How long is your GP appmt wait?

[andyoxon]

I was wondering how long you generally wait for a 'routine' appointment with your GP?  Our surgery has moved to a 'duty roster system', so the wait to see one's 'own' doctor seems to be about 3weeks!  I could see any doctor (there's ~eight), but still have to wait 10days.

[toontra]

3-4 weeks to see any doctor by appointment (rarely "your own") or phone on the morning for a same-day appointment with a GP free. Take a good book or other time-wasting object as the wait can be lengthy.  The system is broken.  London N1.

Not really surprising that people rock up to A&E.

[Kim]

A week or two to see a specific doctor/nurse in term time.  You can usually see someone within a day or so if it's urgent, but that does require war-dialling at 8am.

[andyoxon]

At our GPs, phoning for appmt on the day puts you through a 'triage filter', to check urgency, I guess. 

Even up until last year I don't remember waiting for more than a week, a few days at most, to see own GP.

[toontra]

Even up until last year I don't remember waiting for more than a week, a few days at most, to see own GP.

That's my experience.  Around 18 months ago the wait for an appointment jumped from 5-7 days to 3+ weeks. I remember distinctly ringing around that time and thought they were joking when they said the first free time available was in a month!

[T42]

Depends. 8 am appointment for a fasting blood test, maybe two of three days if no 8 am slot is available beforehand - we usually phone up a few days in advance. If I just want a time to turn up and see him during normal consulting hours it could be the same day if he's consulting, or the next day if he isn't. If we don't feel up to going out he'll do a house call.

I've only rarely had to see a locum - we've had the same doc since 1990 so we're quite chummy.

[andyoxon]

I suspect people are taking it on the chin and waiting longer to see their 'own' GPs.  I googled the GP I was given the earliest appmt with; they qualified this year, next earliest after this for 4 days later was with a locum.  Not a problem particularly, but my 'own' doctor has at least 25 yrs experience, and I've been seeing them for 20yrs.

Any heard of the 'duty roster system'?

[peliroja]

Phone on the day, usually get through straight away to a receptionist and get a brief call back from the GP on phone duty within the hour to find out what you need. If you need to be seen, you're then offered a same day appointment with that GP. It is quite efficient.  It's only possible to book appointments further in the future with the nurses or healthcare assistants. Prescription re-ordering is done online.

[trekker12]

I don't have 'my own' GP and can't remember the last time that was even an option.

Instead there is an infuriating session from 8am (when I could be doing something healthy like cycling to work) of constantly pressing redial until the automated woman telling me the line is engaged finally relents and puts me into the queue (anything up to 20 redials) and I get through a (by now) quite stressed receptionist who allocates me the first available slot with Dr whoever who has no knowledge of my existence or interest in my problem unless it can be prescribed with antibiotics and then the next poor victim is ushered through the door.

The only in advance appointments available are for nurse appointments such as blood tests.

As above the system is broken. I'm tempted to switch GPs but other colleagues tell me similar stories from other Ipswich GP surgeries.

[Biggsy]

The trick to try is to exaggerate emphasise your symptoms and ask to be squeezed in as a semi emergency. 

Normally at my practice it's 1 to 4 days to see any GP, or up to about 10 days for my preferred GP.  They have duty doctors but no duty roster system.

[hellymedic]

I could probably get a morning appointment within a day or two but partner doesn't 'do'' mornings. Fitting appointments with our own schedules can mean I would wait around a week.
I think.
I don't really know since I've not seen my GP since spring 2015.

We went for flu jabs on Saturday 1 October. He had been invited, I had not, but tagged along to get one anyhow.

We waited -2 minutes as David had not completed paperwork when they buzzed for him and nurse had to wait for us.

[andyoxon]

The trick to try is to exaggerate emphasise your symptoms and ask to be squeezed in as a semi emergency. 

Normally at my practice it's 1 to 4 days to see any GP, or up to about 10 days for my preferred GP.  They have duty doctors but no duty roster system.

Interesting one.  Say for instance, by way of example, someone was wanting to get a mole checked out - which they'd just become aware of and concerned about.  So it may be 'nothing to worry about', or worse case, may need excision the following day.  Under the current system 'don't think it's urgent - want to have a mole checked out' = wait 2-3weeks.  So I guess actually, given particular circumstances, the thing to do is ring at 8am, explain everything in some detail, 'voicing one's concern'.

[Tewdric]

Normally the same day here and always same day for children.

[SteveC]

Last time I phoned they said 'how soon can you get here?'
I think they'd had a cancellation. Fortunately I could just get in the car and drive straight to the surgery. (I have ridden there but there is no where to park one's bike)

[MikeFromLFE]

Our surgery has a hybrid system, or systems, or something - which I hate, but understand that it works most of the time for most people.
1) You can try and get onto the website, or get them on the phone, at exactly 08:30 on the dot for an appointment tomorrow, or in exactly 8 days time for a named GP (if they have any appointments available)
2) You can ring up at (I think) exactly 09:00 for a 'come & sit in a queue but you don't know who you'll see. (I've never tried this, so I don't know how, or if, it works)
3) Mrs M has rung the surgery a couple of times when she's thought her DVT or cellulitis symptoms have recurred - she's been seen within the hour.
4) appointments for phlebotomy (blood tests) seem to be have to be made in person, and seem to be at random times in the distant future, unless the GP has said it's urgent, in which case the phlebotomist/practice nurse might condescend to see you within the next 4-5 days. I find the phlebotomy situation at my practice, both weird and highly unsatisfactory. I think they run separate clinics for INR / Glucose (A1c) monitoring.
5) There seem to be parallel universe appointments for practice nurses, midwives, travel clinics, ear candle practitioners (I made the last one up. I think)


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[Dibdib]

Phone on the day, at 8:30am. Expect to hear nothing but an engaged tone until at least 8:45am, and more than once I've got through then to be told all the appointments are gone.

