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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Bloody NHS e consult forms are shit!

67 replies

inagrumptoday · 12/12/2025 08:10

I’m trying to submit a consult to my doctor. The form is only open from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Right in my commute and workday.

The form is repeatedly refreshing and quitting on mobile. The surgery will not take calls unless you’re elderly and have no access to a computer. If you’ve submitted a form before they will not speak to you over the phone. So I guess I just can’t talk to the doctors now? Is this how they hope to generate more appointments? Fucks sake 🤬

OP posts:
Original poster
inagrumptoday · 12/12/2025 10:11

SushiForMe · 12/12/2025 10:10

That is useful though: type in all your notes in advance and save somewhere on your phone. Then take 5min between 8am-4pm (just before stepping into work? lunch break? toilet break?) and complete the form quickly.

Show quote history

But as I said the issue was the form was broken!

OP posts:
DeQuin · 12/12/2025 10:12

Sorry you've had a crap experience. I really like eConsult as it is so much better for me than the phone. I used to have to spend hours on the phone to get through and that ate into my working time (I recall having been on the phone for four hours once). With eConsult I don't worry about the accuracy of the questions and just put what I want in the text box. My surgery are very responsive to that (although having to go through all the questions is annoying).

SeriouslyWhataMess · 12/12/2025 10:14

Toomanysofttoys · 12/12/2025 08:17

Mine opens at 8am then closes the forms 8.30.
It's really awful.
I've seen people in the doctors walking in asking for appointments as have been trying for days.

Ours now does this. It’s a nightmare when you have to be on the school run at that time. It’s either make the kids late, which leads to sanctions for them, as the school don’t care about the reasons, or don’t have access to healthcare. The whole system is awful. I’ve heard that they push it because even if it was a query that was answered by a quick return form their end, it counts as a completed appointment, which makes their appointment figures look better. I’m not sure how true this is, but at this point it wouldn’t surprise me.

Dramatic · 12/12/2025 10:15

That's incredibly restrictive, surely they'll end up with more calls from people who are frustrated/unable to complete the form than they would if they just allow people to ring up for appointments in the first place. What a ridiculous system

SushiForMe · 12/12/2025 10:16

Sn0wfa11 · 12/12/2025 08:43

Some of us work away from where we live and have limited access to personal phones during th working day. Do we just not get GP care?

A very large majority will have access to their phone though. Maybe not if you are a pilot or an astronaut but I’m wondering who can’t access their phone during lunch break?

And what about the commute : not while driving / on train with bad reception, but surly at one point you are walking from the car/train to your workplace - well take 5min then.

Jaffapedigree · 12/12/2025 10:19

Mine are also rubbish, to the point where 111 has effectively replaced my GP. I also work in a secure environment where I can't take my mobile phone in, and they just cannot get their heads around the fact that I'm unable to take a phone consultation. They say that they aren't able to schedule a specific time for them, so I can't ask for one to be on my lunch break.

Utter rubbish!

Sn0wfa11 · 12/12/2025 10:29

SushiForMe · 12/12/2025 10:16

A very large majority will have access to their phone though. Maybe not if you are a pilot or an astronaut but I’m wondering who can’t access their phone during lunch break?

And what about the commute : not while driving / on train with bad reception, but surly at one point you are walking from the car/train to your workplace - well take 5min then.

Show quote history

Nobody in schools have access to phones during classroom time and most of us barely have 20 minutes lunch. I’ve tried to fill in GP forms then only to find they’ve closed. Also they don’t give you appointments that fit in with a 20 minute lunch break even when you put it on the form.

LemonTT · 12/12/2025 10:30

So from 1 October 2025 all GP practices are contracted to provide patient access through all means from 8am to 6:30pm. That means you should be able to walk in, phone or use online consultation during this time. This is not dependent on age. They cannot shut off the phone or online consultations during this time or restrict phones for older people.

That being said online consultation is for non urgent requests.

The complaint should be to the practice but you can also complain via the local ICB. You can equally ask the IcB to explain what they are doing to check compliance and deal with practices who are not open when they should be and not allowing access by phone and online.

