We get asked if we want to see someone or get a ring back later the same day. We’ve seen the senior nurse practitioner a few times. Here it doesn’t seem to matter what the problem is.
My son has just come back off holiday yesterday with an injured ankle and has to wait until Monday for a call back. We were wondering if mere mobility problems get lower priority?
We think he should have been a little more assertive and asked to see someone urgently.
I think it was Ducky who painted a memorable picture of all our GP’s at home with wine and loose women. 🤣
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Desanthony
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I’ve not seen a GP since before lockdowns, even getting a phone call is a struggle, not good for people like me with chronic health problems ! I do have several friends who are GPs and I know they aren’t sitting at home with wine and women but I do wish GPs would get back to working normally, Vets have been doing it for many months so why not Drs 😡
But of course the difference is that you have to pay to see a vet, sometimes the proverbial arm and a leg, whereas the NHS is free. It all comes down to money in the end.
Yes if I have a problem I get a call first then a couple of times a face to face.Bit weird really as the triage receptionist docs call then actual visit has increased their workload surely.
G'day,
Yeah me .....only 'cos she had no choice (April 2022) as she administered a cortisone injection into my right shoulder.
Prior to that she had no choice.... October 2021 for my DVLA Bus Drivers Medical.
Welcome to the 21 st century NHS in modern, dynamic Britain. NOT!
My view and I don't give a damn if I get banned and silenced.....this is all down to Matt Hancock in the good old , early days of CoVid when he was smart enough to use CoVid as the mechanism to dismember the NHS we all knew.
Smart enough to wheal and deal with all the rats and mice organisations like the GP's yet leave hospitals in the lurch. All down to you Matt ......
Do you really think all of the problems of the NHS can be laid at the last Health Minister? You may wish to make a political point but please try to be realistic!
Same in the USA. Politicians are good at giving lip service but not much else. 😒
You said: "I think it was Ducky who painted a memorable picture of all our GP’s at home with wine and loose women". The vast majority of GPs are women.
And nope, I haven't seen a GP since the beginning of lockdown. This week, as many others, I received a text saying "Due to staff absences with Covid we have very limited appointments this week. Please only contact the surgery with urgent matters that cannot wait". It's really difficult to even get a phone call.
Our GP practice is very good and my GP is exceptional. I had had more bleeding from my piles than I thought was acceptable, some random bruising and a drama when I had a surgical tooth extraction. I phoned to ask if it was perhaps time for me to take a reduced dose of Apixaban. I was promptly given a ftf appointment and was so surprised I phoned the surgery back to make sure I’d heard right. I was given the exam you’d expect and a blood test but my gp was firm about following the rules re Apixaban. A few days later I had a message to say my GP would be phoning me about my blood test results, which she did, asked how I was feeling, answer being ‘rubbish’ so she asked me to come straight in. She had phoned because my white blood cells were up and wanted to check that I didn’t have an escalating infection, which I did from the dramatic tooth extraction! I would have liked to hug her but settled for telling her I wished there was a way of giving her five stars 💖
You're so lucky! My GP surgery used to be outstanding but it's steadily declined over the past few years and since Covid it's totally tanked. I'm looking to switch but it's so hard to get a picture of how good a surgery is.
Hi. My gp surgery hardly sees anybody. The only face to face appointments are with nurses and you need to battle to see them. everything is done by e consult and then you are triaged into a phone call with a doctor or pharmacist or you are sent to A&E. I’ve been at the surgery having blood tests and seen the stream of people redirected to walk in centres or A&E. A&E is bursting at the seams with people who can’t see GPs. I live in a small town and there is 1 gp surgery so it’s difficult to go elsewhere. As such I, and my family, supplement our healthcare by paying for access to GP appointments via a private healthcare provider if we get desperate. It shouldn’t be like this but it is.
Hi Des my appointments have been mainly with a nurse this year except when the Physiotherapist I had been seeing privately (there is a 3 month wait for NHS Phisio) advised I should see a doctor and request and x ray after there was no improvement in my condition. I saw a young heavily pregnant doctor who looked about 18 but arranged an x ray.
Have to play the lottery of who can get through on the phone from 8am to 810am - if don’t win the phone lottery despite constantly redialling have to try the next day - not seen anyone since beginning of pandemic - am just a number..
Me, no. I get that GPs are busy, but on the other hand I don't know why phone appointments are more efficient, really? Also, has anyone ever had "I'm sorry Dr Filgrave doesn't work on Fridays or Tuesdays"?
It may be that they are trying to reduce the number of physical appointments so as to reduce Covid transmission which would result in greater doctor absence and be be counter-productive.
