To think there should be a way of reporting GP surgeries that don’t have online booking available from 8.00-6.30

[BurtsB33]

We were told by Wes Streeting that online booking would negate the morning rush, facilitate being able to get GP appointments and more importantly make booking easier. We were told all GP surgeries would now have this.

In reality like many our GP shuts online booking down early in the day. There is no other way to book. It’s far harder to contact our GP surgeries and to see a GP particularly if you work full time.

So if surgeries aren’t keeping to government promises and declaration of what is/ should be happening surely there should be a quick way of reporting them so the situation can be rectified.

Before Covid we could book appointments online. This was perfect if you worked full time and only needed a future, follow up appointment for something eg. Blood tests etc. if you work it’s a lot easier to get appointments at a suitable time if you can choose from any available slots on an online system, than trying to navigate through a phone conversation with someone telling you what’s there.

when Covid hit that all online convenience stopped and the doctors disappeared - you have to phone for everything.
We’re years past Covid and that preferred, online, system never returned…….WHY!

Our GPS six of them work two or three days a week. Our senior partner has tried to recruit believe me.

No I don’t and actually why should I anyway. As a tax payer I should be able to chose the GP surgery that works best for my life. GPs are allocated funding from the NHS that decides what standards they should be reaching and providing. If they’re not then there needs to be a system that steps in.

Is that the working hours of OPs surgery or are you just guessing?

What annoys me is things live the nurse. My daughter used to be on concrsontracetiveprive injection which needs doing every 12 weeks. Do she's have it and nurse says make appointment for next one. So go to reception and they tell you that you can only book 6 weeks ahead. Do you hp back in 6 weeks that yell you appoints all full. By time you can get one you are then told off by nurse as been more than 12 weeks since injection

I dont think the op is advocating for people being able to book thrir own appointments whenever they like. Or yes you will have people booking an appointment same day for their tiny patch of itchy skin.

@Megifer, and when all appointments are booked up for 6 months in advance ? 30% of people DNA because they either don’t have the problem any more or have forgotten or can’t be bothered. How is that helpful ?

You’re cutting your nose off to spite your face. You aren’t getting the service you require, use your initiative and move surgeries. Otherwise carry on not getting the health service you require. It’s your choice!

What when there's just the one GP and a 2 day a week nurse like my surgery? Not all these options to sort who goes where

Agree.

We went from having a lovely surgery that you could phone up and they would almost always see people on the day - even if you phoned at about 5pm, they'd manage to sort something out. Never a problem, always delightful. You could book today, tomorrow, next week, or up to 4 weeks away. They even did home visits. The doctor came twice daily when one of mine was ill for nearly a week.
And it was full to patients - overfull even.

Before covid, the practice manager retired and they joined with other local surgeries. Now other than the fact that the other two are not very accessible by public transport from here, and they immediately said you couldn't choose a particular surgery for an appointment which at times was an issue, and even more so for many of the older people on the estate, they also immediately seemed to have no that day appointments.
I remember phoning up with dd who'd had a migraine for a week (she has cluster migraines, but a week was longer than normal). I explained the situation and asked for a same day appointment to try and get some stronger painkillers. Yes they would do an appointment for later that day, and send me a text when I could see them. This was Monday.
Text came through a couple of hours later: "Will ring Tuesday <date> at 9:30-1030."
Okay. Tuesday. That's not bad, but a bit disappointing.

At 11:30 on Tuesday I phoned to ask if they'd forgotten. Oh no. It was actually the following Tuesday. Yes the appointment was put down as urgent.
I may have asked if they were trying to reduce the patients on their list by hoping some of them died off while waiting for an appointment...

And since Covid it's far worse. I think I've only once actually managed to get even a telephone appointment. It's normally either a full on refusal (yes, our app may say you need an urgent appointment for chest pain, but we have no appointments so try phoning back in a few days if you're still alive) It wasn't heart attack urgent, so it wasn't A&E before people say that.
Normally though I get a text message that shows they haven't read the information I gave.
"I ordered my regular medication 10 days ago and the pharmacy hasn't got it yet. It's now urgent as I've only two days left."
Fair enough to send a text message reply isn't it?
Not when the reply is "If the pharmacy hasn't your medicine in stock, then try another pharmacy."
I suppose at least they both had "pharmacy in". I've had less relevant replies.

I've found the best way to see a doctor, is wait until out of hours and get an out of hours appointment. They're in a different surgery group and fantastic.

There is a Quality Care Commission that inspects and if it fails they get support?

I think you are saying you want that support to be another better run gp taking over?

