Can you beat this?

same day appointments here ,I called for an appointment for my OH and he was seen less than an hour later .On the odd occassion I need to see a particular ,very popular doctor it might take a week or ten days .I would only see her about my gynae issues that she has seen me through for years so I dont have to explain it all again and again to a new doc.

We aren’t allowed to book that far in advance, today you could book for up to 21st May online, but unless you’re there waiting at 8:30am, they’re all gone. They open phone lines at 8:30, but you’re lucky to get through, and when you do they’re all gone too! There is an acute surgery in the mornings when you can go and sit and wait, but it’s only for emergencies. If you have something trivial (or you think it’s trivial should I say, like my weird back pain) you just put up with it.

I live in France. The health system here is amazing. You book your GP appointment on line and I can usually get one in a couple of days. Some specialists have several month's delay but if your GP thinks it necessary, his secretary will phone and get an appointment in the next couple of weeks.

These do sound like crazily long waits!

What makes me smile is when the GP wants you to have a blood test. You have to go to reception and book an appointment for a nurse to do this - usually a week or 10 days away. When my OH was a GP he would just take blood while he was continuing the consultation and it would be sent off that day.

When I went to the surgery one day to see if I could make an appointment in the 'near future', the receptionist told me to ring up first thing in the morning and I'd get an appointment. So I did and I did, much to my surprise.

We have a combination of appointments and a walk in and wait surgery, which runs for a couple of hours every morning. It is supposed to be for urgent complaints, but because the wait for appointments stretches to 4 weeks plus, it is always packed. The queue starts to form outside at least 30 minutes before the surgery opens.

Not ideal, as you can be there at least an hour to an hour and a half, but better than a scramble on the phone first thing chasing a couple of appointment slots, like they have to at my daughter’s surgery.

Our surgery has gone from offering everyone an appointment within two days to long waits for appointments. They have a telephone appointment system which usually enables you to talk to a doctor on the same day, so as I am well known at the surgery through being ill quite a lot, I now use this unless the doctor really needs to see me in their surgery to check symptoms. It's not ideal, but it does mean that for, say, cystitis, I can get treatment on the same day.

I remember waiting in the doctor's waiting room with my mum, I was always puzzled how she knew it was our turn! But I guess it was self-limiting, as you'd have to be determined to see a doctor to sit among all the germs and wait for an hour to see someone!

My surgery now do most of their work on the phone!! You call at 8am (if you can get through!) and the receptionist grills you and puts you on a waiting list for a gp to call you that day. When the gp calls (providing the receptionist has taken your number down correctly, that's happened to me twice now) they decide over the phone IF they need to see you that day..... or ever!
If you are honoured enough to actually get an appointment you have to book in on a screen when you arrive, despite the receptionist that grilled you earlier sitting there, and the waiting room is practically empty!!

It does not surprise me really, we struggle too, even though we are now partnered with four other surgeries the system is dire. I live in Hampshire, but where my daughter lives in Cumbria she can phone and be given an appointment either the same day or within 48 hours. The area she lives in is very rural and not over populated and her surgery has at least six GPs so they do not appear to be as overworked as those in the overcrowded south I guess.

My GP practice is excellent, as is our local hospital system. From first seeing my doctor about my hip problems, being x-rayed, assessed, and referred to our local orthopaedic hospital took just 2 weeks. I was immediately offered a hip replacement, had my pre-op a week later, and expect to receive my date for surgery very shortly. In the meantime I have an appointment for a pre-surgery therapy session, to check that everything at home is suitable for me, post-surgery.
My late husband, who had multiple problems, was given the best medical care available, over many years. by all our local services. Our GP even faxed his medical records over to Australia, immediately and free of charge, when he had a stroke there.
Many people think of Wigan as being a run-down town, ‘oop North’ but I am really proud of our medical facilities here. Waiting times at A & E are quite long, but we have an excellent walk-in Centre which deals with lesser problems very quickly. I’m appalled at some of the dreadful stories told on here. It must be a nightmare to have to wait weeks for a basic appointment.

Just turning up and waiting your turn was the norm when I was a child so maybe some surgeries are going back to this system. We now seem to have more doctors, nurses and support staff in our practice than 20 years ago as well as them offering later appointments on weekdays and Saturday morning appointments but we can wait weeks for an appointment now whereas we were always able to have an appointment on the same day back then. I remember that I would always make sure that I was up and showered before ringing for an appointment as many times I was told, 'You can come straight away!' I'm not sure what has caused these long delays but suspect it's increased bureaucracy with devolved budgets which has caused increased paperwork and workload.

