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.

OP, you are horribly entitled here. All this carping about how the NHS is failing you and that you’re more important than everyone else, and because the system isn’t designed exactly just around you and your part-time job, it isn’t fit for purpose.

Good trolling but I think you should stop now.

When it was first announced both dh and i said that it wouldn't work unless there is enough staff and appointments available. It's not rocket science. If we could work it out the minute they said it not sure why they couldn't. But then they are massively incompetant.
Ours shuts when they have no appts left usually about 10.30 so it does cut the 8 o clock rush.

Nope I’m not. Many many threads with people
experiencing the same and not happy about it. It’s not entitled to expect better particularly when you’re told better is happening.

Its not about being able to book appointments round my job but surgeries closing booking far far earlier than we’re told, before lunch and a couple
of hours after opening in some surgeries . That isnt ok and surgeries doing this should be listed. At the very least it should be advertised on their web pages so patients are aware before signing up.

GP practices knew it wouldn’t work.

How can people still not get their heads around there being other days available for appointments to be allocated 💀😭

We simply email the triage form any time day or night and someone calls you (obviously during the working day) either with an appointment time for face to face, a telephone appointment time or sometimes it’s actually the gp calling if it’s more urgent. I find it far more convenient than the 8am phone queue and means they can triage them in order of importance. I’ve always got a same day appointment if needed since they brought it in even if you send the form in at 2pm, I was (shock horror) even offered a home visit last week but assured him my chauffeur aka dh would bring me and help me in. The email form system seemed odd at first but works well (if you don’t have email you call reception who fill out the request for you but amazingly 98% of patients now use it according to my gp despite prior complaints)

This is why I would rather just pay for the NHS, at the moment I am having to pay anyway if I want any sort of service and people might think twice about booking an appointment if it cost them.

I trust my hard working local GPs to organise the best way possible within the limited time they have. I can always see them eventually, and they really jumped on it when my DH was very unwell. They know what they are doing.

I can see it might be an issue if you have a minor, yet still important to you, ailment.

I actually think the saddest thing about this thread is that we are all resigned to the fact that there arent enough gps to provide an adequate service and we know its going to get worse

We now have an online form queue instead .

No need for 24 hours if I could fill the form in the hours we’re told we could I’d be happy.

Because many employers won't let you ask for something like that or change shift on the day.

Also if you have to communicate, you often cannot attend on the day doctors appointments as you cannot get back on time (especially if you have a 1-2 hour commute) or change shift that quickly to allow you to attend said appointment.

@BurtsB33 I agree with you. Some GP surgeries are doing a much better job than others and everyone knows this. The ones that aren’t, need help to improve their systems so that they can offer the best service to their patients.

I know I’m lucky, but my GP surgery is very efficient and I’ve always been able to get medical advice via email when necessary. My Mum’s surgery is awful and my sibling now goes to a private GP for anything urgent, as their surgery is so bad.

@Megifer I think the analogy does work. Every single day there are more people wanting to be seen than there are available appointments. And the population is rising. And we have an increasing elderly population, who statistically have more medical problems.

Imagine the surgery offers 100 appointments per day. And every day, 150 people want an appointment. 50 people get told to call back tomorrow, try the pharmacist etc. Maybe 30 of them will get better, or go elsewhere. So the following day, 20 of them call back. As well as 150 new people. So now you’ve got 170 people fighting for 100 appointments. And so on.

You don't seem to understand how GP services work. They are 'partnerships' (hence why they're called 'partners') who are contracted by the government to provide a service. It's how the NHS was set up. GPs refused to become part of the NHS and have always remained independent of it.

Your actual problem seems to be that successive government ministers have misrepresented the situation.

In a nutshell, GPs can't be 'forced' to comply with government policy as it would breach their contractual arrangements.

The solution is to provide more hospital clinics.

Exactly this, sometimes it is impossible to work within the rules set by a govt who don't take the time to understand the system.

We have been asked to produce a plan for how we deal with the increasing back log in our service (NHS but not General Practice). Looked at work flows and efficiencies, automation, clustering patients, prioritising in a different way. All shave a small amount off the back log but numbers will continue to grow as more come in than we can see. The only solution is to hire more clinicians but despite making a clear case for this it is not an option that will be considered.

For example-we need each clinician we have to see 6 patients a day to meet current referral levels and deal with the back log. Each appointment takes 2hrs (trying to keep this confidential but the content of this appointment is covered by a National Framework set by govt and timescales / content outlined in the framework so the DoH are setting and mandating the length of these appointments).

If our clinicians see 6 patients a day that is 12 hours work before they have even travelled between locations and done an accurate write up (*accurate patient record keeping is part of the code of conduct that must be adhered to to keep professional registration). It is probably 1hr per patient to write up each visit (automation introduced where possible already).

An 18hr day is clearly not possible. To shorten the appointment would mean missing out mandatory content and affect patient safety (and the safety of the general public in some cases). There is no solution that is within our powers and control. We will of course see as many patients as possible until staff go off sick with burn out and our productivity falls again.

Exactly!

And if you don’t think the GPs are doing a good job for you, you move surgeries. it’s really not rocket science

So zero incentive or procedures put in place to for GP business to improve and patients who can’t leave are stuck there with the same shite.

It’s also scarily similar to what is actually happening in education!

I agree OP. In ours it’s a choice of same day urgent bookings ( full by 8.05) or non urgent, where you get a telephone appointment within 3-4 weeks and don’t even know the time!!
Why can’t one book for say 3-4 days away?
As you say, no other industry is like this and GPs get a good salary with lots of flexibility.

This is absolutely horrible. I've had friends become stressed to the point of suicidal from teaching. How awful to know their GPs might have been laughing at them behind their backs (GPs who I'm sure would like their stress to be taken seriously, of course).

And the unprofessional ignorant attitude towards ADHD and. Autism. I’m staggered GPs think like this.

@OneMintWaspcan you explain how each appointment takes two hours?

It won’t be GPs setting up booking systems but practice managers- the same people you complain to. 🤔

You can roll over whatever you want. What is wild is that you think there is sufficient capacity to manage the roll-overs and fit them in.