Did you mean to be so rude?

I believe all GP Surgeries are assessed by the Care Quality Commission. You can search for your GP on their website.

She would explain to the nurse that isn’t possible. She should then ask the nurse how shes supposed to make that appointment and is there anything she can do to help her. If the answer is no, ask for a meeting with the Practice Manger and complain!

No I’m not, I’m well aware of what’s best for me and my family thankyou. You do realise not everybody has oodles of GP surgeries to choose from and some of us have several family members with different needs.

Yes I’m well aware but that doesn’t help patients trying to get much needed appointments. There needs to be a quicker more robust way of complaining and a log of surgeries not keeping to basic services as laid out by the health secretary.

What happens if you don't need an appointment that day but in a weeks time for example

But you say the surgery isn’t giving you what you need. A thread on MN won’t change your situation, moving to a more suitable surgery may do. I have to drive 15 minutes to my surgery, there’s one 2 mins away but I prefer the one further away.
What are you practically going to do to change your situation?

You sound like a child jumping up and down shouting "I want I want I want" without any critical thought as to how it would actually work.

GPs are leaving in droves. It's becoming a nightmare to recruit. If there are no appointments then there are no appointments. Saying 'I should be able to..." or blathering on about whatever "NHS tax" you think there is won't do anything. And comparing to Ofsted and schools. What exactly do you think Ofsted are fixing? You seem to be under the impression that Ofsted come in and sort out poorly managed schools, and a similar solution would work for GP surgeries, but it doesn't. Teachers are leaving left, right and centre. Teaching assistants are covering full days of lessons, classes are being combined, standards are slipping.

You'd be better placed coming up with actual ideas and writing to your MP than whinging online that things aren't your problem and you should be able to do whatever you want. The NHS is in crisis, quit your entitled attitude and understand that there isn't a single person in the UK that thinks not getting appointments is acceptable. Your posts reek of "I don't want to inconvenience myself at all, I expect a 5 star service from a stretched public facility and it's not my problem if they can't solve it."

As a tax payer we expect a lot of things but these days we are left wanting.

I appreciate you ‘want’ to have a certain service as do we all, but these days system is under funded, under resourced, out dated, under staffed, under everything to be honest.
A lot of staff have left because it is such a miserable service to be working in, thankless and depressing when all anyone does who works in it is their very best.

As with so many public services now, they need major investment and over hauling. The statements that you are coming out with just sound petulant and naive.
As I said before, you do have the choice to change GP surgery so if you are unhappy with your current provision, then do this.

Everyone is aware that primary care as is secondary care is poor. We do our best. Are you just on here to bash it and make demands about your rights, or have a meaningful discussion.

Just so you understand my position, I left the NHS because of the pressure on staff and resources and the constant feeling of being set up to fail. We all know what patients deserve to expect but these days system realities are far far short of this and there is no magic wand to wave.

And let’s not forget people are getting very rich from these software companies providing online booking on the taxpayer dime so surgeries really should be providing what we are told such software facilitates.

You phone them up in a weeks time and you are guaranteed an appointment that day.

You don’t seem to be getting it, you can’t book an appointment if there isn’t one available.

Whats your solution to a lack of appointments?

How will they be booked up 6 months in advance with a triage system?

People log requests. They are triage. Appointment assigned thst day, day after, day after that etc. depending on issue

Closing the appointment request system too early just means people might get more unwell, then they need an emergency appointment or A&E which takes up more resource etc.

My mum nearly died as she couldnt get online and got "computer says no" every time she tried to get through on the phone after waiting an age in the queue at 8am. And every time i tried to do it for her they were taken up within minutes. The hospital were appalled at the state of her when i took her to A&E and said standard antibiotics would likeky have sorted it much sooner, or certainly helped it not get to the critical stage it did.

Maybe thats the aim though. Limit appointments so those who have no one to help just die instead.

I have a similar issue. Have to have blood tests etc every 8-10 weeks. Slots for the nurses are only released for the coming two weeks, as they’re all part time working in rotas (able to choose their days as they please) so you can’t even prebook these types of non urgent appointments. It’s a farce, especially if you work full time. I have to phone in during working hours, as can’t do online…..awkward when’s there’s no place to have a private conversation.

No I don’t have the choice and frankly being told to just leave if you don’t like crap basic service that goes against what we are told is happening is not ok.

There is nothing petulant about expecting what we were told IS happening particularly when a previous serious has been taken away to facilitate it at cost to the tax payer. Not asking for a moon on a stick.

Well that's not really much use if you don't know until the morning what time so u can organize work around it