Doctors appointment

I have booked (last week) a phone appointment for 22nd January. If he wants to see me he will ask me to come in.
If it was particularly urgent I'd be calling my surgery at 8am.

Try calling 111 if you can't sort it with the surgery. .. or can your issue wait a few weeks like mine?

I don't see a GP often but last time about 18mths ago it was a next day appointment. I do realise thats not most peoples experience.

I suggest phoning 111 for advice.

I phoned this morning to 8am. At 9am, a GP telephoned me and issued a prescription.

Our Dr are usually very good, often we can have a same day appointment, but my husband had a chest infection before Christmas, the Dr was unable to give him any appointment told him to ring 111 which we did.
They said the only thing they could offer was a walk in appointment 25 mile away. He declined. Our local hospital is two mile away we would have gone there if need be.
Fortunately he started to feel better a week later. Think it’s just at the moment there’s so many viruses around the system can’t cope.

Our GPs say call 111! That 111 service can seemingly access gp appointments if they feel things cant wait. My neighbours dd is a qualified gp but due to family commitments she works for 111 manning phone lines.

Phone 111 asap, they often call surgeries and suddenly appts become free.

It’s not acceptable to send you onto A&E unless it’s an accident or emergency.

My own surgery did this just a few weeks ago, they won’t do this again. I waited over three hours to be referred into an onsite GP who was fabulous and gave me a thorough examination, prescribed for me but also called my GP and ticked them off!

I sent an e consult form to my surgery at 8.10 this morning, asking for a cortisone injection for my tennis elbow. At 12.20 I had an e mail asking me to make an appointment to "consider" the injection. I've just phoned and have an appointment next Wednesday at 10.30, but the receptionist made it clear that it was to discuss the injection -not that the appointment was actually to have it??

I’ve used e-consult now at least 3 times. Twice I’ve been issued with a prescription and on one occasion I was sent for an X-ray and blood tests. My doctor received the results, called me and suggested I contacted our local physiotherapy NHS hub, which I did. I received and appointment 3weeks hence but was later offered a cancellation.

I like e-consult as a reply or appointment us arranged within 24 hours. However, I feel great concern for those who are unable to go down this route or who do not know about it. It isn’t good enough to have to wait 4 weeks or to go to A&E. We’re fortunate here that we already have drop in centres and I’m hoping we will have minor injuries clinics as well in the not too distant future.

I definitely support the government’s new plans for the NHS, especially back to the future when you see your GP, not just any GP.

About six weeks for non-urgent appointments.

We are triaged on the phone by the receptionist if we ask for an urgent appointment and would usually see a nurse then anyway.

The waiting time for some patients at Royal Liverpool A&E is 50 hours at the moment.
Thry have declared a critical incident.

i think all surgeries are experiencing the same problem. we have 7 Drs at ours but even if you ring on opening time they seem to be having long waits, one day i was 26th in line on phone, then they say the days emergency apts are gone. its ridiculous as if people rang at Xmas they were being given apts for February. as i said to my oh by then you would either be cured or dead! the hospitals are packed out as it is so they should not be telling folk to go to the local a and e its only adding to the problems they are having especially this time of year with flu etc. my surgery if you moan enough you can get a Dr ring you but its not from our surgery its from an agency so they dont know your history etc. there is also the nurse practioner but same problem getting apt

Went in person to my GP surgery yesterday and was told to use patient access or telephone at 8 a.m. Patient access has no appointments and 8 a.m. call says volume too high and unable to answer calls. My GP had asked me to call him about blood test results. Last time he stopped my medication until I made an appointment. Am in a situation where I can't get an appointment and my health will be put at risk because my GP will stop medication if I don't make an appointment.

Call pro and ask to speak to the Practice Manager drropy.
A friend filled in an econsult at 8am early last week, she was seen at 12, bloods taken and put on the two week pathway for a gynaecologist. Our surgery are very good at urgent care, a longer wait for others.

It depends how urgent the problem is. I imagine GPs are inundated after the public holidays. Undertakers certainly are.

A scheduled non-urgent appointment is usually 3 to 4 weeks ahead.
If we need to see someone in a hurry then an early morning phone call will be acted on, often with a face-to-face appointment that day. It will be with whichever practice member is best able to help.
My dr’s practice building also houses the walk-in centre.

I looked at our GP website yesterday where they have a list of the Doctors and the days that they work at the surgery, only 1 doctor works for 4 days, the other doctors (mostly) do 2 and a half days. 2 doctors do 3 days but work various mornings or afternoons, not complete days.

All GP appointments have to be made online starting at 8am.

I needed to try to get an appointment with a nurse today, I have to telephone the surgery for this, I was 20th in the queue so thought it likely that I would be too late for an appointment today (this was at 8.25), tomorrow I aim to be up and ready to call them on the dot of 8am. Fingers crossed I can see someone tomorrow.

I will contact the Practice Manager if it goes on Jaxjacky. Your surgery seems on the ball and I hope all goes well.

That's true OldFrill but at least I don't need the undertakers just yet. I will leave it until next week and try again. Our surgery seems on the point of collapse. Last head GP shot himself.

Haven’t seen a GP in nearly 2 years only assistant physicians or practice nurses, and they are usually just locums.
Have to ring at 8 in the morning to book an appointment but are usually in a long queue and so don’t get seen, they don’t book appointments ahead. We used to have the DoctorIQ app but it hasn’t worked for months and we could only order repeat meds on it anyway.
We go for antibiotics to our local chemist and have had to wait up to 8 hours in A&E on occasion.
Every other docs practice here is the same so no point changing.
This lack of medical care is one reason why we are moving.

A friend used to have a landline and two mobiles ringing the surgery at 0800 or 0830, all at the same time! The theory being that someone should get through!

I tried to change my hospital appointment today. I phoned the NHS switchboard, was put through to appointments kept on hold for 10 minutes then a robot voice asked for
my pin followed by hash.
I tried half a dozen times to type my number using the keypad but was told it was incorrect. I gave up.
Not sure what to do next.

My appointment is on Friday for my eye and I could go if I wasn't recovering from my hip replacement
at another hospital.

As for our GP surgery. The phone message tells you all the various options but if you persevere you can usually speak to a receptionist guard dog
Sge says"The doctor will phone you back" so you wait and wait and after evening surgery, if you're lucky, the GP will call you. Make sure you answer your phone because their number is private.

Just looked on the app for an appointment for my DH first one February 12th !

So far so good with our GP Surgery 🤞

I am reasonably happy with mine.
Have, after quite a while of no health problems had to see my GP recently 3 times.
I have been offered other staff but have held out for the GP I actually trust.
So far it's been OK.

I'm actually pleased lots of GPs are part time. Less exhausted and more time for people I think as not so stressed if the appointment runs over a bit. Also, many more women coming back in after having children. If they are treated OK they will stay. 🤞