What's your experience when it comes to getting GP appointments? And other questions...

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

MNHQ have been asked to contribute to panel events at upcoming political party conferences on the topic of the 'access crisis facing general practice' - so, as ever, we've come looking for your views.

Overall, what's your experience of getting GP appointments, whether for yourself or for members of your family? Do you find it easy to book same-day appointments for things that need urgent attention, and/or to book further in advance? Do the mechanics of the booking system drive you up the wall (frantically hitting 'call back' multiple times the moment that appointments are released) or does your local surgery make it fairly pain-free? Have there been times when you've been unable to get an appointment at all?

What do you think politicians should do (if anything) to improve access to GPs, and support GPs in doing their jobs within communities?

Any examples you can give us of things that work well, or ways that things could be improved, would be great.

We should stress this isn't going to be a GP-bashing exercise; the events are being run by the Royal College of General Practitioners, which recently launched a campaign to 'highlight the pressures facing general practice'.

Over to you.

Our surgery is fantastic and they do their level best given the challenges they face. Some things could be improved (insane repeat prescription system for example) but other improvements come down to funding. They try to see you in a reasonable time period. They offer nurse call back, Dr callback, nurse emergency, nurse practitioner emergency, Dr emergency, home visits plus regular appointment. The simple fact is that there are not enough staff to deal with the number of patients - right down to the admin cover required to field the 8.30 mayhem (even though they don't operate the 8.30 system The reason there isn't the staff is that their isn't the funding. They work hard to meet targets and patient expectation but they are set up to fail. It's no wonder the average gp receptionist becomes a little officious over time!

Well I have had very different experiences with surgeries. My old surgery in Brighton and Hove was excellent, it was easy to get an appointment, a few redials at 8.30am but got there eventually. There was always a slot free somewhere. If I mentioned that it was a baby or child needing to be seen, they would often say 'bring them in straight away' the GPs there were fab, professional, knowledgeable, great 'bedside manner'. I loved their receptionists too, friendly and efficient.

I've since moved 20 miles away, it couldn't be more different unfortunately. By the time I've gotten through on a morning, there are no more appointments left. The dreaded 3pm walk in clinic is your only option. I've sat there before waiting to be seen, with a poorly, screaming baby for 2.5 hours. It was quite literally hell. The receptionists really couldn't give a toss, to the point of rudeness.

One bad moment was calling with my (suddenly) very poorly 9 month old, being told very rudely no chance of an appointment; and having to go to a and e to obtain the care he needed (antibiotics for a nasty chest infection) but I feel this kind of thing should be dealt with at the GPs rather than hospital? I am wary of wasting hospital time also?

But I think the worst was when baby was actually seen by the GP and dismissed as ok, later on that day he is blue lighted to hospital (as advised straight away by a visited out of hours GP) with a temp of over 41 and breathing difficulties, I'm not sure I trust my surgery to be honest, and I think that is my greatest concern.

I don't have any faith in them, like I did with my other GPs.

I pray that the kids and I (kids especially) are fortunate enough not to need their services ever again or at least for a very long time

It's fine if you can work the system. We have online booking available. Telephone booking also.

For a same day appointment I do this:

1. Surgery opens at 8am for calls.
2. Start telephoning at 7.57. It will go to answer phone.
3. As soon as the answer phone kicks in, put the phone down then redial.
4. Rinse and repeat.
5. You'll catch the switchboard just as they flick over from answer phone to answering the calls.
6. Say the words "I need an appointment this morning, please." This is essential. Any suggestion that you'd like an appointment, asking if they have appointments, etc., will lead to a lecture about emergency appointments.
7. When the receptionist says 'we only have emergency appointments' you say 'that's fine, thank you.'

Obviously I only do this if I do need a same day appointment.

I phoned yesterday at 7.57, had my call answered at 8.00 and had my appointment at 09.20.

Pray you don't need to see a doctor on a Monday. Then phone at 1 minute intervals from 8am onwards until either it is time to leave for school and you have to hang up or, if it's a Monday, you eventually get through and there are no appointments left. If it's not a Monday there's a reasonable chance of getting an appointment the same day. On the occasions when there was no appointment available at all I've been asked if I can get to the walk-in centre (answer: not always) or the dr has phoned back and then decided if he can squeeze us in between other patients. They also always ask if it's something that can be dealt with by the nurse practitioner on days when she's in, which seems very sensible to me.

I do now have a log-in so that non-urgent appointments can be booked online. Haven't had the need to use that so don't know how well it works.

Our surgery is good for emergency appointments - yes, you have to ring constantly from 8am but they will always squeeze you in on the day (though you do have to justify yourself to the receptionist).

Where it falls down is on routine appointments - these are never available less than four weeks ahead. So if I have a non emergency I have to pretend that it's more urgent so that I can get seen.

I seem to be in a minority. Our GP surgery runs a tiered appointment service; you can book routine appointments in advance, and emergency appointments on the day. I've never not been able to book either a suitable routine, or an emergency appointment. The also do triage phone calls; so if you need advice, or are not sure if you need to see a GP, one will call you to discuss it, and if necessary make you an appointment. Repeat prescriptions are dealt with speedily, usually within 24-48 hours, but sooner if needed, and the receptionists are all lovely.

