bbc.co.uk/news/health-42511553
No GP can remonstrate against patients who inform themselves via the internet prior to a consultation with this directive from the Royal college. Not that they should anyway.
1. Self help/medicate - Ask can I sort this out myself
2. Self educate with on line research
3. See a pharmacist
Having had a foot operation, I asked a pharmacist about painkilling gel as I was still in pain. He said they were no use and I would need hand made shoes.
I waited a week till my consultant appointment . He advised ibuprofen gel and was speechless at my saying I should get handmade shoes.
Some pharmacists are brilliant, but others....hmm!
Many GPs don't like you using the well-regarded sites e.g. patient.info as they inform you, the patient, of what the doctor should be doing. They don't want to do these things e.g. a blood test because it costs money.
bluebug
Well the College of GP’s is telling them otherwise, which was my point in posting it.
At least if a GP starts criticising you for being informed this statement can be thrown back at them emphasising they are so busy it you did it to help them cope with their excessive work load!
The statement is not about getting blood tests but seeing your GP for an initial consultation.
I don’t agree with it. I question whether thousands are pestering GPs without valid reason and many here who do have ample reason and are being ignored left untreated or being inadequately treated would be put under this banner.
On the other hand to me the first two parts of advice are just common sense (I agree not in some GP’s eyes but I find their negative stance about self educating via the internet simply ridiculous) but as for seeking out a pharmacist...I don’t want to discuss my medical history in a public place with queues of bored people within earshot, so it would not be something I’d do as a matter of course. I did when I was refused a consultation and was in a bad way and I got excellent advice as my eardrum burst in front of her, she knew what was wrong but was powerless to do anything for me but suggested as I had been a student in the past to try my old health centre for help - and I do read Isabella Wentz’s advice.
TSH110,
It is actually the Royal College of General Practitioners! (Doesn't much matter until you try to tell someone else or look it up.) 
helvella
oops I had not realised they were different and should have stick with the correct designation. I will correct it now thanks for letting me know!
helvella what is the difference are physicians those working in hospitals?
TSH110,
Rather than me doing a précis, these links say enough - and have onward links if you really want them!
Pharmacies should have a consulting room where you can discuss your health issues with the pharmacist in privacy. If they haven't such a space ask them to provide one.
I would suggest you avoid pharmacies in France, then! Most French pharmacists think they are doctors! Even more than that, they think they know better than the doctors. They are very prone to questioning things on your prescription, and asking things like 'why did your doctor prescribe you that?' or 'why did you go to see your doctor in the first place?' I have had so many rows with these know-it-all pharmacists in my area, that I dared go into the pharmacies anymore, for fear of a fight! They say the stupidest things! And, I tell them, if you think I'm going to discuss the most intimate details of my health with you, in front of everyone, you've got another think coming! Just fill my prescription and shut up! I have to get my son-in-law to go for me, now! 
greygoose thats sounds awful. Do they cross examine in French or do they also resort to English? I find pretending not to understand helps get rid of bothersome people but that is on the street. Good idea to send someone else and avoid them altogether!
No-one, where I live, speaks English! And not understanding wouldn't get me what I want in pharmacies. If I ask for toothpaste without fluoride, and just get a lecture about how good fluoride is for you, then I need to 'understand' and fight back, in order to get my toothpaste! lol They pretend to know everything, yet actually know nothing at all. Completely puts my back up! lol
Thankfully, I belong to a GP practice which is very efficient and caring but I do know there are plenty at which it is so difficult to get an appointment; one could be either dead or better. I think most people do try to sort their illness out by self-medication or by seeing a pharmacist before they try to see their GP so talking to the public as if we are all time wasters and hypochondriacs is really patronising. Perhaps it will all end up like the film, Soylent Green.
Just looked up one thing on NHS Choices - "dizziness" - as a check as to what they say (being a reputable website). As I read it, it has some simplistic advice. Other than dehydration and/or excess caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs, unlikely to address any causes at all. Then to see a GP if you are worried. Surely, the mere act of going to NHS Choices and looking it up would usually imply some degree of worry?
How you can treat dizziness yourself
Dizziness usually goes away on its own. But there are things you can do to take care of yourself while you're feeling dizzy.
Do
lie down until dizziness passes, then get up slowly
move slowly and carefully
get plenty of rest
drink plenty of fluids, especially water
avoid coffee, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs
Don't
bend down suddenly
get up suddenly after sitting or lying down
do anything that could be dangerous while you're dizzy, like driving, climbing a ladder or using heavy machinery
lie totally flat if you feel like things are spinning – use pillows to prop up your head
See a GP if:
you're worried about your dizziness or vertigo
it won't go away or it keeps coming back
you're finding it harder to hear
there's ringing or other sounds in your ears (tinnitus)
you have double vision, blurred vision or other changes in your eyesight
your face, arms or legs feel numb
you have other symptoms like fainting, headaches, feeling or being sick
Causes of dizziness
If you have other symptoms, this might give you an idea of the cause. Don't self-diagnose – see a GP if you're worried.
