"There must be a better way of managing bookings"

I have been in contact with my GP practice over the last 18 months or so in relation to mood. More recently I had consultations with an ANP who was very helpful and I have been noticing improvements with a new prescription which is great. This had led to a more extended period self-managing but as my prescription is diminishing, now around three weeks supply, I have attempted contact to arrange follow up and discussion around next steps. 

I have tried to contact my registered practice today to arrange this follow up. Unfortunately when contacting, the only available appointment was for a telephone contact, which is absolutely perfect for the circumstances, however this was allocated a 5 hour window between 1pm and 6pm. I was advised that a more specific timeframe is not available and that if I required this, I would have to make contact tomorrow when more appointments were released. Unfortunately, due to my work situation a 5 hour window isn't really a plausible option without taking an afternoon off. 

I had noted that I am due to be off work for the entirety of a week and could be available at any time for a telephone consultation that week. This was however unacceptable to the practice and would not be a possibility for follow up as the appointments are not released. I gave a further suggestion of holding my details or even contacting the practice by email regarding a follow up that week and when appointments were available, a booking be made and details of this passed on. This again was not possible due to staffing issues which can be appreciated. 

These issues with booking are highly concerning, given what I would regard as proactive contact to arrange follow up. All services are stretched right now and that is evident both as a staff member and service user, but there must be a better way of managing bookings. I would like to raise this as a concern for discussion at a practice level but also across the health board. The personal impact of this is merely frustration, but the wider impact is much greater. If all staff who require primary care input are required to cancel work for multiple hours to wait for a call, this will surely impact patient wait times. Even for those working in other fields, the inconvenience and frustration, and in turn loss of faith in the health service, cannot be ignored. 

I am aware that other services and clinics are able to offer appoint times, both virtual and in person, and can largely stick to these. The mind boggles to think why this cannot be the case for GP services.