It's an excellent, well organised surgery, the GPs are excellent, and I can't fault them. The only thing I would change is to have a Saturday morning surgery.

At mine, it's ring at 8.29 for 25 minutes then you get through and told to ring back at 11 to see if there's any for the afternoon as the mornings now full. Last time I rang 34 times. Luckily she said she's going to try and get me a repeat prescription of what I needed without needing an appt. but she couldn't so she rang me back and had managed to slot me in at 4.30 which was good but I really did need the medication or it's a 21-30 day wait for an appt.

A lot if people here use the new walk in clinic in a real 'kid with pouring ears and burning up' situation but no way of getting through - especially as it's not possible to sit on the phone on a busy morning for 30 minutes constantly, and have given up on the GP. I and others at my surgery have also noticed the 'see you next weekers' I.e. They come out if their appointment and say to the receptionist 'see you same time next week'' they DO have every right to be seen when they need to be seen, but chronic ailments should surely be managed long-term in a more sustainable way?? And they see the same GP every time, surely if it was really crucial it wouldn't matter which one they used?? Just my thoughts anyway.

My recent experience - I needed a routine medication review with a gp, I had a weeks holiday booked from work, makes sense to try and get an appointment during that week rather than taking time off work. I ring up to book an appt two weeks before my week off; I'm totally flexible, can take any appointment available during that week. Absolutely no appointments available at all, advised to call on the day. Monday morning - by the time I got through after continuously redialling, all appts taken. I managed to get one on Tuesday, but felt bad that this was an appt that might have been needed by someone who was actually ill and needed to be seen that day, when I would have been happy to take a pre bookable appt, but none were available.

I really can't fathom out how the system works or who it benefits.

Another thing that really riles me about my gp surgery is all the support groups and health promotion events are during working hours. I'm really struggling with my weight at the moment and my surgery offers exercise classes, weight loss clinics, support groups, community walks. I would love to take advantage of these, but they are all between 9 - 5. The only people who can really access them on a regular basis are the retired, unemployed or stay at home parents.

Our practice is fantastic. You can always get to speak to or see someone if you need to.

Yes, there is a wait if it's something non-urgent, but if you need to be seen that day then you will.

They operate the phone-at-8am for a same day appt, and yes, you do end up hitting redial, and yes, often all the appts are gone, but the receptionists will always put you on the list for a call back from the GP and they will fit you in somehow if they can't help you over the phone.

Dh has an ongoing mental health problem and the GPs have gone above and beyond to help him and fit him in sometimes at very short notice, and when the dcs were small babies you were always seen if you phoned at any time.

The practice nurse does a lot of the routine stuff and there's never much of a wait to see her which helps if you have ongoing issues that need monitoring.

They are all lovely people, they work their arses off and they always look a bit knackered. I am very grateful.

Our practice is pretty good, but we have to wait about 3-4 weeks for an appointment. I don't have experience of needing urgent appointments.

The GPs are great for calling back and will prescribe over the phone. I rang with acute sinusitis recently and had my prescription in my hand within 10 minutes.

On the whole, I think they are doing their best with limited resources.

Message to Government.
From what I understand a large number of GPs who are very experienced, and, in my opinion, invaluable in general practice are fighting to retire asap.

My sister's lovely GP has just retired aged 50, she LOVES her work, she hates to retire, the patients are beside themselves but her working life has been destroyed by gratuitous paperwork brought in by Blair (I think) and added to by everyone.

Just let them be GPs, we need them to be gps not pen pushers.

My GP last week, when I asked how she was, looked at me and said she had just tried to resign last week but her colleague had beaten her to it so now she can't resign for 6 months. She looked like she would burst into tears.

She is in her 50s, massively wise, massively experienced, a huge loss to General Practice and has lost any desire to work as a GP anymore.

This is tragic and short sighted. Unless the gov is really trying to close all the GPs down so we can all go and q at A&E like a bunch or sorry Assed Americans with the appalling and vicious health system (Pay Insurance that won't cover anything you will need it for, genius!).

I cant book my smear because my periods are so irregular i never know when they will be EVERY month is different (sometimes they are only 2 weeks apart. sometimes 3 sometimes 4. Its the same for booking the initial Depo injection I never know when my period will start so i had to pre warn reception that i might have to piss them about albeit inadvertantly. Ive booked an appointment but may have to cancel it on the day if my period doesnt start. or struggle to get an earlier appointment at short notice if i come on earlier

My GP practice are super good tbh - you phone up, either the nurse practioner or duty GP call you back (depends on issue), they decide if you need to be seen, and you either get a same day appointment, or next day if less urgent. If you see someone routinely, they make your next appointment while you are with the GP.

They are great, and I really appreciate what they do

Our GP practice is small (2 doctors) and rural, we have no problem being seen when we need to be- same day, next day, home visits, less urgent appts.
I dread them retiring, I do wonder if it will be totally different once 'modernised'.

