Anyone used Superdrug Private GP Services?

[Cranmer]

I phoned my local GP practice today to be told the next available appointment is 16th February.

I can phone at 8am to get an 'on the day appointment' but last time I phoned on the dot of 8am, I was 14th in the queue and when I got through all on the day appointments had gone.

I have many of the symptoms of bowel cancer (change of bowel habit, blood in stools etc) but feel fit and well otherwise. Superdrug are offering private online/phone appointments superdrug.thegpservice.co.uk/ for £35 and this might be the best £35 I spend.

Can they process samples or does this go to the NHS? How would the type of appointment above work? It is not a simple case of needing a prescription.

Thank you in advance.

If you look online you can buy selftests from boots etc. (better than nothing)
I don’t know what online GPs can do

I've used Superdrug for rosacea and Boots for menopause treatment and been very happy with the service. But I think in your case you need a physical exam to see if the blood is pile/fissures and a discussion which is outside the online GPs scope I think

The appointment I have on 16th Feb is a phone consultation with my local GP. No face to face appointments until until March.

Can you tell the receptionist you require an urgent appointment?

You should call your doctor back and tell the receptionist you've got the symptoms of bowel cancer.

I'd be tempted to try at 8am, but then try at around 10am once the lines have calmed down. I had to get medical help for our daughter recently and the pharmacist we initially spoke to told me to call the doctor back and explain she really did need an appointment.

Keep trying at 8am, if after a few days you still can't get through for an urgent appointment then email the practise manager and they usually will call you back and get you booked in for an urgent appointment that day or the next day

@Foxywood Thank you. I did not know a self test existed. It might give me piece of mind and is probably what the private GP would recommend anyway.

Try the 111 online service, you fill out the online form, that will then triage you to (in my case) a call with a nurse, I then had it escalated to a call with my GP. All in less than 24 hours. So much less stressful than playing 8am roulette!

I used them to get antibiotics for a UTI over a weekend. But that was a very straightforward issue.

Do does your GP have e-consult or similar service? I used e-consult to enquire about HRT back in the autumn and was given an appointment the next day. With e-consult you can write your symptoms down, which would be triaged and could be flagged for an earlier appointment.

I explained to the Receptionist all my symptoms when she booked me in for the 16th Feb. She recommended to phone at 8am each day to get an urgent appointment. Easier said than done! Last time I needed an urgent appointment I went in at 8am and got the 8.10am appointment. They have now put a note on the door saying all appointments must be booked on the phone.

Please don't rely on the self test. My mother has been seeing a consultant for similar symptoms and he said the poo tests you do after the age of 50 (which is what I'm guessing these are) only catch about 10% of bowel cancers as they have to be actively bleeding when you do the test.
Keep trying the doctors and hopefully you will get an appointment soon