One could be forgiven for thinking it's all a bit of an inconsistent mess. Making access to primary healthcare provision difficult is never a good idea.
Agreed. And it's probably why A&E departments are misused.
I think there's a number of factors in play that have created the mess described above.
There's a perceived need to 'ration' primary care to the 'really ill', to prevent malingerers turning up at every surgery.
There's a definite need to manage workload across the week, and across the day.
There's a desire to make surgeries appear professional and business-like.
There's a need to justify expenditure on very expensive software.
When I was a lad, I can remember turning up at the GP (within 15 years of the NHS starting) and sitting in the waiting room on a first come, first served basis. I dare say the 'regulars' turned up, but I dare say they got turfed out fairly sharpish; I imagine Monday mornings were busiest, but if you were in a hurry, maybe you just didn't go on a Monday; there were no receptionists (as I recall), just a gruff voice shouting "next", and certainly no computers. It all seemed to work rather well.
If we look at Dentists, Opticians, and primary care in other places - there don't seem to be these inconsistencies, or delays in getting seen : so what is it about GPs?
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