Can you get antibiotics without a GP?

[TMarieClara]

So, last week I had horrendous tonsillitus while on holiday in Spain. I was prescribed antibiotics, which helped almost immediately, but because I'm an idiot I left them in Menorca after only 2 days of the course. I now need to get some in the UK, because I'm beginning to feel some symptoms again, but my GP surgery are on their knees and have me at the bottom of their triage list and I'm not confident they'll ever get back to me. I feel there must be another way, but I don't know where to start!

If it gets past the point of your surgery being open you can speak to a GP via 111, they don't always need to see you.
Only other option i think is to go to a walk in.

If you can afford it, you can pay an online GP service for a consultation.

Livi and Push Doctor are definitely legitimate.

It's a shitty state of affairs. You could also contact 111 OOH and see if they'll let you see or speak to a Dr. Don't bother until after 6pm (I think) as they'll refer you to your GP in regular hours.

I’ve had ABs prescribed by an online doctor. I took pictures in advance which I was able to share to show the pus to help show it was bacterial rather than viral. I’ve used PushDoctor and was fine.

Ballpark you’re talking about £30 for consultation, maybe £15 for private prescription (issued electronically to a local pharmacy) then the actual cost of the drugs which can vary a lot.

Only privately

During the working day 111 will refer you to your own surgery, but they do sometimes have access to phone triage slots at your GP surgery - but it seems you’re already on the list for one of those. 111 don’t have their own set of separate GP’s working during working hours.

Some pharmacies have prescribing pharmacists who will treat you if you meet certain criteria. You could Google and see if there’s one local to you?

Not all tonsillitis needs antibiotic treatment, the vast, vast majority of tonsillitis gets better on its own, and antibiotics reduce the duration of symptoms by about 16-24 hours. It’s quite a strict scoring system to get antibiotics for tonsillitis in the UK, it’s based on the probability of it being a strep infection or just a normal viral sore throat.

Have you tried any symptom management such as Difflam numbing spray or numbing pastilles like Dequadin or Strepsils?

So it'll be different because of it being Spain but if it were a UK holiday, the pharmacy can reissue the prescription after doing certain checks.
Do you have the prescription or prescribers details? I'd ask in the pharmacy if there are options available other than gp.

LIVI is a great service. Check on their website if they partner with your GP practice. GP practices are often in groups so make sure you check by group not just the practice name.
If they do the consultation is free and you pay normal prescription charge unless you are exempt.

Can you ask if there are any nurse prescribers at your surgery as I think they may be able to prescribe antibiotics. May be quicker than asking to see a GP.

Lloyds Pharmacy online definitely prescribe antibiotics for UTIs (got some last month). Not sure if they can for other conditions though, worth checking. A pharmacist may be able to prescribe antibiotics in an emergency if you can prove you were previously prescribed them - do you have any proof of the prescription from Spain? Finally, if you have a PIP pharmacist in your area, they certainly can prescribe you antibiotics.