My GP has told me that 80% of their appointments don't need a GP appointment.

[Hiptothisjive]

So I get that there are always people that need reassurance but this number shocked me. Basically a lot of people are visiting their GP for reasons they don't need to and taking up a lot of GP time.

It's great some of the prescriptions that can be given via a pharmacy now, but surely there needs to be a re-addressing of when to visit a doctor?

YABU - to expect people to know better than go to their GP when they don't need to
YANBU - people should go to the doctor whenever they want to no matter what the issue

I get 3 months worth at a time.

Agree with this completely. Why can't we book an appointment with the actual specialist we need. I had a problem with my foot, I knew what it was, ai knew what the treatment was, but had to go to ay least 5 appointments of varying types and two of those were with a gp to end up with the specialist I needed.

How else would you be directed to the consultant though? Surely if the GP refers you to one, then it’s above their level of experience and requires the specialist.

Consultants couldn’t have random people phoning up insisting they should be seen, so surely the GP is the gatekeeper and best person to decide? Imagine the former 😂 “I have an ingrown hair Consultant”

I realise you said often so I assume it’s an ongoing issue so I agree that’s different and a waste of time

My GP probably said that about me, neglecting to realise because they were dismissing me without doing any tests or diagnostic work and just patronising me telling me I was fat and unfit and needed to sort myself out.

I had undiagnosed Diabetes for years that a simple blood test could have diagnosed, as soon as I received a diagnoses and treatment the weight has fallen off and I feel much better. It just took me buying myself a continuous glucose monitor and then showing up to A&E to actually get that diagnosis and insulin.

GP’s jack of all trades and master of none

so many of them are useless and waste our time as much as we Apprently waste theirs

There’s another side to this. They tell you you don’t need to see a GP but then the nurses have limited knowledge and you end up being ill for much longer than needed. I recently used 5 appointments and one out of hours slot to sort a problem that would have been solved straight away if I had been “allowed” to see a GP. Instead my knowledge of my own health was ignored and incorrect assumptions were made.

This didn't work well at my previous GP practice, possibly because the practice was one GP short and the receptionists tried to fob too many people off with nurses, physiotherapists etc when it wasn't appropriate. When a customer satisfaction survey was carried out last year, this practice came bottom of the local rankings. Luckily for me, I had left by then and my new practice is much better.

Yes some protocols don’t make sense. We recently moved house and therefore GP surgeries. DH has a long standing repeat prescription, and before the new surgery would do it they wanted to see him face to face. Ok, makes sense as a general rule, they want to see people before prescribing a long term medication, fair enough. But no space for the exception that DH’s prescription is an EpiPen. He gets a new one every few years when they expire. He hasn’t become non-allergic, and if he had (if that had magically happened), the GP wouldn’t know that anyway. So he went in, they said “I can see you’ve got an anaphylactic allergy, I’ll prescribe the EpiPen”. Waste of the GP’s time.

My daughter's appointments could very easily be done over the phone. She takes sertraline and has to have reviews every 12 weeks. But, she is a teacher and being told she will get a call between 1 and 6pm on Tuesday is no use.

She uses the online system to make a face to face appointment because their phone appointment system is unsuitable for purpose for people who work, and have no phone access.

She has had very little success getting the reviews changed to school holidays as they just refuse to re-prescribe without the review, and won't flag her for review until the due date.

So she is one of the 80%, 4 times a year. And it is their system that causes that, not "the patient".

I think 80% includes conditions that they don't think needs treatment ie come back if you still have pain in 6weeks type thing

Also like others I’ve tried the pharmacy several times for prescriptions - latest for oral thrush. I’ve had this many times before and the prescription is simple. Boots told me they could give me nothing and I had to see a GP. Crazy.

First thing I would do would be to change my GP. Anyone who makes such a stupid comment is the kind of GP that misses out on important symptoms.

Problem is, I've tried to see the Pharmacist for common ailments scheme and there's been no one available. I'm happy to try other options, but the other options do need to be viable.

