 😂(you'd think there would be a tab on the website page or it would at least be under the Appointments section - no, hidden right at the bottom of the Home page in a 'blue box')
Twenty minutes later, having answered about 50, mostly irrelevant questions, the e-consult form said it couldn't assess me online and I had to speak to someone today. So, I rang back and relayed all this. They said, sorry, no appointments, ring back at 8am Monday morning
What a fucking shitshow!

I can get a GP appointment the same week, or a same-day callback if it's just a query.

They really, really don’t! In many areas if tgd country there aren’t enough gps. In other areas the aging population with GPs retiring and insufficient money in the practise means demand outstrips the number of gps. But private GPs are still a minority in the U.K.

I’m lucky in that despite being part of a practice who have a LOT of patients can always be seen by a Doctor that same day if need be, sometimes it’s a telephone call first then asked to come down, I actually prefer having the call first because sometimes you don’t actually need to be physically seen. This is for my children and I too. People do complain on our local social media about the practice (and others in the area) but you’re not going to make all of the people happy all of the time. ANPs have their place as do Independent pharmacy prescribers too neither of which would prescribe outwith their scope of expertise. I actually think we have a pretty good service in options for primary care as it stands.
I may just be lucky in my area though.

At our GP and indeed the other GPs in town (all part of same group) it depends on who you ask if you are getting a decent service.

Those who are able to navigate the app are getting a fantastic service. You fill in a request on the app and someone triages it and you are offered an appointment usually within 30 minutes of filling in the request. We've been twice to see a GP this week for my daughter who has developed quite a severe allergy rash that kept getting worse. Both times, request with photos sent and offered a same day GP appointment both times within 30 minutes. Almost everyone who can use the app thinks our Drs is fantastic as you get either a face to face or phonecall appointment with a GP that day. You can select the surgery you want to attend (choice of 4). You can request a non urgent appointment on the app and chose a day, Dr and time.

Those who are unable to use the app however tell a very different story. The app opens for appointments at 8am, the phone lines do not open until 9am. If you are relying on phoning up for your appointment then you are usually number 80 something in the queue and spend over 90 minutes waiting for your turn. By then all appointments have gone and only HCPs are available. There are no non urgent appointment bookings taken over the phone. I know a lot of the elderly and disabled at our church are really struggling to access the GP as they are struggling with the app. They are phoning up and can't get through and by 10am all appointments are gone. The local community outreach have done numerous how to use the app programs (some at our church and also at the pop in shop in town) but they are still struggling. The main issues are older smartphones not great with the app and not always keeping the app updated, navigating the app in general, been able to see/ zoom the screen in and then navigate.

I’ve given up. Impossible to get an appointment at my surgery and no app to make one, you have to phone (and be on hold for eons). I see a private GP for £120 for a same day appointment if I need one.

You didn’t actually read what I put.

I didn’t say most GPs were exclusively private. I said that most GPs do some private work. Fit to travel letters, insurance report letters, medicals - all generally private work.

Anything your GP practise charges for, is private work. That means that most GPs do at least a small amount of private work even if they mainly do NHS work.

So, I feel the outcome of this discussion is that NHS GPs are dealing with advanced old age issues and other severe community problems. AHC and pharmacies pick up the slack.
Okay sure but there are other healthcare needs that require GP input.
Where do we go other than private for those needs?

I'm a doctors receptionist.
In our surgery GP appointments are usually taken up by more serious or ongoing issues, also children under 4 always get a gp appointment.
We have clinicians who see minor ailments and can prescribe most things, they can always get the gps opinion if they think something is beyond their knowledge.
Nurses do all annual checks such as asthma + diabetes and bloods.
The health trainer will deal with weight and wellness checks.
Physio deals with muscular skeletal issues.

If someone insists on seeing the gp rather than another professional then we book them with the gp.

How patronising.

I can always get a same day appointment. Today my dad needed out of hours and we had a doctor visit.
we forget that the news is full of the bad stories, not the thousands of good ones about our NHS

Okay sure but there are other healthcare needs that require GP input.
Where do we go other than private for those needs?

I go to my GP.