Dizziness while you're ill with something else
Dizziness for no obvious reason
Many NHS Choices end with this advice:
Call 111
If you can’t speak to your GP or don’t know what to do next.
My prediction, for what it is worth:
Some people with transient issues will not go to their GP;
Some people with serious, non-transient issues will not go to their GP now, but will in a few days. So just deferring the appointment;
Some people with serious, non-transient issues will not go to their GP now, or ever. They are likely to end up under emergency care, or dying.
Some people will ring 111 and very likely get advised to make an appointment with their GP or go to A&E/walk-in centres.
Some people will ring 999.
Probably there will be an increase in 111 calls, and possibly an increase in walk-in centre use where available. Although it might not immediately be clear, there is likely to be an overall increase in 999/A&E usage.
The overall cost to the NHS is likely to increase.
I totally agree with these steps it makes good sense and helps the overstretched NHS.
Only yesterday on this forum someone posted that they suffered from constipation.
One person replied ( Go to your GP and ask for a prescription for Lactulose.)
You can purchase this over the counter for just a few pounds and it last for weeks.
This constant going to the GP for low cost over the counter medications etc cause high costs for the NHS this information was wrong in my opinion.
Hidden
I’d say if anything what is not so good with the advice is it does not address the underlying reason for constipation which is more likely undermedication for hypothyroidism with inadequate Levothyroxine dosage - something the GP should be made aware of.
Yes I agree
I was rather cross about NHS money being spent telling elderly people that colds could kill them and they needed to visit pharmacist or doctors if they had one for these reason
a)It was scare mongering
b) There is no cure for a cold anyway and nothing to stop a cold turning into a chest infection.
c)It was trying to frighten elderly people into having flu jabs
d) Elderly people should stay indoors when ill as liable to fall over if rushing around anxious to get to chemist
e)It was a waste of NHS money.
I had constipation which turned out to be a cancer.
Apart from perhaps a cold how are you supposed to know what is serious
I think most sensible people do their best not to bother a GP unnecessarily
Even colds can be an indication of something wrong. If as an adult you aren't around primary school aged children and have a cold every few weeks for a few months then you need to go to the doctor. Though you are likely to have signs and symptoms as well.
I think the problem here is they don't want people to go with one off common things. However they don't explain that so it means people with repetitive issues don't go when they are serious.
They should also be directing people to practitioners like opticians for eye issues and dentists for mouth problems. Partly because GPs don't know what to do with them - I've heard horror stories of people going back to GPs repeatedly and they have mouth cancer which finally got diagnosed too late by a dentist - and partly because it would take the burden of themselves.
Gcart
That is very scary thank goodness you did go and it was diagnosed. My brother got pains in his guts running with his dog and it got so bad he was taken to A&E when they did exploratory surgery they just sewed him up again and said they could not believe he was able to walk let alone run as he was riddled with cancer and it was so advanced it was a lost cause. He was never off sick in all his working life till he got a flu like illness. He went to see the GP about feeling unwell (c 6 mths before) after this flu like illness (probably Epstein Barr Virus) and was told it was stress related. To their credit they did test for leukaemia but he had lymphoma not usually seen in males in their 30’s. Later on he got some pain in his hip but never thought much to it (lymphoma originates in the bone marrow of the femur where the white cells are made hence the pain occurring there). He was dead in three months although he was given just a week to live after that op.
A bout of flu, feeling a bit unwell, pain in hip and gut rot - cancer hardly jumps to mind as an obvious cause. And each taken separately could be see as something you need not bother a doctor with.
I agree most people do not go to a GP without careful consideration and good reason.
Hello TSH110. That was awful, your poor brother, so quick.
Very sorry 😘 kind thoughts to you.
Yes. It can be easy to judge someone, and dismiss their issues with health worries.
Gcart thanks for your kind words. It was many years ago now, but a terrible shock at the time just so totally unexpected and so final. My parents never really recovered. By strange coincidence a relative had a boyfriend who got it but it was caught early and after pretty grim treatment he survived and is still alive today with a glittering career to boot.
Pharmacist know a lot I agree. But they are always very very busy making up prescriptions, so a good idea but...? Also even before this directive, they would often say, you need to see a doctor ..?
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