Phoning for A Doctor's Appointment

System

I can always get an appointment with at my surgery the same day however i cant choose who i see or what surgery i have to travel to.

If i want to see a specific doctor i have to wait 3 - 4 weeks.

Desperado99

Normally same day here, as long as you ring up early enough or go in person when the doors open at 8am. They also have a team of nurse practitioners that can deal with a lot of stuff. We do have to wait a while for routine appts, but hey-ho. I also noticed this year, after having me gallbladder out, that when you really need them they really are fab (I was discharged at 9pm - and wasn't given all my take home meds as the dispensary had closed, I phoned at 8am and my doctor phoned me back at 8.30 and arranged for my prescription to be left at reception)

no-oneknowsme

My Daughter called our surgery this morning to ask for their earliest appointment (she wasnt fussed which of the 7 Docs she was put in with) and she was asked was it urgent. She told them No , it wasnt urgent as such but it WAS something she would like to check checked out sooner rather than later.

She was told that if it had been urgent she could have been fitted in today.

However , as she told the receptionist that it wasnt a grand emergency the receptionist gave her the next available routine appointment.....12th November!

2.5 weeks to wait for a Doctors appointment just seems excessive to me.

pimento

They're trialling a new system at my GP. At the moment there are no pre-bookable appointments at all. If it's urgent you mjst call at 8am for an appointment that day. If you turn up at the surgery to book you will be turned away. If it's non-urgent, you're out of luck you have to just keep calling until maybe they might have a bookable appointment.

My GP actually wants to see me for a drug review but I am unable to book to see her so we're at an impasse. As long as she keeps filling my repeat prescription requests I suppose it's OK but if she insists I see her I might have to take a day off to call at 8am and call myself urgent.

(I start work at 8am 40 miles from my house so to call for an appt that day really does mean a whole day off.)

Stupid ridiculous system if you ask me.

ariba10

Ring our surgery at 8.00am and have never failed to have an appointment that morning. (90% of the time with the Dr. we ask for)

Kildare

I can call my surgery at 8am and will get an appointment for that day, which is fine if I am sick enough to be off work otherwise this is no good for me as I commute over an hour into central London. I can make advance appointments up to two days in advance. I have rarely seen the same doctor twice and do not have a regular doctor - and I hate this as I grew up in a small village where I had the same doctor all the time who knew me and I trusted. The system mostly works as they have a phone queing system so if you are on the phone at 8am you will get an appointment.

When it doesn't work - if you would like to see a female doctor the receptionist huffs at you, if you try to make an appointment for your asthma review and you're offered in 3 weeks time on a Tuesday at 3pm and that's the only time available

room512

Just moved house (so with a new doctor) and they are trialling a system, where you ring first thing in the morning and then the doc will phone you back later that morning and decide whether you need to be seen that day (and will arrange a time) or will book you in for an appointment at a later date if not urgent. Apparently they've had to start doing this as when everyone just rang in the morning they all told the receptionist that they urgently needed to see a doctor when most of them didn't.

My old doctor's was great as you could book appointments online so if you waited until the surgery closed they would always have the next days appointments so as long as you logged on before the surgery opened you could get an appointment.

pimento

We can book online too but there's no appointments available to book.

DUKE

To see my own Dr it can be a week+, however, I can ring & ask the receptionist to ask the Dr to ring me the same day or next day if I just needed a chat. Usually I can get an appointment the same day or next day with any Dr if it's an emergency.

Fuzzy_Duck

Recently went to my new surgery. I got an appointment the same day, but only because it was my day off and I could go any time. I'd tried to get a early/late appointment so I could go before/after work but they never had any available, and they wouldn't offer me anything in advance- I was told I'd have to try calling them again the next day for when they release the next batch of appointments.

It took me ages to get through as well. I rang at half seven as that was their opening time, and was told by a member of staff I'd have to call back at eight as they don't give out appointments until then. Called back at eight to get an answer phone message saying the line doesn't open until half eight. Rang back at half eight to find the answer message still on there for a good five minutes, and after that I had to deal with the dialing tone for some time.

I asked to see any doctor who was free and typically that was the one running an hour and a half behind schedule

Think I might have to go back soon so that'll probably be another day off wasted sitting in the doctor's waiting room...