According to my GP they are carrying out a mandate that was given before the virus struck as the next step for the NHS.Initially they said no but when the pandemic forced them into adopting these methods they couldn't avoid the change and having made that change.........🙄
I've not seen my GP in about 4 years,since then, I've been to A and E once for a leg injury. Im not sure I've even got one to be honest,my plan is to stay fit,or rather my only plan .
Think the best one yet for me is, I got a letter telling me my annual blood test was due, I also got a second letter on the same day saying my asthma check was due. I rang to make the appointments to be given one for the blood test but told asthma check was telephone, it didn’t matter how much I asked, if I was coming for a blood test why couldn’t I have the asthma check at the same time. No asthma is telephone. Off I toddle to the surgery get my blood test and then sit in the car park on the phone for my asthma check. I’m asked basically can I breath ok what’s your peak flow, no idea I say don’t have a blowy thing. Oh ok well we will call you again next year. Think that’s their box ticked and the height of inefficiency when I was there anyway.
Re vets - its true animals get better care. Noticed an issue with my lovely dog, app next day, surgery in a weeks time. Me have had a problem for two plus years, was "fast tracked" 5 months ago (only cause I jumped up and down with GP surgery) finally saw consultant yesterday and had an actual examination (GP never got beyond a phone call) and now my problem because it was left has progressed to worst level, op being the only option but because of severity lower odds of sucess - am told its a 7month wait. (Was expecting longer wait tbh). Given a leaflet for the op to read which isn't what consultant told me. 🥺🙈 Worried now! Thinking of booking myself in with my vet.....and if reincarnation exists defo coming back as a dog! Far more humane....I can also choose to snuff it when I want! 🤣
Only phone calls but my husband hurt his knee and went to the minor injuries unit where a nurse ordered him x rays etc. We are very fortunate to have a minor injuries unit attached to our small town hospital. If they think you need it they will call you an ambulance to take you to the full a and e at the hospital about 15 minutes away.
Wow thats good. I live in a city and before the pandemic my adult son broke his arm and minor injuries referred him to a&e (otherside of the city - 20-30min drive depending on traffic) but he was expected to make his own way there. Provision is very variable....lol.
Unfortunately the NHS system appears to be in tatters, poor Government policies & control rippling through to hospital management & GPs.....best recent example is the £Ms excess profit made by Covid PPE suppliers, which could have been capped. My excellent GP departed to NZ during Covid.
I've been able to see a GP on several occasions. Sometimes I had an initial phone consultation which resolved the problem; other times this was followed up with a FTF appointment. Mostly, the system seems to work. To some extent I can see the point in reducing the number of patient visits to the surgery since, with high levels of Covid, it's more likely that the doctor will contract it making g the situation even worse. It's also the case that some patients may lack the expertise to determine whether they really need a physical appointment. That said, provision probably varies around the country and in some areas people may get a worse deal than other areas.
Think ours were seen scuttling out the back door as soon as the pandemic began! Telephone calls yes, sometimes GP if needed and tbf usually helpful, otherwise only face to face is with nurses. Did see a duty GP in March sent by 111 when I reported BP was 55/38...took 2 hours though.
Like others here I’ve not seen a GP since before first lockdown. I have seen a nurse practitioner who has been very good. She’s referred me to the hospital where I did see a doctor. I’ve since had one surgery and am now on the waiting list to have a kidney removed. I am beginning to wonder how unwell I have to be to see a doctor.
We seem so lucky. My doctor gives an initial phone "triage" but then gives an appointment that morning if deemed necessary or asked for. I've seen him twice this year.
What more do you expect ,still people running around with face masks on and listening to the BBC . These people are taking the rest of us down with them .
Can honestly say my gp has been wonderful, rang about a female problem and was seen straight away, also she phoned me at 5pm regarding a different matter to ask how I am, my daughter who was staying with me was flabbergasted as she said she cannot get an appointment let alone the Doc ringing to see how I am.And no I am not telling where I live as we would be inundated!
I feel so lucky to have a super surgery but unlucky to have so many complaints.
I saw mine last week, but then I live in South Africa! I will see my cardiologist next month for my annual check up. If I wanted to see y GP today and phoned, she would fit me in!
All seems quite variable here. I do t mind telephone consultation or seeing the senior nurse practitioner and pleased to say that usually happens the same day and but there are times when maybe you do need to see an actual Doctor and I wish o knew when that would happen - don’t care whether I have to swear a mask - I have plenty good ones. Interesting to read that this may have been part of a policy from Matt Hancock’s time before the pandemic. I wouldn’t mind if I was someone who was seeing my GP every week for nothing but honestly only really saw him for blood tests and the rare occasion I had a problem. I often wonder what is happening at the practice I used to go to where to get an appointment at all you had to ring between 2 and 2.15 and you weren’t allowed to walk into the reception during that time to make an appointment either - you had to phone!