I've had heated discussions with my surgery receptionists about this and have been told that changing the sustem is out of their control. When I asked whose control it was in I was advised to write in so that my comments would appear in my file!

Urgent appointments are possible if you phone early enough (bearing in mind how it clashes with the morning getting everyone ready rush) but if you miss it then no urgent appointments are left.

The working mum trying to get an appointment for a school aged child after school is nigh on impossible. I've been told on multiple occassions that there are no appointments at all afterschool in the next 2 weeks so phone again tomorrow. As I work I struggle to phone everyday on the off chance there may be a slot available in 2 weeks time. I was told that my employer should make it possible for me to call. I was also told, when expressing a little exasperation, that if it's urgent then an emergency appointment could be made, but it wasn't urgent and I don't want to take the emergency appointment from someone who might desperately need it.

My husband, who has more flexibility with his job, managed to get himself an appointment so I ensured that he took our daughter to include in the appointment otherwise she really would not have been seen. So yes, we probably took up more time and to be honest the advice was questionable on that occasion.

Frustrating is not the word.

My surgery is marvellous! I know if I call at 8am I can get usually get same day appt, they do late night appt's 3 days a week to 7pm, including the practice nurses.

I may be on hold for a while but call always answered.

Ring and redial for half an hour in the morning for urgent appointments. And it is always the duty doctor not 'my' gp. For less urgent things there are never appointments available for at least three weeks. Sometimes I have been told there are no appointments available as the diary does not go that far. Doesn't help that my gp is part time which I don't think she was when I registered with her. When I see her she is very good. And even asks after the rest of the family - I really appreciate that.

The phones open at 8.30am, and it starts from there. If you haven't got an appointment by 8.40, and it's highly likely that the phones will be jammed with calls until then, then forget it and start the process the next day.

My DH was in hospital last week and told to make a GP appointment when he got home and he only got to speak to (not visit), a practise doctor), because he insisted that the hospital had said that it was important, which it was.

It's a crap service.

It really upsets me that emergency same day appointments are limited in number and you are seen by the nurse first. It's no wonder people end up at A&E, it's the only place some people have access to a Doctor. I really don't think nurses are qualified to diagnose the range of problems a GP is, and if they are, they should be called Doctors! If someone has stomach ache it could be simple or it could be a burst appendix and life threatening, the same goes for other ambiguous symptoms and I don't trust that the nurse is as reliable and qualified to diagnose as a fully qualified GP. Also, they may only consider the presenting symptoms and be oblivious to ask about other indicative issues that could signify something serious. I wonder how many people are showing early signs of serious conditions are sent home by a nurse and then have to return later to see a GP when things have progressed? How can we blame GPs for missing early signs when they never actually see the patient?

It's not a problem here. If it's urgent (e.g. child with suspected broken finger), they will usually fit you in that day. If it's not urgent, you can get an appointment within a few days and they will try to find a time to suit you (e.g. late afternoon for child returning home form school by train). If you want to see your own GP its harder, but it's a small practice so not a big deal. The practice nurse is absolutely bloody fantastic so you never feel fobbed off if you're booked in with her.

It used to be really difficult: either you rang when the phones opened (i.e. smack in the middle of the school run, so there you'd be on your mobile as a lorry thundered past) or you could whistle for it.

I'm really happy with how things work at our surgery. You phone at 8.30am for an appointment that day, if you need one. Or you can book in advance, usually not until the following week. There was a time when I needed an appointment that day, urgently, and phoned later than 8.30 and they still managed to squeeze me in. This system works well.

I find it easy to book an appointment, and usually do so by phone. You can also book online, but not for same day appointments. I've never not been able to get an appointment.

I think politicians should stop the telephone triage system - I haven't spoken to a single person who thinks it works well and there is no evidence that it reduces costs www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2961058-8/abstract

We're so lucky reading these threads, call when the lines open at 8am and get a same day appointment, think there's maybe been a few times that they've all gone by the time I've got through (can be a bit of a challenge to actually get through when the lines open, have to hit redial a few times) but they will always do their best especially if its for children.
However, you also have to book midwife appointments through the GP and that's a different matter - she can be booked 5/6 weeks ahead so no chance of getting to speak with her regarding any concerns etc just routine appointments

It's difficult to please everyone. Some PP have said they'd like 7 a.m. start (in which other line of work do you start at 7 am?), others that 8.30-9 is inconvenient due to school run, also 3pm, others want after working hours, others lunchtime. It's not a 24 hour service and it can't be.

When I need appointments for the DCs I ring and get what's available after their school hours (thankfully, nothing urgent so far). On one occasion (ever!) when I needed an urgent appointment for me I hit redial till I got through and I was seen after lunchtime.

We have run out of prescriptions before but luckily not for 'serious' stuff and we just had to wait. My fault for not being organised. It would never have occurred to me to use an emergency slot for that. So DS went without the acne antibiotics for a bit and DH without his stomach stuff.