How to find a good GP?

DullGreyGuy

ArbitraryRandom said:

Given this is a chronic condition, it could well be you have a better experience with a nurse (who can get prescriptions issued/arrange a GP appointment if you need to see a Dr). IME, they often have more time and a better bedside manner  

Personally I find nurses just as random as doctors... had one say something wasn't swollen showing me a picture of what a particular condition looks like and whilst I agree it didnt look like that condition it was swollen and that condition would be highly unlikely in me. Saw another one a short bit later for the general annual review, asked how things were, mentioned the problem again and he decided it certainly was swollen and it needed to be seen by a GP. 

Look at any profession and there are good and bad examples and what good/bad means will vary on preferences, the circumstances etc. 

born_again

TBH.
None of the GP surgeries round here gets you a dedicated doctor. You see who is available 99% of the time that is a locum anyway if you really need to see a doctor.
Want to keep seeing the same one & you are looking at a long wait, depending on the hours they are working.
That's the way they are now.

sheramber

We are lucky to see a GP. It is phone appointments.
So you have to hang about until you get the phone call. That will be from the duty GP. 

The latest message when  you phone is the demand for appointments is outstripping the availability and all calls a triaged. YSo you may not get a phone back.

To get a phone appointment you have to play phone roulette at 8.30am and hope there is a space left when you get through after 15 minutes of repest dialling before you get through.

Hundreds of new houses hsve been built but GP provision is the same. 

We have no choice of prctice as all the ones around are n the same position and only accept patients from a specific area.

Okell

regency_man said:

... This isn't a post to critisise the NHS or comment on doctors in general (and yes, I accept, she may have just been having a bad day) but I don't want to see her again.  What are my rights when it comes to requesting a specific doctor and how do you go about finding a good one, is it just trial and error?  All advice appreciated.

You can ask for an appointment with any GP you like at the surgery you are registered with.

You will find that some GPs are more popular and more difficult than others to get appointments with.  (I wonder why...)

It then sometimes becomes a trade off between how long you want to wait for an appointment to see someone you like and how quickly you want to be seen.

You could look at the surgery's website to see if they have any staff profiles up there.  It's sometimes possible to assess GPs by their experience and areas of interest.

If you have just moved there bear in mind that no local GPs will know you.  Don't expect them to have had time to familiarise themselves with your medical history or to have looked at your notes.  (As you've discovered they might not even be able to access them...) 

You sound like you'd do this anyway but go to the appointment making sure you have your medical history at your own fingertips, know exactly what you want the consultation to be about and know exactly what questions you want to ask.

Do you know anybody living close to you (eg work colleagues) who could recommend a GP?

If you look at the first link provided by @marcia_ you'll see it's possible to register with a practice outside your home area.  This has some advantages (eg local to where you work rather than where you live) but has disadvantages too.

At the end of the day it's all a lottery.  There are good GPs and there are bad GPs...

lincroft1710

You will often not be able to choose the practice you want. Ours has a geographical limit for the patients it will accept. If you want a short notice appointment, you will take pot luck as to which GP you get. Ring for an appointment and (this happened to me) the automated answer machine says "you are 27th in the queue". Often you will not be able to get an appointment the same day. Find a GP you like and 3 months later they will have left the practice.

TELLIT01

At our practice you see whichever GP is available, unless you want to wait weeks to see a specific one.  10 minute appointments is pretty much standard now.  It sounds like you were previously seen by a GP practice who found time to treat patients as individuals, a rarity now.

You may find you don't have much choice on which surgery you use as many have strict geographical limits on patients they take on, often determined by postcode.

DullGreyGuy

lincroft1710 said:

You will often not be able to choose the practice you want. 

It will depend where you live but you will normally get a choice from a small number of practices rather than only having only 1 unless you live out in the sticks. It's not a free choice, you cannot choose one 3 towns over. Even checking my just outside a small town childhood home there are 6 practices to choose from and a further 9 which the NHS say isn't their catchment but may take you. 

regency_man

Sounds like it's pretty bleak out there.  Thanks for the input in any case.  I've asked a few colleagues but no-one really had a strong recommendation, much like the experience here many are on their 3rd or 4th different doctor and still not found one they 'like'. 

millie

You cannot even phone our doctor for an appointment anymore. You have to scan a QR code, fill a form in, that goes to a doctor for triage and they decide if and when you can have an appointment or maybe a phone call. People that have not got smart phones can phone and the receptionist asks the same questions that are on the online form and it is put in the same queue for a doctor to look at.
Not tried it yet as I do not go to the doctor very often.