Original poster
inagrumptoday · 12/12/2025 10:33

LemonTT · 12/12/2025 10:30

So from 1 October 2025 all GP practices are contracted to provide patient access through all means from 8am to 6:30pm. That means you should be able to walk in, phone or use online consultation during this time. This is not dependent on age. They cannot shut off the phone or online consultations during this time or restrict phones for older people.

That being said online consultation is for non urgent requests.

The complaint should be to the practice but you can also complain via the local ICB. You can equally ask the IcB to explain what they are doing to check compliance and deal with practices who are not open when they should be and not allowing access by phone and online.

I will be making this complaint tonight

OP posts:
Original poster
inagrumptoday · 12/12/2025 10:34

Jaffapedigree · 12/12/2025 10:19

Mine are also rubbish, to the point where 111 has effectively replaced my GP. I also work in a secure environment where I can't take my mobile phone in, and they just cannot get their heads around the fact that I'm unable to take a phone consultation. They say that they aren't able to schedule a specific time for them, so I can't ask for one to be on my lunch break.

Utter rubbish!

I’m tempted to call 111 and see if they can get me in earlier to be honest

OP posts:
Sn0wfa11 · 12/12/2025 10:35

LemonTT · 12/12/2025 10:30

So from 1 October 2025 all GP practices are contracted to provide patient access through all means from 8am to 6:30pm. That means you should be able to walk in, phone or use online consultation during this time. This is not dependent on age. They cannot shut off the phone or online consultations during this time or restrict phones for older people.

That being said online consultation is for non urgent requests.

The complaint should be to the practice but you can also complain via the local ICB. You can equally ask the IcB to explain what they are doing to check compliance and deal with practices who are not open when they should be and not allowing access by phone and online.

They aren’t though and are quite blazen about it so clearly they can get away with it.

What it means is for those shut out it’s now even harder to get appointments. Why is Wes Streeting not acknowledging this?

snugasabug75 · 12/12/2025 10:42

Had a text yesterday from the surgery to make an appointment for a meds review. Phoned the surgery and they don't have any coming up so can't help. 🤨that was helpful conversation.

EBearhug · 12/12/2025 11:06

snugasabug75 · 12/12/2025 10:42

Had a text yesterday from the surgery to make an appointment for a meds review. Phoned the surgery and they don't have any coming up so can't help. 🤨that was helpful conversation.

I had a similar text last week - which included a link to available appointments. I'd have been pissed off if they had asked me to make an appointment if none was available.

ilovesooty · 12/12/2025 11:17

EBearhug · 12/12/2025 11:06

I had a similar text last week - which included a link to available appointments. I'd have been pissed off if they had asked me to make an appointment if none was available.

Show quote history

Same here. I got a link to available appointments and was able to book a convenient one.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 12/12/2025 12:25

PinkElephants356 · 12/12/2025 08:20

I hear your pain. I had a blocked ear but the online triage is useless and there is no option to select blocked ear so I selected ear pain instead, set the pain level to 0 as I have no pain and it gave me an appointment for ear pain anyway.

I phoned the surgery after to say I’d done the online consult but for ear pain so just need a syringing appointment not a general appointment for ear pain. They said I need to come in for my ears to be looked at to see if syringing is appropriate. That all makes sense but it doesn’t when after my appointment the earliest syringing appointment is not for over a months time at which point the block could look very different.

It seems unusual to get this treatment on the NHS any more. If you can afford to go privately & do micro-suction, that might be your best option (where I live, it appears to be my only option).

BeautifulSongsofLove · 12/12/2025 16:11

Zanatdy · 12/12/2025 08:13

I filled mine in on the train to work. I already typed up in my phone notes what I wanted to say and pasted it over. I find it so much easier than being held in the phone queue for ages at 8am personally.

I do this, & then C&P everything into the first text box, & add "see above" in subsequent text boxes

All the information is there for a human to read

Original poster
inagrumptoday · 12/12/2025 16:11

Very timely email from my surgery saying that from 12 Jan they’re getting a new system.

Seems I’m not the only one annoyed?

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