In the last two years I've seen a GP face to face when needed, which has only been twice. I've also been phoned by a GP once following my annual blood test.This year I've had my 3yearly colonoscopy arranged with a hospital consultant over the phone and undertaken by a specialist at a treatment centre owned by the GP practice. Thankfully for the first time in 3 colonoscopies and one sigmoidoscopy over a period of 6 years no polyps were found.
I have permanent though asymptomatic AF. I prefer Warfarin, and every two months or so I email my INR to the arrhythmia nurse, as I have my own Coaguchek meter.
It is clear that the GP service varies greatly across the country, these differences have been highlighted by the pandemic. This is not surprising since each surgery is a small business, often run by medics with little or no customer service or business experience. My surgery has been good, although the phone system is very busy at 8:30 am! Other people seem to have had a much worse service than we have and Primary healthcare is in need of major reform. I can't see that happening whilst the NHS remains a political football
My GP is excellent. Phone call same day if urgent. Face to face when necessary. Phone calls to explain everything. Issuing dronedarone and getting two follow up blood tests all in the three weeks before I went on holiday was all arranged without fuss and with good grace.It frankly insulting to suggest they are lounging about at home. They work long hours often with rude and ungrateful patients.
Short answer: No, not for more than two years. I do get to see the practice nurses for blood tests and INR checks etc., but GP contact has been just two 5 minute phone consultations.......
In fact, I had a full physical with my GP in June. Supposedly, that was my best physical in 15 years, with my weight down by 20 pounds and my breathing test normal for the first time ever. I wasn't even trying to diet, so that was surprising.
Then I went home and made the mistake of reading Joan Didion's My Year of Magical Thinking. Do not read that book if you have afib and are trying to stay optimistic!
My GP is golden and I've remained in regular contact with him over the past several years. He wrote two notes for me to give to HR -- the second was an update -- that have allowed me to work from home for the past two years and five months. That's definitely safer than taking three forms of mass transit to Westchester from New York City, both cities (NYC and New Rochelle) having been major entry points for COVID into U.S. life.
She thought a private sp could help to get me CONTROLLED.
She was so right. We were moving forward to an ABLATION.
But 2 weeks ago I saw an Auckland Heart Cardiac. He said I was not a candidate for ABLATION. I have an enlarged heart. Also in his report he writes that I have a sodr systolic murmur.
This Locum Dr is also getting it right to return to Overstan to keep infections at bay.
After the Johnson & Johnson mesh removal TVT kit I experienced flooding. That sorted I can move forward.
Thousands of those woman & men with the mesh which causes damage and pain.
I'll keep this Locum on - she does 2 days per week. She is also a skin cancer specialist and she examined me. A couple spots to treat. And a 2-yearly check on black moles.
GPs cant do alot of changing drugs. Go to a specialist for getting CONTROLLED. I struggled for 1 year 3 mths on Metopolol. with a H/R of 186. Then the DHB specialist left me on a 156 H/R.
Changed to CCB Calcium Channel Blocker I am CONTROLLED finally. The J&J out my energy came flooding back.
GPs wont change your meds but merely up what you tajing. Take heed.
Twas me indeed who suggested they were lounging in their onesies watching Loose Women, as Jeremy Kyle is no more.I was going to ask, "what's a GP?" as the only GP I've seen in the past 3 years is the Formula 1 version.😁.
Getting past the receptionist is harder than getting through Check Point Charlie.
I've not seen a GP since before lockdown either, mind you, getting an appointment was a serious problem before then so northing's changed really. I have asked a question about my medication a couple of times but the answers I've gotten do not relate to the question I asked. pointing this out to the receptionist usually just elicits the response "Well that's what the doctor said",. Chinese whispers are alive and well! Ooops am I still allowed to use that phrase?
I would ask your pharmacist about medication they usually know more than the GP about that but then May tell you to ask your GP I certain instances. I would write to GP and ask for a written reply if I did not get answers and couldn’t get to actually talk to GP about it. It’s quite annoying especially for those of us who hardly went to our GP’s anyway and now find we can’t - obviously many things can and probably could have been dealt with previously by phone but sometimes only f2f will really do.
Just a further note. If your son has just come back off holiday yesterday with an injured ankle, why didn't he get his ankle seen to while he was on holiday? Why delay?
No problem with me, call first thing g in the morning and gp calls back late morning and will follow up that day with f2f if needed, twice this year, been with em 45 years
I live in the states. I do not agree with a widespread view of all gp's as you described. Do you all have email correspondance with your dr offices? Each will have their own system. I see mostly "wellstar" dr's. They use My Chart where i can send messages and receive answers quickly.
Our quik care center's also will cast a fracture. Hope this helped.