I've been referred for physio after waiting weeks to see a doctor for a referral.
The physio wait is now 18 weeks.

Each practice has to have a patient participation group, you all need to join this at your practice.
We have a sit and wait surgery every day,alongside appointments. and as a PPG we always make sure the practice gets lots of positive feedback !
I think we all need to take action and this may be the way to do it!

Some of these waiting times beggar belief! Please do make your MPs aware. That's what they're there for. Otherwise the powers that be think everything in the NHS garden is lovely!

Pamela,, I had nose diagnosis with sun damage.. doc took biopsy... o.k. thus far, actually had several biopsies on arm etc..

yes, worrying.
appts. Swindon, lots of new house, no! new estates! built here.. quite a few docs at our local surgery, mostly locums or trainees I think... 2 weeks for appt. but my dh who has several nasty problems, copd and heart just for starters can get a telephone appt, or even the doc to call out here!!!

so I suppose I can`t really complain. I had to phone 111 a few weeks back,, several hours later, but not a huge emergency ie. not 999, lovely lady doc came out.. that was a Saturday as well.

999 calls, couple of hours or so.... but fantastic people..

over administrated,, too many managers,, taking too much money, and not to mention ALL politicians

The next available appointment offered to me, for a re-referral for suspected cancer, is 17th June.
My doctor could easily phone me, take the location of the rodent cancer and do a referral instantly? You'd think so in this day and age but no...

You would expect that surgeries with long wait times were due to particular factors, such as shortage of doctors or a deprived area.

At my surgery you can get a non urgent appointment within 2 weeks. If you want to see a doctor the same day, you report to reception and wait till the end of surgery. One of the Doctors is assigned each day walk-ins and emergencies. The Practice always comes up very high on customer satisfaction.

It shares premises with another practice and it is entirely different. As you wait for a your appointment, you hear complaints and arguments all the time. It also gets a very poor rating . It is hard to explain such a big difference in neighbouring surgeries.

If we are lucky enough to get through to surgery just after 8am we can usually get an appointment that day or telephone consultation with a Dr.The surgery keeps appointments after 6pm for people who work during the day,they will however fit in children at any time if you are worried about them,the problem is getting through on the phone it seems to be constantly engaged.

We can always get a same day appointment by booking online at 8am. There is also an emergency doctor who will phone you and assess over the phone if they need to see you that day. We are very lucky with our surgery. We also have an Urgent Care centre if all else fails but the doctor has told me that they would rather I saw them (they are open until 8) than go to Urgent Care as it costs them money.

We wait weeks for an appointment, I have been in the situation where the day of the appointment arrived and I was too unwell to go to the surgery. I have then had to pay to see a private consultant to get problem sorted.

I usually get an appointment the same day I live in the London area.

I have not had a problem with getting an appointment but, so far, none of my ailments have been urgent.
However, I took my nose in the other week! They checked it out, sun damage was diagnosed. I have already had a chunk cut out out by my nostril. I was told to come back if I was worried!
I'm am a tad worried so decided to go to our local Spire to see someone with a bit of knowledge.
My appointment with the dermatologist is the 23rd of May and I made it about 4 weeks ago.
Apparently many people are doing what I am.

Things are not too bad here. Usually get an appointment for the same day or the next, and the 'Walk In' centre is excellent. (When I was struck by an attack of sciatica and couldn't move without extreme pain, they sent a motor-cyclist with strong pain-killers, telling me to take them, then to come to them when the pain was easier. Brilliant service!)

But I do wonder what would happen now if you needed a doctor's visit. These seem to be things of the past! Do doctor's still do house-calls?

Yes, I can.

I rang for an appointment at my surgery where we have 8 doctors and goodness knows how many lovely nurses, and they told me, 'Come in at '9 am tomorrow'.

Of course I can, and have, walked in (just once) when it was a case of extreme pain and was seen immediately - and in hospital 30 mins later.

I reckon that beats waiting 5 weeks

Wow, i have heard about these surgeries but thankfully mine is great. Same day appointments or next day. I must be lucky.