@WatchThisGladys yes it does vary from surgery to surgery 🙁
Mine (touch wood) is brilliant and you can usually get a same day or next day appointment.
My mums one and my mother in laws one (2 different towns so 2 different surgeries) are like getting into Fort Knox.

Sinusitis x 2Chest infection tion
These examples accounts for a lot of the 80% with people still believing that these conditions require antibiotics.

The vast majority of yhese are viral, more symptomatic but not different to a cold. Antibiotics do NOT help and are NOT required. Yet patients still demand them and too many doctors still themselves believe in the benefit of antibiotics and/or can't be bothered to argue with yheir patients and prescribe them anyway.

Of course, that means that as soon as a family member come down with another virus, they are back demanding a gp appointment for antibiotics...

I used to get 3 months worth of the pill (I'm not on it anymore) But for every other medication other than inhalers, it's 28 days

Receptionists are not trained to give medical advice!

As other threads have noted the NHS is broken beyond repair and GPS are at the forefront of that. In my case they have complicated and drawn out the input of specialists because they have not correctly diagnosed issues. AI has a great contribution to make in the future helping triage appointments. I know that will be an unpopular view but it will be transformative and save lives.

When something is free, people treat it as if it has no value.

But of those 80% (if that truly is the figure) how many knew they didn’t actually need to see the doctor until they visited and were examined? Surely you see your GP because you’re concerned or advised to. If you need no further treatment, great. GPs are not supposed to be emergency only.

Are we really supposed to be our own GPs these days and know how serious (or not) our conditions are without medical advice?
Give me my own prescribing powers and I’ll gladly stay away from the shitshow that is British GP care these days.

I have had ds's special school day that I have to take him to the GPs when I know it is a waste of the GPs time. Ds is now in adult supported living and they frequently take him to the GPs when I know it isn't needed because protocol says they have to take him.

When my father was alive, 20 years ago I used to collect 3 months worth of medication at a time. Now my husband is on lifetime meds it’s strictly only one month at a time even though he’s been on the same prescription for years and will be till he dies…It’s a pain, but I’m told it reduces drug waste! However my HRT comes in three months worth, so not sure why thats different!

GPs waste peoples time too!
My 9 year old had a diabetic appointment made by the surgery, they cancelled the first one & then made a second. We got there & the nurse didnt have a clue why my son was there “we dont do diabetic appointments, im not even trained in diabetes.”
A GP later that week actioned for my sons bloods to be taken to test for celiac, I asked why and nobody could tell me why even the GP themselves!

Well you can't have it all ways.

When you've got persistent symptoms and Google directs you to the NHS online information and everything you read means you fall into the category of "make a GP appointment" are you supposed to ignore them because it's "probably" nothing?

For 18 months my DM went back and forth to the GP, got put on the Fodmap diet, and her worsening symptoms meant she had to be a squeaky wheel. Actually she had ovarian cancer, which was stage 4 before it was diagnosed essentially by accident. She's dead now.

But because the GP was fixated on IBS, she would have been categorised in the 80% until, well, she wasn't actually.

Either GPs exist to monitor people's health, or they don't - which is it? And how many people will die because we're not supposed to "bother" doctors. I've often been reminded by doctors that I'm not a medical professional and they are, in lofty tones. Well, that's why I'm here mate. And if it's nothing, all well and good, if it's something perhaps we can nip it in the bud with thorough evaluation before it becomes life threatening and a drain on NHS funds.

Sorry but this kind of thing really puts my back up.

If there are a cadre of overly worried well wasting GPs time, then figure out why, because obviously they need some kind of help too. Vanishingly few people relish a visit to the doctor as a fun day out in my experience. I know plenty though who have had their symptoms dismissed or have avoided seeking help with really poor outcomes.

I agree with this for ongoing diagnoses or treatments but not for initial concerns otherwise consultants would be overwhelmed with people who don't need to see them.