Called GP at 8. Guess my position in the queue?

[HaveYouHadYourBreak]

GP opens at 8.
Called at 8.
After several "press 1 for... press 2 for..." options. Guess my position in the queue.
Clue: It's moved 2 places in 8 minutes.

Fyi you don't need to wait for the machine to finish it's "press 1 for..."etc. you can press the numbers as soon as it answers if you know which one you need.

You can’t ring our GP at all now, only online triage for everything, appointments, prescriptions, admin queries.
It’s fine for me, but there was an older lady nearly in tears at the desk trying to make an appointment last time I was there and they wouldn’t budge. You’d think they'd make exceptions in times of crisis.

89, I've been that before in the queue

Please explain Scotland in that case! Every bit as crap but no NHS app and the only online service my GPs offer is repeat prescriptions. It has taken me two months to get an appointment with my regular GP in the recent past. Oh, and the nearest private GP is 50 miles away and not taking any new patients.

This is what I absolutely loathe about the new system. I find it hugely stressful not knowing whether I'll get an appointment, and if I'm unwell it's intolerable.

Why can they not have a system for chronic/non-urgent conditions?

That’s all lovely and easy to say when you have the means to do this but many people do not!

I did an econsult on Friday and someone rang after 10 minutes and we saw a doctor an hour later.
i do hate the econsult - too many irrelevant questions but we always get seen fast.

OMG 72! Our GP has a wingback service when it gets too far in a queue and you don't even lose your place. Consider myself lucky now.

I got a call back at 8.30 am and it was the receptionist. GP appointment face to face Thursday, sick note extended post surgery for work until April.

888 😂

I think we must be very lucky with our surgery. They have a ring back service once you are in the queue.
I rang this morning at 8am for my housebound husband. He needs stronger pain patches. I never actually got into a queue, the phone was answered. A doctor has since visited and seen my husband. She sent a prescription to the chemist's and the prescription was delivered before 4pm.

Why call on Monday morning for a non urgent problem? It’s the busiest time of the week. Better to call on Wednesday or Thursday .

My worst position was 48 one time. I just hung up. That was either Monday morning or Friday which are always hell days for appointments.

The not being able to book appointments in advance is so frustrating and probably leads to bigger health issues down the line. It is so bizarre when you think that the minimum threshold people are told to first seek medical help (outside of a pharmacy) is an ‘emergency’ on the day appointment.

This is what the online triage system that is supposedly mandatory in England is supposed to help with. A clinician or trained person should be triaging every request and then streaming them as appropriate. Over time this will improve the availability of on the day and bookable appointments.

My surgery has given me a gp appointment at the end of next week after an e-consult. Initially they messaged to say they couldn’t offer me a routine appointment until the diary opened and then messaged with an appointment when it did.

Giving as much information as possible about symptoms / duration / function / what you want them to do helps them triage. Most people don’t need to see a gp, a practice nurse or paramedic can be absolutely sufficient as can online / telephone appointments.

You've obviously never lived in Wales 😒

I work for 111 the go system is diabolical at moment I would say that 60% of calls are from people that have been told to call us as no appointments (that’s usually a lie by the way we can book appointments at your surgery if they allow it) we do a full triage spend 20 mins on the phone, yes we can sometimes send you elsewhere but 9 times out of 10 it’s back to your gp with me telling you I can’t book anything and you will just have to tell them you have been assessed by 111 already.
The worst thing is sometimes I have multiple options for other services and they have face to face appointments but due to the way it works we must not tell you about these other options unless you really kick up a fuss and refuse the one offered. In a lot of cases it’s only your go that comes up so we can’t physically send you anywhere else. we can get you a callback from a clinician if we have no options.
I hate the fact that I have to send you to a pharmacy for them to tell you that you need a go after you have already called the go and they have told you to call 111, the you go back to your go they tell you to call us again, we do another assessment again then can maybe offer you somewhere else, all that could have been done in the first call.
They say they are all about the “patient journey” but in reality we have to send you to what comes too as they are the ones that receive funding to provide primary care services at the time you call.
My own gp is terrible I haven’t actually seen another patient in the waiting room since before Covid! They have an online consultation but that opens at 8am and is closed by 8:15am and just tells you to call 111 or try again tomorrow, if you call it’s just an automated message that says no appointments today call 111.
Says it all when I work for an nhs company and they provide 24/7 access to gps via phone and online
If I need to see someone face to face I call 111 and book in at the urgent treatment centre.
i really feel for people out there there’s a lot we can do but the system is horrific at the moment

That's awful. And all these people saying the online service is good because they can ring you back-lots of us have a job and can't answer the phone whenever we want, and we don't always know when our lunchbreak will be, or even if we'll get one, so it's not like we can say call back at 1. My friend is a nurse and was angry when the receptionist seemed to think she could just wait around for them to call her-she works long days without always getting breaks. The system used to work fine a couple of decades ago-you just phoned when you were free, they answered immediately and you booked an appointment. I doubt anyone would have believed this thread if you told them this in the early noughties. Progress!

I haven't!

My bf discovered if you look at official time from google and call 7:59:30, you'll be more likely to get a good position in the queue.

My gp had a call back system. You call, the machine ask if you want a call back press one and then later in the day they will call the same number.

I've not called for a medical appointment for 4 years?

I am usually 40 something soI won't guess.

And the worst thing is that 8 am is such a bad time for so many people. It’s in the middle of the morning rush for any one who has children, and a good many who don’t.

7am could be before you have to start rushing around. 9 am when you’re at work. But 8 is just the worst of the worst.

A lot of places you literally can’t do that though - the call doesn’t go through.