New system at GP surgery.

Asthma is often an emergency. I have had emergency appointments for asthma in the past. It doesn’t always require a visit to hospital if you can get a timely appointment with your GP. Primary care is crucial. It is suppowed to prevent unnecessary visits to A+E, because A+E is not for UTIs or the necessity of a course of steroids. A+E is for accidents or emergencies (heart attacks, strokes, serious injuries.) The misuse of A+E is what’s causing the long waits. Of course people who are not registered with a GP go there all the time, and many people misuse the system.

I am sorry to learn about the problems folk have with their GP. However, I must say the service from mine is absolutely fantastic. When you call in the morning you can either wait in a queue (told what number you are) or ask for a call back, which I usually do. I always get a call back and usually an appointment is made for a doctor to call me that day, or if appropriate, a F2F appointment that day. Whether it's because it's flagged that I have autoimmune problems I don't know, but there's no complaints from me. Ditto the hospital appointments.

Our surgery has instituted a "call at 8 system" toobut with a "press 8 for a call back" which they do.
Excellent
BUT my appointment to see a doctor is a month away... and by phone. He will arrange a face to face if I need it.
I do. 🙄

Germanshepherdsmum

If someone were suicidal I doubt they would be around to try again the next day.

I well remember being bullied into tears by an overzealous receptionist back in 1976 when I was really ill with asthma during that long hot summer and needed steroids. When you are ill you just don’t have the strength to stand up to the system.

You’re absolutely right GSM.

Nope, ours you have options: book online, book via an app, or you phone at 8am. If you do that, there’s a brief menu (appointments, test results, order repeat prescriptions, medical secretaries…)

You choose the appointments option, get told your position in the queue and that you’ll get a call back within x time. It’s never been more than 40 minutes.

Appointments are available face-to-face, online, or over the phone, from that day to three days ahead with GPs and practice nurses, and whenever with physios, podiatrists and other allied professionals.

Obviously, if you are told by any of them that you need a follow up appointment, you can book that as far in advance as you’re advised.

The only times I’ve not had a face to face same day appointment was during Covid when it was almost all online, and a few weeks ago, when several of the GPs were off ill. Then it was the next day.

I am constantly astounded that they manage so well given how their funding, choices, and resources have been so badly affected by the last government.

Urmstongran

I suppose UTIs and tonsillitis can now be prescribed ABs by your local pharmacist. That’s the plan now apparently for seven ‘common’ ailments.

I don’t agree with pharmacists prescribe antibiotics to be honest, nor do I agree with the last government’s introduction of Physician Associates because they are not properly qualified and aren’t even allowed to prescribe. The nurse practitioners are good, and otherwise the doctors. However as the mother of a GP I’m fully aware of the stresses on the system and on the GPs. We have too many people and too few doctors and this is entirely the responsibility of the last government. They have failed us miserably in this area.

If someone were suicidal I doubt they would be around to try again the next day.

I well remember being bullied into tears by an overzealous receptionist back in 1976 when I was really ill with asthma during that long hot summer and needed steroids. When you are ill you just don’t have the strength to stand up to the system.

No option to email surgery here nor even text them - they text you but you cannot reply.

Cardiac nurse rang me on Monday and said I must ask my GP about a certain medication I am on as only a doctor could make the decision. Rang surgery to say this - got 10 minutes of quizzing from receptionist as to whether this was really necessary before she condescended to put me on the triage list. Had phone call back - from a nurse! I explained it all again and she said I could not speak to the doctor as they would not be able to answer my question and I must ring the cardiologist (!!!! - just like that). I gave up in the end and put the phone down, then burst into tears. Please bear in mind I only came out of hospital on Sunday after a heart attack.

I tried again yesterday and the receptionist said she would put me down for phone triage - I asked if it would be a doctor, and she said yes! My own GP, the best in the practice, rang back and was able to sort it all out - now why did I have to go through the blood-pressure raising and upsetting fiasco the previous day? It is like this all the time and I get so fed up with it.

A F2F appointment takes about 2 weeks - ditto a phone appointment or blood test.

The NHS is a mishmash of medical miracle (the cardiac stent I had inserted last week and which has saved my life) and hopeless inefficiency and chaos.

We have eConsult at our surgery and have done for some years. Is this the same as Ask a GP? I’ve found it ok but might not be so if I was less healthy! I would t like to put it to the test tbh. DGD (12) has had face to face appointments straightaway. This is Scotland.

I have three problems.
I can't talk about them all at one appointment apparently.
🙄
I had to make two different appointments as I can talk about 2 things they say.
🤷‍♂️

Incidentally it was almost a requirement from the school that you had been told by the GP to keep them at home, especially if during winter it was a frequent occurrence,

When my C were young , both were prone to upper respiratory infections.
I would just turn up at the surgery anytime from 8;30 to 10 am.
We would just take our place in the waiting room and wait our turn.
We may have had to wait an hour but we were always seen that morning.
Now, perhaps not practical, but just occasionally I remember with nostalgia.

We have had ‘Ask My GP’ for a while now.

Worked well, not all appointments are urgent, so one in a few days time is often ok.

Then a few months ago, it all changed.

The online system opened at 8am, you had to be available to be seen that day, not in the future. The system closed when all appointments gone, often in 10 minutes. If unlucky, try again next day. 🤷‍♀️

Loads of complaints on local FB page.

I e mailed Victoria Atkins, the then Health Secretary, and explained how difficult it had become.

To give her department their due, they were soon on the case, the Practice Manager at the surgery contacted me. No real solution, but felt I was listened to.

Lo and behold, the system has now changed again. A much wider timeline to get in online, and appointments don’t have to be for the same day.

I like to think my intervention helped, but had been told it was all constantly under review, and they knew it wasn’t ideal.

Too many patients for too few clinicians.

Hope Labour sort it all, but won’t hold my breath.

I suppose UTIs and tonsillitis can now be prescribed ABs by your local pharmacist. That’s the plan now apparently for seven ‘common’ ailments.

Ours is same as yours op.
Has been for about 4 months.

But first they did it wrongly. Quite badly.
They failed to have the first screen as, if you have this that or the other, or experiencing signs of this that or the other, dial 111 or 999, and dont fill in the online form.

I was a bit horrified by the online form at the start.

So the surgery is not seeing any urgent cases? For example, a UTI is urgent, it cannot wait till next week. A suicidal person cannot wait till next week. What on earth can wait till next week? Only routine things it seems to me. A child with tonsillitis cannot wait till next week. These things should be able to be seen at the GP practice, not off loaded to other sources, and certainly not A+E. The surgery are choosing to deal with non urgent problems rather than deal with the things primary care is supposed to deal with.

To answer your query annsixty, no, our surgery does not operate like this. I saw a GP at the surgery yesterday for an urgent problem. I requested the appointment yesterday morning.

Why is it that GPs are deliberately making things so difficult for their patients?

I don’t know about all surgeries, but we have been filling in the form for quite a while now.

Learned to dial 111 too when seeking urgent advice, who in turn have -so far- always recommended 999 or presenting ourselves at A&E.

No wonder everything is in a mess.

Ours has been exactly the same as yours for about 2 years annsixty. We use the ‘Ask My GP’ on line and always get a response the same day - they say ‘come in’ for often than not but twice this years I’ve accepted a telephone consultation. Basically it’s a triage system I suppose as the GPs themselves make the decisions as to filtering. Years ago everybody pretty much just got a F2F appointment.