Satisfied with your GP practice?

I had to change my GP after being with the practice since the 1970s because of boundary rules and so far 🤞find my new practice excellent.
No dragons on reception, quick referrals and appointments.

Our practice has been fantastic for us and has referred us promptly when necessary. On Christmas Eve DD messaged about DGS’s cough which has been coming and going for weeks. Appointment that afternoon. Diagnosed asthma, and the inhaler has done the trick!

I am very happy with ours. Although it is a bit difficult to get them on the phone, sending them an email quickly results in them phoning us back. Phone consultations are satisfactory for most situations and face to face appointments are not impossible. In fact my husband has been invited to "pop round now" on more than one occasion. My own GP is a lovely woman but I would not insist on seeing her every time, the practice nurses carry out the regular BP and similar tests. We are lucky that we live within walking distance of the surgery but that is part of living in a city.

She messaged on Christmas Eve thinking she would get in the queue for a post Christmas appointment!

I m very happy with mine they have a large practice but a very efficient system using the internet I could if needed have a same day appointment or book one with a bit longer wait with which doctor I wanted I order my meds on line which are there at the pharmacy waiting for me a few days later
I ve found absolutely nothing to bitch about
2022 when the dr was unsure about cancer I was sent on a two week pathway for first check up then I think it was six week wait for results and very quickly fitted in for an operation It was a rare cancer so not sure if my fairly speedy journey was because there were not many on the waiting list ir not but fir me both the surgery and local hospital have a big thumbs up

I'm very content with mine.. all the receptionists are lovely and helpful, the nurses are friendly and the GP's are very open to discussion.. It is easy to get an appointment.. It is a very happy practise and staff stay for years..

I'm extremely lucky I know

My GP practice is excellent, I’ve got no complaints at all. I know that’s not the case in all areas, and that it’s so often the bad stories that hit the headlines, but we can only speak as we find.

I'm very happy with ours.

Also very happy with 111 - having phoned there at 7 p.m. last night as my husband had been ill and getting worse as the day wore on (chest infection), a GP called back within an hour, and subsequently a doctor came and did a house call at 2.30 a.m.! And had the necessary meds in his car. Really grateful.

There have been lots of complaints about our local practice but I think access has improved a lot. Ringing up and being 30th in the queue is no longer the only way to get an appointment. Email, online booking etc have made it possible to receive a phone call which often results in a further face to face appointment if appropriate.

I moved from rural Wales to SE England two years ago it took 3 months to register with my new practice. Meanwhile I needed regular medications for a number of issues including the after care from a triple by pass (thank goodness I had that while still in Wales! ). I've given up trying to get an appointment- I've seen my named GP once and spoken to unknown GPs three times by phone. Getting an urgent appointment is virtually impossible and a non-urgent appointment out of the question.
However the ancillary services are good, so my regular Diabetes check up revealed I had a cataract which subsequently led to an AMD diagnosis. Both cataracts have been treated and the AMD monitored until last week when treatment began.

Very happy with our GP surgery. Everyone is very caring and the reception ladies are just wonderful. We are extremely lucky and we know it.

Ours is so-so but Healy for dreadful!
The GPs decided that, inorder to avoid paying extra tax on their salaries, they would cut their hours to two days a week each and pay a locum for the fifth day. This message, and the following, was actually written in the Practice Newsletter.
Alongside working to rule, no more than 25 patient contact per day (phone, face to face or messaging) effectively means a 10 week wait for routine appointments, any emergency calls are told to go to A&E and any enquiries about results of tests etc are told to contact the hospital involved (nigh on impossible to know who you ask for there!)
Blood tests are a 12 week wait for the practice nurse or phlebotomist, cannot be precooked if needed regularly.
All in all it’s an utter mess and makes me despair as a former district nurse.

*heading for dreadful for goodness’ sake!

I feel quite traumatised by my GPS treatment of me, so can't say I'm satisfied with the practice.

It was reassuring to hear that so far, more posters agree with the IPSOS findings, than disagree.

Ours is great. We also have a Minor Injuries Unit which is wonderful. We’ve used it so many times. Very grateful for everything.

Mine's OK. Its actually got easier for me since the online system as less people phone. However, I can't get what I used to, which is someone who knows me personally, I hope with recent funds that might get better.

Ours is dire.
You can phone in for emergencies only.
All other enquiries have to be online.
Online forms are suspended from 15:12:24 till 06:01:25.

My practice used to be great but no longer. It is now a receptionist who triages, and that is a tad difficult when I know more than she does.

I ended up ringing 111, and that system was fabulous. A doctor rang me back and agreed it was a medical emergency.

When I give up my car shortly I will have to move GPs. I discovered they have to take on board somebody of my age, 81.

The surgery I have in mind is opposite the pharmacy where I pick up my repeat prescriptions. At present I can walk there but for how much longer?

Having been with the same town-centre practice for 45 years, experiences have been mixed. I don't really think it's much worse than before. It is different: most of the doctors are women who work part-time (why wouldn't you?) which means that you don't get to see the same one during a course of treatment.
And while I'm here, I want to have a rant about receptionists telling you to "have a nice day". The very fact that you're there at all is likely to mean that you're not having a particularly good day.
I think receptionists should be trained not to say it. It's just a formulaic American expression which means nothing.

I had no problems with old GP practice. I recently moved home and am at a new practice. I’ve had contact with them a couple of times recently and they’ve been very responsive. My only gripe is that they’ll only let me have a month’s meds at a time whereas the old practice prescribed three months at a time.

Ours is excellent, rural Devon. If you just turn up before 10:30 a GP will see you. No booking.

Our practice has changed since Covid. I’ve taken to requesting help online and have an answer within 24 hours. They will call if needed and arrange blood tests, chest X-rays at local walk in centre and then make an appointment to see you if needed. By using this system I received a physio appointment within 4 weeks and was lucky enough to have a cancellation in one week. The physio appointment was at the walk in centre.

It’s certainly easier to have contact with a medical professional now than it was before Covid. I’m not sure how easy this is for those who are not internet savvy.

I have no complaints about our health service currently and can only be happy that there is no charge at the point of delivery.

Where are all these happy people? Our surgery is utterly hopeless. Same day appts gone by 0831; regular appts gone by 1031. Try online & you get told to try again tomorrow. After seeing practice physiotherapist twice in 6 months & being told I had a muscle strain, I went private & ended up with a hip replacement due to advanced osteoarthritis.

Never seen same GP twice, they are always 'ill' and yet when you do get an appt, you turn up and are the only one in the waiting room. Half a dozen receptionists & they are still late to see you.

Crazy.