What the hell do you do when you just can’t get a GP appointment?

[Anniessongs]

It’s a horrendous system.

I am 43. I’ve had back troubles for years but my last pregnancy exacerbated issues to the point I could barely walk. I am now also having issues with one knee being incredibly painful and I’m struggling to live a ‘normal’ life.

You can only make appointments at 130 on a Friday. Normally I’m at work then and you can be on the phone for hours. I’m actually on maternity leave at the moment but you just cannot get through. I’ve tried going in but with two small children waiting for hours isn’t feasible.

The only thing I can think of is to go private but I don’t want an online appointment! Does anywhere offer a system where you can actually SEE someone?

And just to point out that physios can diagnoses problems, they don’t just treat. A physio is more likely to be able to assess your knee and figure out the cause of the issue than a GP is.

You seem so against the idea of a physio being able to help you. If it helps, GP training is less in depth about MSK issues (knee pain being in this) than physio so if you want to know what is going on, I would go to a physio rather than a GP!

Also, if you are concerned about cancer, yes there is cancer that can present as knee pain but it is much much much more likely in young adolescents. A long standing history of back pain however lends itself to likely further diagnosis of an impinged nerve in your back giving you knee pain if the nerve in question is one that supplies either the muscles or skin in the area. It's very very common.

Back pain is incredibly treatable, but what most people don't like these days is that it takes work. By that I mean exercise. You say you can't move, but unless you are paralysed this is an exaggeration. Yes it might be painful but pain does not always equate to damage that may or may not be present in your body. Especially pain that has been going on for a long time, you brain gets sensitised so presents as pain when you really are better off pushing through. A good physio will be able to guide you and help you understand the pain you are feeling and prevent it happening for the long run. And also help stop any catastrophising about the pain which some of your posts seem to suggest may be happening. Anxiety underlying can worsen this, eg worrying about being able to play with your children or do daily tasks. It's a highly complicated area of medicine that needs support to navigate through. But there is a path, you just need to get going on it.

I’m not in the slightest @swishswashswoosh but ultimately if there is something that needs further investigation causing the pain a physio is unlikely to be able to identify it. That’s it, really.

I haven’t said I can’t move.

I actually do regular exercise but it is becoming increasingly harder to do because of my back and knee.

Anyway it is a shame for a helpful thread to turn into silly sniping.

Have you looked into the walk in clinic that other posters mentioned? If that's not possible then try 111. I'd also recommend seeing a private physio for assessment - ask friends locally if they can recommend one. Finally, I would recommend Pilates. You have to do it for the rest of your life but it's brilliant for improving core strength and has really helped me with back problems.

Does your surgery not use the engage and consult app? That's the only way to get an appointment with my doctor.

Can you not change GP surgeries in the UK? I'm in Ireland but if I could never get an appointment I would just change surgeries to one that has a better system.

I hope you manage to get help soon OP, I know what you mean about wanting things investigating and them actually finding the cause of the pain. Like I said I'm not in the UK but whenever either dh or I have gone to the GP with pain in a joint/area we have been referred for an mri before they decide what action to take. Usually we would have the mri within a week or 2 and go from there.

A physio will cost around £50, as others have said - back issues can cause pain in other, often unexpected areas (the body compensates in strange ways!). Please don’t dismiss that as an option.
As for your doctor, do they have any online contact options? In my area quite a few practices use PATCHS. Or complain to the practice manager.

Just looked at your GP website, can’t see anything about appointments only being bookable at 1.30 on a Friday, this is what the website says and there’s online contact too:

Routine AppointmentsTo request a routine appointment in the next 14 days:

• phone us on 732257 01283 732257, Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6.30pm
• visit the surgery and speak with a Reception Administrator, Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6.30pm
• request an appointment online (see below)

When you get in touch, we'll ask what you need help with. We will use the information you give us to choose the most suitable doctor, nurse or healthcare professional to help you. If there are no routine appointments available we will let you know when they are next available to book.

Non urgent ones are @BearPear which this is classed as.

This

But this is what half the posts are telling you, that a physio WILL be able to identify what's going on. If you need to be referred for imaging they can do that, albeit through your GP if you wanted to use the NHS but that is the blame of the system not the training. But if private they can arrange for a scan.

The tone of your messages have all been quite woe is me, nobody can help me, poor me I'm in so much pain. Whilst everyone responding are giving you options and potential solutions you have not once acknowledged that they could actually help. But you're right though, ultimately you are the only one who can help yourself.

You are wrong. A GP will likely not be able to identify it, and will refer you to a physio. We are all saying cut out the middle man, and go straight to a physio. The physio can refer you, get an X-ray, can request meds, they can give you exercises, which as a pp up thread says, is generally the best solution for all things musculoskeletal, backs and knees.

Honestly OP, so many people are suggesting, with experience, the same. We are not all wrong.

Between us, DH and I have had slipped discs, prolapsed discs, osteoarthritis, Lyme arthritis, I have discoid cartilage in both knees, most if which has been removed. The treatment is exercise, exercise, exercise. Strengthen your core, keep the weight down, walk miles.

Tell the receptionist it's urgent but a private matter. Or follow some of the other options posted here. Unless you just want to have a moan but not actually do anything to help yourself? You can take control of this situation or just hold your hands up and play victim of the system 🤷🏼‍♀️

But surely it is a "routine appointment"? What happens when you use the online booking form?

It is extremely difficult to get through to my GP. They won’t take phone appointments over the phone and they close the online booking system frequently. When I’ve been successful in getting an appointment My GP always refuses my request for face to face appointments. I think we may have to go private for my 16 year old. He has mild scoliosis and suffers from terrible back pain, he was supposedly referred 7 months ago for physio, I chased it up a couple of weeks ago and we’ve finally been given a date for his first physio appointment in April. But if what I’m reading in the in thread that it will just be a meeting to discuss with further wait times, then it looks like I might have find the money to pay privately as he is in so much pain. During the pandemic I had physio over the phone and it was terrible and agonising …turns out I didn’t need it because I’d been misdiagnosed during a phone appointment!

It is urgent op. You are in excruciating pain and can't do the things you need to do. I know it's hard to advocate for yourself but you need to make it clear that this is urgent and important.

It’s a shame the thread has turned into a bit of a fixation on physios. I’m not anti this but I do think it’s worth noting I haven’t been referred before.

I can only go on what the surgery say which is Friday 130. In the meantime I’m planning on getting a private GP appointment which is key for getting the ball rolling in terms of physio but also in terms of scans and so on.

I agree but they don’t 🤷‍♀️ It is very frustrating.

But OP why waste money on a private GP, when you can book a private physio direct? You don't need a GP referral to see a private physio.

Seriously just contact a physio straight away.

I'm glad you've got a plan. I would consider moving GPs and perhaps putting in a complaint about how your situation has been handled.

Argghh.

Because I don’t want to see a physio. I want to see a GP. They are the doctors, I trust their advice and their referrals. If they subsequently refer me to a physio, great. But I’d like the knee examined properly. I realise this is not what some of you want to hear and I’m sorry, but it’s how I feel.

I don't think you're understanding the responses. A physio is the most appropriate health profressional for you and can refer for scans etc. and is much more suitable for back/knee pain at this stage. I wouldn't waste money on private GP.

I understand them fine, I disagree with them.

What did you want from this thread OP? You said ‘what do you do if you can’t get a GP appointment?’ You’ve been given a variety of options as to what you can do if you can’t get a GP appointment, but they’ve all
been shot down. If it was just a vent, that’s fine, but you can’t blame people for being frustrated when they’re offering their time and experience to answer the question in your OP.