GP appointment.

[screenman]

Just phoned to get one and you have to phone at 10am like everyone else, no problem say I will I definatley get one as it means me taking a day off of work, sorry they say we cannot guarantee that.

So I ask can I have an appointment for next week, she says they come out on Tuesday afternoon and we have none for next week. So can I have one for further away, sorry those books are not open yet.

Looking on the NHS how to book an appointment I get this,

What if I can't get an appointment?
If you can't get an appointment, the best thing to do first of all is to talk to someone, such as your GP.

Well at least somebody has a sense of humour.

 

[Drago]

I book mine online, no problems.

 

[hopless500]

Your surgery sounds like they enjoy taking the pi55. Our surgery.. you can ring whenever they're open and book an appointment whenever you want if the slot is free. Ditto online booking. I've never seen an advance date limit given.

 

[Drago]

Wealthy retirees get priority at our surgery.

 

[Salad Dodger]

Our surgery has a queue of about 20 people outside at 8am every day, trying to get an appointment for that day, because the phone system there is so poor that by the time you finally get through, the appointments have all gone to the people who turned up in person to book them.

How ill people - you know, the ones too ill to drag themselves down to the surgery and wait outside until it opens - get on, is anybody's guess. Maybe it's like natural selection. They just die and reduce the numbers of unsatisfied customers. One thing is for sure, the dead ones won't give bad marks on the customer satisfaction survey.....

 

[keithmac]

It truly is shocking how bad some surgeries are..

 

[TVC]

With mine you phone at 8am for a morning appointment, and at noon for an afternoon slot. I have always got one the same day. My GP reception team are very good in deciding if you really need to see the doctor or if the practice nurse has the skills to deal with your problem, and she can always refer up to the doctor if need be.

 

[Drago]

It truly is shocking how bad some surgeries are..

Its Tony Blair's old rules. In between starting wars based upon a lie, he decreed that he wanted waiting lists in the NHS cropped right back. As a consequence, it can be difficult to get a Doctors appt far in advance, as it may break the guidelines for waiting times. Ditto surgery, you may not get a letter informing you of the date until a couple of weeks beforehand, all the in the cause of keeping waiting lists short.

The politicians then pointed at the short NHS waiting lists, conveniently forgetting to mention they're so short because there's now no bugger on them more than a few days in advance.

 

[Crackle]

Request a call back or sign up for the online booking system or work the system and tell them you're dying and need to see someone now or go to your local GP drop in centre thingy and stop living in the 50's.

 

[cubey]

The GF phoned last week for an appointment, she got one in three weeks time.

 

[screenman]

Request a call back or sign up for the online booking system or work the system and tell them you're dying and need to see someone now or go to your local GP drop in centre thingy and stop living in the 50's.

I can do all that no problem, it is a long time since I needed a Doctors appointment and had heard a lot of stories about the surgery in our village, I must admit to being a tad shocked. The nearest drop in Centre is 10 miles away, I feel there should not be a need to work the system.

 

[PeteXXX]

Similar for my doctors. Ring at 08:00 and keep ringing in the hope of getting through to book for the same day, but not for the following day.
I can ring at 07:00 for an appointment the following day, but not for the same day. Both these possibly with a doctor, but probably with a nurse.
For a nurse appointment, I can book into the future, or for when the nurse has time.

 

[Drago]

You know why you can't get through at opening time?

 

[screenman]

You know why you can't get through at opening time?

Yep, the phone line is busy with others doing as they have been told to.

I cannot wait for somebody there to want a dent fixing.

 

[Crackle]

I can do all that no problem, it is a long time since I needed a Doctors appointment and had heard a lot of stories about the surgery in our village, I must admit to being a tad shocked. The nearest drop in Centre is 10 miles away, I feel there should not be a need to work the system.

It's becoming increasingly rare to be able to get an appt on the day or even week. My own GP told me to ask for an emergency appt. or a ringback if it was urgent and you need to jump the queue of routine follow ups. often, your drop in centre will be staffed by ordinary GP's doing out of hours shifts in the same way GP's used to do on call. Who knows, you might even see your own GP there!