Apparently there are appointments bookable in advance but I've never known any to be available. I'm not convinced they really exist.

As for seeing "my" GP... good luck with that. Mine only works Mondays for a start.

[Bledlow]

Last Friday I phoned up at about 9 am & saw a doctor at 15.20. Dunno how long it'd have taken if I'd wanted to see a specific doctor. The previous week I'd phoned up about 8.30 on Wednesday & saw my usual doctor at lunchtime. This was for a sinus infection. The second appointment was because the first course of treatment hadn't completely got rid of it.

The phone line opens at 8.00.

[De Sisti]

I made an on-line appointment on Sun 11 Sep for (the earliest date available) Mon 10 Oct.

[edit: I don't mind which one I see. They can all access my medical records and are equally qualified].

[campagman]

I developed an infection on my shin and because I was due to go on tour in the next few days thought it best to let the Doc take a look. As I was walking to the Docs I passed the chemists. I popped into the chemists to hear what she thought. “You will need to see the Doc for some Antibiotics for that, mention that you’ve seen me and you might get in quicker”. I did this and the receptionist asked me to return in 1 hr to see the Doc. Result! or lucky timing.

[ian]

Seeing my actual GP? I've only tried once, and that was three-plus weeks in the future, so I've never actually seen my GP. They may or may not exist, I have no independently verifiable evidence. Seeing random GP, you can rock up at before 10.30am and wait. I don't see doctors very often, but that seems to have always worked, but of course it assumes that you have a couple of hours with nothing better to do than sit there and contemplate how many new diseases you're about to contract from your sniffly and coughing fellow attendees. You want wifi or useful shit to do a bit of work while you wait, that's a no. You can sit and be cooped up with hyperactive kids and people who appear to be suffering something that makes ebola seem psychosomatic trying not to breath or kill someone.

When I needed a referral for ultrasound, they were very quick though – next day at the private hospital up the road. Sadly let down by the fact they never followed up with the results and didn't seem to have any clue they'd even sent me. Fortunately, I'd called the consultant directly to find out I wasn't dying and was in fact suffering from a mere outbreak of wussiness. It wasn't entirely reassuring.

Our surgery in Lewisham used to operate the bloody useless call-at-8.30am system. That was absolutely useless. Try explaining that you, oh, might not be available to play phone roulette at 8.30am. Better luck getting past Cerberus carrying a big bag of bones.

I too suspect the reason people go straight to A&E is fairly obvious.

[bobb]

Same day no probs if phone at 08:15 onwards. No more than a week if making a regular appointment.

Funnily enough, I was at the docs today (nhs health check thing) and I noticed a sign dated 2014 saying something like "If you miss 3 appointments in a row you will be booted off the list" and another dated last month saying something like "1037 missed appointments in August"

So there must be a real problem with people booking appointments and then not bothering to turn up...

[ian]

To be honest, if an appointment is several days in the future, then many people will have simply got better. And if they're getting worse, they'll roll up at A&E. No excuse for not cancelling the appointment, of course, but that's I'm sure what happens.

[numbnuts]

If your female and a friend straight away - male no chance......
Me – can I make an appointment, I'm sorry there's none until next week, can you come back on Monday OK<goes off to read notice board>
Receptionist – Hello Ann what can I do for you, yes tomorrow will be fine.
Me – can I see the practice manger why....
Speaks to  practice manger appointment in three days time.
Receptionist doesn't work there any more - yes 

[Dibdib]

If your female and a friend straight away - male no chance......
Me – can I make an appointment, I'm sorry there's none until next week, can you come back on Monday OK<goes off to read notice board>
Receptionist – Hello Ann what can I do for you, yes tomorrow will be fine.
Me – can I see the practice manger why....
Speaks to  practice manger appointment in three days time.
Receptionist doesn't work there any more - yes 

Well there could be any number of reasons, legitimate and not, why Ann got an appointment sooner than you did, but based on what you've described her being female and you being male probably isn't any of them.

Heaven forbid she might actually be in greater clinical need than you, and if she's on first name terms with the receptionists then that's probably the case.  Or she could just be the receptionist's friend and you were right to complain, but that doesn't make it the sexism you're claiming it to be.

Or are you just assuming that she's being sexist because she's a woman?   

[Cudzoziemiec]

No wait at all the last few times but they were with the nurse or similar for dressings and stitches. In general you can phone but there's an online system they prefer you to use. It's only been introduced this year so I don't know how well it works. I don't remember having to wait much for a proper doctor either, but I don't go often enough to have "my" gp.