I live in the states and I don't have email correspondence with my Dr. It is true they all do things differently. I can't even get a timely call back from my Drs office. Plus I call the office and have to listen to a menu-click on 1 for this, click on 2 for that etc etc. Then you get put on hold forever if you manage to get a human. So annoying.
If the injury is severe you need to go to A&E, on the day urgent calls are prioritised by the GP unfortunately due to the high demand for face to face when not all need to be. I would imagine if the injury is severe enough to go to A&E and guess you would be X-ray, if waiting till Monday Dr may have other suggestions for treatment for you but in the meantime you can call 111 for advice (sorry I only just saw your post so may already have been sorted out
Maybe it's because I live in the US, but I have seen primary care twice, another specialist, and cardiologist a few times this year, in the office.
I wouldn't think a mobility problem is "mere." When one can't get around as needed, that sounds serious to me and warrants being seen ASAP, to determine if there is a fracture or sprain. It helps to know what's going on when something needs to be treated and when it's difficult to walk, that needs to be treated.
Could also be a hematoma depending on the injury. Scary to have to wait so long for treatment. At least in the USA we have urgent care centers to go to. The world is in a sorry state.
The only difference I have noted at the GP since the pandemic is fewer patients in the waiting room. The receptionist always asks what the problem is and if it is urgent usually you will get an appointment that day or first thing the next morning. The real problem is that my doctor is 65 and he and his wife wish to retire and cannot find anybody to take over the practice as young docs don't want to come and live in the sticks. Well not the Limousin sticks - I expect the countryside near the Cote d'Azur would be ok. So it looks like we might be becoming one of the "medical deserts " of which there are umpteen in rural France.
The USA is losing Drs in our more rural areas also. And losing good Drs everywhere because they are tired of dealing with the insurance companies. We are importing more foreign Drs.
Some you win and some you lose, but mainly our surgery staff and GPs are all pretty wonderful!
The other day, though, I had the misfortune to get a locum who didn't sound as though she was coping too well with the pressure. She wouldn't let me finish a single sentence, told me that I needed an urgent appointment then said as I was seeing a consultant at the hospital that day for something else, they could look in my throat to see why I had lost my voice over a period of months! She then plonked the phone down. Needless to say, the consultant did no such thing and I had to make another appointment with a GP I had seen previously (although not my own GP) and he was off the blocks as quick as could be. I was referred to ENT on Monday, phoned on Tuesday and offered an appointment, seen at the ENT on Wednesday and had an ultrasound on Saturday!
My own GP is great. She listens, discusses things with me, if she doesn't share my way of thinking about something she explains exactly why, she phones when she says she will, follows things up and chases the hospital when required. She will even check on my husband's results or appointments for us during my phone appointment, or during face to face appointments. I really cannot ask for better.
Also, I feel my husband owes his life to her. He had a urine infection and our GP wasn't happy when it didn't respond to antibiotics. She would not let it go. She asked for a further sample to be sent to the lab, but also got some other blood tests done as she suspected prostate cancer. An MRI showed that he didn't have that (thank goodness) but that he DID have fluid on the lungs. Our GP immediately started him on medication, without waiting for the cardiologist to advise, whilst writing to the hospital to expedite his appointment. At his cardiology appointment, the consultant confirmed that the GP had prescribed exactly the right meds. He was also told that without that treatment and a valve replacement his life expectancy was about two years! He had the op and has had a new lease of life. All the problems he had put down to being old (he's 80 next week) were down to his unknown heart condition which was only discovered because our GP was worried about his prostate.
I'd hug her if I could, but it's not quite the thing to do, is it?!
My surgery has now said from Aug 1st all patients have to use the online “contact us” page and messages will be seen within 2 days 😳🤦🏻♀️ It just gets more ridiculous as time goes on 😡 god help anyone who has an urgent problem !
Interesting to hear all your experiences. I was just so surprised that my son had to have a telephone appointment booked for Monday when we always have a telephone call that day and further appointments made as necessary and we either see someone that day if call made early in the day or at the latest next day. It seems that some of you are also having problems even getting to speak to a nurse or doctor also. I have had some skin problems where I had to send in photographs to the nurses email address and also send in Kardia but only ever given nurses email. Obviously I’d they thought necessary they would send on to Doc but never once been told to actually contact them on email though maybe that is the way we are going to go - who knows. One thing we do know they can’t give you an injection, take blood, listen to your lungs or heart etc by either phone or email. - yet ???
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my appointments have been mainly with a nurse this year except when the Physiotherapist I had been seeing privately (there is a 3 month wait for NHS Phisio) advised I should see a doctor and request and x ray after there was no improvement in my condition. I saw a young heavily pregnant doctor who looked about 18 but arranged an x ray. 
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