Doodle re GP surgeries IMO ( and IME) it’s not about diagnostics and access to drugs/treatment per se it about having a GP practice that has the right culture and ethos. The partners being willing to fund a good practice manager and support all non clinical staff with training and appropriate resources including software. If you can’t get an appointment without a fight you may well just give up and then you access nothing
That's true, but not the whole story. We have a telephone system. If you are lucky enough to get through at 8.00 am (when a lot of people are commuting) you get a callback from a GP if the receptionist thinks you need one. There is an option to book a call online, but you have no idea when it will happen, so unless you are able to take private calls at work with no notice you need to take a day off, or risk missing it by being en route or in a meeting or something.
If you jump those hurdles and the GP thinks you need to be seen, it can happen the same day. I had that experience recently. I got a call, spoke to the GP, who wanted to see me urgently, so made me an appointment an hour later - so far, so good.
He wanted me to have a chest X ray and an ECG, which had to be done at the hospital. I got the X ray done in a walk-in centre, but need an appointment for the ECG, which couldn't be arranged by phone. The letter came a few days later, and the appointment is for 5 weeks after the urgent GP appointment.
I can't get treatment until I get a diagnosis, which won't happen for months, as it can take 2 weeks after the ECG before the GP gets the results, and then I need an appointment to speak to him about them. Not ideal if it turns out I have a heart condition.