"Difficulty getting a GP appointment"

I rang 2 weeks ago to make a GP appointment. I was asked if it was an emergency or routine. I answered, “routine” and was told all appointments has been taken and to call back the following day after 8.30am (I didn’t get through until approx 11am). When I did eventually get through, I was again told there were still no appointments available. I rang almost every morning after 8.30am, not getting through till around 10.30 or 11am, finally getting an appointment 4 weeks ahead.

I appreciate the huge pressures GP practices are under (closure, recruitment and staffing difficulties, budgets - the list goes on).

However, the "ring after 8. 30am" mantra/script that one is greeted with, if you manage to even get through to speak to someone between 8. 30 and 10. 30 (or later depending on the day of the week) seems well past its use-by date and so inhelpful.

The simple fact is that if you are fortunate enough to have a job, you are either driving or working at 8. 30am in the morning or later. Trying to phone whilst at the wheel is not to be recommended and no employer welcomes taking time off to continually ring past the engaged tone in the hope you'll eventually get through. And, here's the rub - when you eventually do, you're often told that any available appointments have already been taken!

So, where does this leave those of us who do not make frequent appointments, which means that when we request to see a doctor, it's because we genuinely need to in the near rather than the distant future.

Media adverts are now strongly recommending we see a doctor as soon as possible if we have a persistent cough or other symptoms that might need urgent attention - but this is practically impossible now. I have a great GP practice and terrific doctors but, I suspect, they are handicapped by rules and regulations, crisis management and fire-fighting just like every other practice in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Surely, in this era of available technologies something can be done, and soon, to alleviate this situation. Telephone consultations I find are not a great help as even these seem to be rationed out and there is no visual communication which is so important ref observation and visual cues (assuming the doctor's eyes aren't focussed on the computer screen in the patient's presence! ).

Please, NHS Fife, put on your thinking caps and come with a solution that works for the majority of patients (I know it will never be perfect) - not just for those who are at home (unemployed, retired or off their work due to illness) who are able to sit by their phones constantly re-dialling to get through to reception. I'd be happy to participate in a focus group, a huddle, or whatever it takes to start to actually listen to the patient experience within Fife GP services and come up with solutions rather than excuses As Autumn and then Winter come upon us, the race to make an GP appointment is going to get even worse.