General Chat

Here in Stevenage Herts...DONT BE ILL! is the best bet! You ask for an appointment to see your Doctor....you get told you can see another Doctor as yours is fully booked for weeks in advance.......you see this 'other' Doctor....he tells you to make another appointment with you own GP in the next few weeks...(he's scared to give you any treatment as your not HIS patient) ..in the meantime...you have picked up numerours germs from the waiting room. You usually get better before the date of seeing your own Doctor cos you have asked the local chemist if theres anything you can buy over the counter to help you..... All I got from my doctor when my sister DIED while she was staying with me was.....a message on my answer phone saying that he was sorry for my loss!.....He never even bothered coming out to visit us when I called him the night she was dying! What an insult!........I'd have rather had a message from the chemist man!!!...the milkman even! If I pay for private medical insurance....ie BUPA...Will I still have to pay towards the NHS from my wages?

If I want to see the female doctor who knows me well and my problems/symptons I usually have to wait two weeks as she only works part time. To see a different doctor, will usually take at least a week, but you can book a fortnight in advance. I think if it was an emergency I would get an appointment that day with one of the doctors.

The appointments system for my surgery in Hemel is abysmal, you can only phone two days before you want an appointment......it doesn't matter if the Doc asks to see you next week, you still have to wait until two days before, and hope you can get your appointment..... At the beginning of the year I had to become a temporary patient in Cornwall.......totally civilised, the Doctor had time to listen and asked if I had any more that I wanted to ask......I could make a further appointment straight away, and the pharmacy was next to the surgery to have prescriptions filled.......talk about cultural shock!....

About a week to ten days if it's non-urgent. But there is an allocation of daily appointments for urgent cases; plus the triage system, which means that if you wish to speak to a doctor, one will phone you back within about 30 mins..........the same with the practice nurse. Reg

We don't even have to ring - just turn up for morning or evening surgery, take a number, write our name on a list & wait. Old-fashioned, but a lot more efficient. Angela

I am in South Bucks. Normally I get to see my GP on the day I ring up. If my own doctor is fully booked, invariably I can see another of the doctors. Twice my wife has rung up and a doctor has come to me. len

luckily I dont need to see our doctor often but he is quite good or the receptionist is quite good at making an appointment depending on how urgent it is possibly the same evening or next day. However my elderly mums Dr is useless. Last winter she was so poorly and tried to get an appointment. Hers is the system when you have to phone in the morning and by the time you get through there is nothing left so have to start again the next day. She was so ill for about 5 days in the end she dragged herself into a taxi and managed to get into the waiting room and was told she couldnt see the Dr but had to go home and wait for the Dr to phone her. So she had to get another taxi home and wait until about 3pm when the Dr phoned and asked her her symptoms. She only told him some of them and he just told her to drink plenty of fluids to flush it through. At 79 I think she should have at least been examined.

OUr group practise usually only accepts call for appointments on the day, (fat chance) but the doctor I see will let us book in advance, so usually I can see him within a week, two at the most. I don't know what can be done about it, as most practises don't have enough doctors to go round, and its often not possible to make appoinments quickly, simply because they are all taken up.

my doctors surgery are usually really good. we have always been able to book ahead for an appointment. if i ring in the morning the receptionist will try and book an appt for that day, but also if myself or my husband need to speak to the doctor on the phone he will always take the call. we dont often have to go to the doctors so i dont know if that makes a difference.

Ron, sounds like your surgery is well organized. Ours recently had a registrar doing triage which was a big help. Lorraine

My GP's system is very good and efficient. You ring in, receptionist takes basic details and a nurse has to ring back within 20 minutes. The nurse then decides if you need to see a nurse or GP and allocates a priority. I rang in at 1030 this morning and was in to see a nurse at 1410hours. I'm diabetic and had injured a toe so got priority as foot damage can be lethal. Think if need to see Doc would get appointment within a couple of days as a matter of routine. Other GPs around here ain't so hot. Ron

In the surgery that I work in you can book doctors up to two weeks in advance and the rest are bookable on the day from 8.30 a.m. A lot of people call in rather than try to get through on the phone. The doctors always see extras and do home visits of course. Nurses/midwives can be booked weeks in advance. I have booked appointments in January these last two days. At the surgery I attend my doctor is pre-bookable one week in advance and the rest are bookable on the morning from 8 am but they see extras at the end of surgery. There are also telephone consultations at both surgeries. I have always been lucky in getting my doctor straight away. Lx

In the surgery where I work you can get an appt within 48 hours for any Doctor or that day if it`s a real emergency . The nurses you can book up to 3 weeks in advance.Ros

I ususally have to wait a week/week and a half. You can get an appointment that day if it's an emergency though.

I'm lucky that I'm registered with the uni doctor on site and can easily get a same day appointment usually. Old GP was normally was 3 or 4 days except emergencies which was same day but you had to sit and wait for a gap so you could be there at 4pm for surgery and still be waiting at 6:30pm to see the Dr. The GP by my old school was 7 - 10 days between call and appointment and that was normal for them, I've been to one GP who only starts booking appointments 2 days ahead so you never wait more than 2 days to see the Dr - best system in my mind as you can gaurentee you'll see the GP qickley

This is a very sore point with me at the moment, I am sick of not being able to see the same doctor each time I go. I don't mind if it is a new problem but when you have to tell a different doctor all the symptoms every time, well I think it is a mess. That is putting it politely, I could really loose my cool. Janet

At least 10 days last time I made an appointment. The previous time was the same day as the girls I was working with thought I had shingles - got the appointment within two hours - yes the girls had been right. Maureen

We can't make advanced appointments. This rules out the no shows they say. We phone around 8am and so far have managed to get an appointment without any problems. We can see any doctor in the practice. Ann Glos

I'm another lucky one. My surgery usually answers on the first ring anytime of the day. You can usually get in the same day (even if you ring at lunchtime) or if not then the next day. You can also book appointments in advance - weeks ahead for follow ups if necessary. The only difference is for the nurse as she is only there on certain days. Maz. XX

I'm very lucky---There is an open surgery in the morning 9.00 untill 10.00 or as long as you phone before 9.30 you can have an afternoon oppointment 16.00 to 18.00. Not all surgeries where I live are the same though.Some you have to wait for a few days. C x