National call centre for making GP appointments

[munstersmum]

This seems to me a poor cost cutting idea...because it will lead to a much poorer service. As mums and as carers of older frail relatives etc we tend to get to know a surgery's staff and they get to know us. I'm saying it's all roses but access to appointments is part of frontline services not a 'back office GP service ready for radical re-engineering'.

Do you think a national call centre for GP appointments will provide a better service for you and your loved ones?

Heard about this. Seems misguided on so many levels. I thought the government was all for services having local accountability and input.

'Back office' or 'support staff' can join with 'public sector' as terms where there is a blanket disdain from some quarters.

How strange! Handing budget control over to gp centres and then removing their ability to look after their own appointment system. Stupid idea.

If it meant my GP's receptionist being sacked, then I am all for it.

Utter pish.

so when you want a GP appointment you sit and wait for a call centre operator to reply to your call for 20 mins whilst listening to music and a voice saying "we are experiencing high call volumes at the moment, your call is important to us and an operator will be with you shortly?"

Hmmm.

Careergirl that's no different to how my GP is now. It's well known that a person can ring our doctors when they open at 8.30 and finally get through and speak to a receptionist at 4.30. That's with having rung every 10 minutes as well.
I've had it happen to me on many occasion.

that's awful

Good news update :)
The government has had a change of mind and now say a national call centre for GP appointments will not be happening. There was much immediate opposition from GPs & others.

DiscoDaisy you will be able to vote with your feet soon as Practice boundaries are removed and you can choose any surgery. Maybe this will be an incentive to improve services in some surgeries?

I didn't think a national centre would work. They'd still need to a receptionist as people still arrive for appointments and to pick up prescriptions etal.

Mind you some of my GP receptionsits need to lose their jobs.