OK - here I am on holiday in Wales. I have had toothache for the last 5 days. So fed up that .......
- I rang the local dental surgery. They said that they do have some emergency slots, but in order to book one I have to go through NHS Direct.
- rang NHS Direct who went through a barrage of questions - do I have chest pain? etc. etc. - no, I have toothache! They then put me though to their dental nurse....
- who went through most of the same questions again and gave me a reference number and the number of the local health board...
- whom I rang. They went through most of the same questions again and eventually....
- gave me an appointment with the surgery that I rang in the first place!!!
All of this is taking place with me standing at the edge of a field (only place for reception) near a cliff in a howling wind and barely able to hear what they are saying; and wobbling about as standing still for any length of time is hard for me.
Now, I cannot help feeling there must be a more efficient system. In all this took 45 minutes. Heaven knows what my phone bill will be!
No fun being old under Andy Burnham .
Struggling with estrangement from 2 adult children and dont know where to go from here.

and hope your toothache is soon resolved (without too much expense).