> Obviously, all the people you are referring to know all about this; it's just suckers like me who have to suffer.
Absolutely, but that's exactly why these barriers exist: because dealing with the hoggers sucks up all available resources. It's not like GPs sit around, their time is still allocated for the most part. In a context where central government keeps squeezing GPs (forcing them to work longer hours for less pay than before), they have no incentive to do anything but to deal with the high-maintenance types. Some sort of external shock is required.
I had a similar experience with my local GP surgery, in a working-class area in the North of England. Doctors kept rotating (they would hire kids and other practitioners with no experience, who would then leave very quickly after they realized what the workload was), it was impossible to get an appointment, and more often than not one would just be dismissed with paracetamol. Then people discovered the feedback tool at https://www.nhs.uk/service-search , and inundated the surgery with bad reviews. This seems to have kicked the right asses in gear, and now it's much better. Mind, I still have to log on Patient Access right after midnight to get a same-day appointment, but at least I don't get dismissed once there...
Absolutely, but that's exactly why these barriers exist: because dealing with the hoggers sucks up all available resources. It's not like GPs sit around, their time is still allocated for the most part. In a context where central government keeps squeezing GPs (forcing them to work longer hours for less pay than before), they have no incentive to do anything but to deal with the high-maintenance types. Some sort of external shock is required.
I had a similar experience with my local GP surgery, in a working-class area in the North of England. Doctors kept rotating (they would hire kids and other practitioners with no experience, who would then leave very quickly after they realized what the workload was), it was impossible to get an appointment, and more often than not one would just be dismissed with paracetamol. Then people discovered the feedback tool at https://www.nhs.uk/service-search , and inundated the surgery with bad reviews. This seems to have kicked the right asses in gear, and now it's much better. Mind, I still have to log on Patient Access right after midnight to get a same-day appointment, but at least I don't get dismissed once there...