How long to wait for appointment at GP's

WabbitWabbit

I saw my dentist last Tuesday due to ongoing dental problems, he said I needed to see my GP as he felt their was something wrong with my immune system.
I phoned my GP surgery the same day and was offered a telephone appointment with my GP today which was one week later. GP rang me this morning and said that I needed to see the nurse for blood tests, I spoke to receptionist and the earliest appointment is the 20th of March. Is this a normal wait time, is there any standard that GP surgeries have to follow.
It is bothering me as I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and am currently in remission but now worrying that something could be wrong

WabbitWabbit

Thought I better add that I have never seen the GP I spoke to

BorisThomson

It's not unusual to wait several weeks for a GP appointment, then another few weeks for blood tests. The NHS is skint and can't recruit enough GPs because of the working conditions. Sign of the times I'm afraid.

WabbitWabbit

I don’t mind not seeing a GP, a phone consultation is fine but having to wait for two weeks to see a nurse for blood tests seems a long time. Is there no standard that a GP surgery has to follow, could they say earliest appointment to see a nurse is a month away?

Browntoa

Our area blood tests are walk in same day at a dedicated unit

Most x-ray and MRI are same Day

Ames

Where I live you can get the forms from the GP surgery and go to the bloods department at a couple of hospitals, maybe there's something like that where you are?

I've found that I've had a longer than usual wait for bloods actually at my GP surgery, it was a wait of a couple of weeks for the ones I had yesterday.

WabbitWabbit

I am going to phone my surgery tomorrow as I am worried that it may mean my cancer is back, not that I know anything about the immune system

BorisThomson

WabbitWabbit wrote: »

I don’t mind not seeing a GP, a phone consultation is fine but having to wait for two weeks to see a nurse for blood tests seems a long time. Is there no standard that a GP surgery has to follow, could they say earliest appointment to see a nurse is a month away?

Waiting list targets were scrapped because of the funding issues. Yes, they could say the next appointment with a nurse is a month away. Have you specifically booked to see a nurse? Bloods will often be done by a phlebotomist, there might not be such a wait for them.

I'm staggered that anyone finds waiting times a surprise anymore. Do you not watch the news?

Ames

WabbitWabbit wrote: »

I am going to phone my surgery tomorrow as I am worried that it may mean my cancer is back, not that I know anything about the immune system

Try not to worry, not all immune problems are related to cancer. I have several immune problems and the departments I go to both have walls full of leaflets for the different conditions they deal with, and none of them are cancer.

WabbitWabbit

Yes, I made an appointment for blood tests.
My surgery has always had GP staffing problems and you have to have a phone consultation initially.
I just was not aware that you had to wait quite a long time for blood tests to be administered.

WabbitWabbit

Thank you, Ames.
I will phone tomorrow, my cancer diagnosis was not via my GP, routine mammogram and I have not seen a GP in over two years