Do you have a long wait to see your Doctor?

am i being a pain or do you think three weeks to see you'r GP is a long time.? I have fallen out with my sugery because i am fed up with the long wait, if we get ill or have flu, we cant get an appointment. I took a week off for an injury wanted to return to work the next week, i had to wait another two weeks because i could not get an appointment, i lost two weeks pay waiting just to get a sick paper.

That's far to long. Get in touch with the practice manager and tell them you want to make an official complaint. If they won't help, get in touch with Patient advice and Laision service (PALS) at your primary care trust (PCT). Your surgery or any surgery should be able to give you the info.

Hope it helps.

My doctors is exactly the same its so annoying, by the time you get to your appointment you feel better!!!

wow that is way too long of a wait....if I call my doctor or my husbands doctor early one moring they usually work us in that day or within a day or two at tops depending on whats going on with us and how badly we need to be seen....I would look for another doctor

That is absolutely ridiculous - I get an appointment with my surgery the same day - very rarely, if they are booked I get one the next day. Luckily I rarely need to go to the GP but on the occassions I have, I have been seen on that day. You need to complain to your local councillor, honestly I am sure that is not acceptable. Blimey, no wonder people end up going to casualty for minor problems - I would if I had to wait that long. Have you tried the NHS walk in centres - they are great for routine things.

I can't even afford to see a doctor, so I don't have to fool with them at all. Sounds like you should get a different doctor though. Next time, if your injury permits it at least, you should continue working until you have a confirmed appointment, so that way you don't sit around waiting, thinking you're going to get one and then you don't, and you lose two weeks pay for nothing. If you live in a small town like I do, try going to a doctor in a neighboring city. The extra miles are worth it if you truly need medical help and kind find it locally.

Yeah i have the exact same problem and when i eventually go they are very unhelpful and try to rush you out the door asap!!
I know changing doctor is quite difficult but if you feel your getting nowhere maybe you might consider it?

Good Luck

You should look around at other local GP surgeries to see what is on offer. My practice gaurantee to see you the same day, you need to ring between 08.30 and 09.30 to make an appointment. The draw back is patients cannot pre-book an appointment for a week or so time for a non-urgent appointmnet, eg to book holiday vaccines, and you will not always get to see the same Dr, though you can request to see a male or femal GP. Overall it is a really good system that I think more surgeries are bringing in - after all if you are ill you need to see a GP that day/next day - not 2 weeks later when an infection has taken hold etc etc

Yeah, They're always busy

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3 weeks is ages to wait, the doctors i go to has a great system where they only book appointments 48 hours in advance, fair enough u might have to phone earlyish in the morning to get one but at least u can get seen to quickly

That's definitely too long, they should see you within a few days, and if it's an emergency they should see you on the day you ring, although you may have to sit and wait to be seen. Three weeks is FAR too long, I'd change your GP If I was you.

Hi

If I want to make an appointment to see my GP (the one I'm used to and feel comfortable with) then yes, it does take that long to get in to see him.

Our surgery now operates a 'walk in' surgery in the mornings, and appointments only in the afternoons.

Sounds good, and in a way it is, you are sure to get to see a GP on the day you go, but..........

that all depends on you not minding who you see. There are usually about 6 Drs on each morning, so in theory it sounds great.

The problem I have is that if I go I prefer to see my GP as he knows me and understands my illness. However, to do that I have to make sure that I am in the queue from 7.45am - even though they don't open until 8.30am. I've arrived before at not long after 9am to be told I can't see the Dr I want to. Guess thats the price I pay for having such a good GP!

Government guidelines say that you should be able to see a Dr in a much shorter time than 3 weeks, I'm surprised that your surgery haven't got some other way of meeting their targets........ but after hearing the other day that someone on yahoo answers only gets to speak to a Dr on the phone for a consultation and is then told if they are sick enough to go in to see them, I really don't know what to expect anymore.

I'd err on the side of caution before trying to change surgeries, and check out how long it takes to get an appointment anywhere else before you decide to jump.

Usually if you have had no more than 7 days off then you don't need to be signed back as 'fit to work' by a GP. It's the process known as self certification and most employers either don't need any paperwork, or they have their own internal forms for you to sign, but you can get a form from the surgery that you can fill in yourself.

If you are ill and can't get in to see the Dr then it is possible to get the sick note backdated, in which case you would be signed off sick and not have to lose any pay.

Sorry if that information is a bit late for you now, but it might help in the future.

three weeks is too long. most surgeries have systems where you ring and are seen on the same day or can book an appointment in advance if its not urgent. with our doctor we can usually get an appointment same day if we ring early or book one for couple of days later. we must be extremely lucky as i do hear some terrible stories. one tip i told my daughter who had this problem in another part of england if it is something that really needs to be dealt with is to say that if u cant see someone sooner then you will have to go to a&e and when they ask why you didnt go to GP u will have to tell them why. it worked for her and it was just as well as it was something in her 2 year old son that needed treating that day.