Have I got rectal cancer?

[Phuzella]

At my docs, for a future appointment you have to ring on a Friday at 10 am. If you're not quick enough to get one, you have to ring the following Friday. And so on ........
It's ridiculous. You can however ring in the morning and get seen the same day if it's more urgent.
I have no idea why they came up with this stupid arrangement :(

[KK77]

I rang at 08:01 this morning and it was a queue of 19 people waiting

I think it was cause I was a minute late because it opens at 8 exactly, so tomorrow I’ll ring at 8 on the dot

The queue usually goes down quickly as patients don't spend more than, on average, a couple of mins making appointments.

You can also book non-urgent appointments online with most surgeries.

[WhereIsMyMind]

I have had a similar issue where I've tried to make an emergency appointment and called at exactly the time the line opens and been number 17 in the queue.

The way I got around that was to call at 07:59. They may well answer and tell you it's too early but at least at my surgery, they gave me the option of staying in the queue until 08:00 rather than having to start again. It could be worth a try if you can't get any routine appointments (this does sometimes happen), although I can't guarantee it will work.


You could also try again after a couple of hours/later in the day, as someone might cancel their appointment.

[MyNameIsTerry]

At my docs, for a future appointment you have to ring on a Friday at 10 am. If you're not quick enough to get one, you have to ring the following Friday. And so on ........
It's ridiculous. You can however ring in the morning and get seen the same day if it's more urgent.
I have no idea why they came up with this stupid arrangement :(

They must have pulled that one out of the shit book of management

You have to despair at the utterly amateurish way they manage. It's basic stuff.

At ours you frequently get told by the GP to book a follow up for 4 weeks to then be told by the receptionist the diary doesn't even go that far. I question whether it's communication or a decision to limit appointments. Either way it makes them look like numpties and it's been going on for years

[Carys]

My large GP surgery is great, I have no complaints. They always have an 'on call' doctor to see emergencies (called the rapid response) or people who have just dropped in with issues, or you can see a nurse. Everything is managed online if you get yourself a log-in and you can book appointments for all sorts of things that way (clinics and GP appts). Also, they do a fab WebGP online thing - where you fill in a form and a GP rings you back with advice , usually within 24 hours.

[BlueIris]

Our GP has a walk-in surgery most days - you might not get to see your regular doctor but you can be seen by somebody. Sometimes I've been able to decide to go, go, be seen and pick up a prescription within the space of an hour.

[pulisa]

The point is..does Toby actually want to put an end to this poo-searching and make an appointment to talk things through with his GP? Or would he prefer to speculate endlessly on here and get nowhere other than add on another few hundred pages to this thread?

[Carys]

Oh yes, soz, wandered off track there.....indeed, just make an appointment for when one is next free.

[MrsEd]

or could you go to the GP at 8am? Our gp you can go down there at 8am to book an appointment, they see the people stood their waiting before they start answering the phone

[Toby2000]

What did they say? I can't remember you talking about this. All they appear to be doing is testing for the physical issues.

It sounds like you are trying to book same day appointments. These are normally emergency appointments, which you don't need.

I’ve always done same day

---------- Post added at 21:11 ---------- Previous post was at 21:09 ----------

At my docs, for a future appointment you have to ring on a Friday at 10 am. If you're not quick enough to get one, you have to ring the following Friday. And so on ........
It's ridiculous. You can however ring in the morning and get seen the same day if it's more urgent.
I have no idea why they came up with this stupid arrangement :(

I’ve never really booked a future appointment to be honest, same day is always more convenient for me

---------- Post added at 21:12 ---------- Previous post was at 21:11 ----------

My large GP surgery is great, I have no complaints. They always have an 'on call' doctor to see emergencies (called the rapid response) or people who have just dropped in with issues, or you can see a nurse. Everything is managed online if you get yourself a log-in and you can book appointments for all sorts of things that way (clinics and GP appts). Also, they do a fab WebGP online thing - where you fill in a form and a GP rings you back with advice , usually within 24 hours.

I haven’t heard of that but we can arrange for phone appointments

---------- Post added at 21:17 ---------- Previous post was at 21:12 ----------

The point is..does Toby actually want to put an end to this poo-searching and make an appointment to talk things through with his GP? Or would he prefer to speculate endlessly on here and get nowhere other than add on another few hundred pages to this thread?

Oh you got me there... of course i want to sit around all day thinking I’m gonna die staring at sheets of toilet paper in absolute torment.

Of course I’m trying to get in.. it has to be convenient for my mum too though who I’ve agreed to let come with me.

And for those who think I’m making excuses and are trying to tell me off, Im really not :/

---------- Post added at 21:18 ---------- Previous post was at 21:17 ----------

Our GP has a walk-in surgery most days - you might not get to see your regular doctor but you can be seen by somebody. Sometimes I've been able to decide to go, go, be seen and pick up a prescription within the space of an hour.

I dont think my gp does that. We have walk in clinics but I don’t think that’s the same

---------- Post added at 21:21 ---------- Previous post was at 21:18 ----------

Tomorrow I will get in though, my mum has said she’s free in the morning and that’s the most convenient for me too, so I’ll probably be back with an update then

I can’t post at night anymore because my mum turns the wifi off at 12pm and has cancelled my data to try and stop me googling. It’s annoying though