To be concerned about GPs new online booking services

[autienotnaughty]

So my GP and others that I’m aware of have adopted an online booking system instead of ringing at 8am.
So I have a chronic pain condition, I went online to book an appointment to discuss an element of it except you can’t actually book an appointment. You send a message and the GP gets back to you within 3 days.
I got a reply 2 days later ignoring my request for a face to face appointment it said “you have a telephone appointment with the NP for a medicine review discuss this issue then”
Now fine I can do that, except my doctors have a one issue at a time rule so there’s every chsnce she will refuse to discuss it. It’s also a telephone appointment and I wanted to be examined and I asked for doctor not NP.
This feels like an easier way of fobbing people off and making it harder to get an appointment.
Aibu to be concerned at this change of direction for GPs. It’s also happening at my dad’s doctors and he’s not online which means I need to request his appointments for him. I

Our surgery has the online form now. I was dubious at first, but it works well. If you don't have internet access you can still call and they complete the form on your behalf. You get allocated a triage call, then if they want to see you in person, you come in. It also has a messaging system, so can hear from the doctor about follow ups, prescriptions etc. Definitely better than the up to 50 calls I used to have to make to get through on a Monday morning.

But many of these systems have restricted times these forms can be filled in and are often shut down completely. How is that better?

We're also finding there is often zero flexibility- a massive case of computer says no. The more vulnerable are at risk.

It also seems to be designed to employ far less doctors and siphoning patients off to less qualified staff.

I actually think shutting down the system and having restricted times for form filling should be banned. The same people struggle to get appointments.

I also think GP surgeries should be under more central control with every surgery using the system and being subjected to the same rules as regards things like shared care. Some are taking the piss.

Our GP brought in e-consult in 2020 when covid started. It works well most of the time, but not always.

I had sore eyes and the GP told me over the phone to see an optician. The optician diagnosed blepharitis and said that the GP should have seen me to actually look at my eyes.

Our surgery shut e-consult down over the weekend, after somebody did one on a Friday night and waited until Monday, and suffered all weekend when they should have gone to hospital... so now you can only do one during the week.

I have found that I generally get help quickly if needed. I can see a GP face to face if necessary. On the other hand, my deaf mum asked for face to face, but got a phone call where she couldn't hear anything. I told her to complain and get it noted on her record that she can only do face to face appointments.

The fatal flaw in my GP surgery’s newish online system is that they don’t read the answers to the questions that they have asked.

This has now happened to every member of my family. Meticulous answers are given by the patient, within the strict character limit, plus a photograph(s), and all the GP surgery has done is ignore the answers and asked us to repeat all the information via some crappy unencrypted text chat.

Then they tell you that they are prescribing Medication A but actually fail to do so, and they say that there will be a follow up phone call that never happens.

It’s an absolute shambles.

Luckily we have an NHS Walk-In Treatment Centre nearby.