"Trying to get an appointment"

At our health centre (Levenwick), we have to phone at 9am in order to get an appointment. This is a common example of what happens to me:  I will be at work and not ill enough to stay off work, but would still like to see a doctor or ANP about an on going issue that hasn't resolved, or will potentially get worse if not treated.  It's often difficult to phone at 9, because I start to get phone calls at work at 9 am, and often by the time I do get through then all appointments for that day are gone.  Alternatively I will be offered an appointment at 10.30 which I can't get to because I travel by bus and the bus won't get me back from Lerwick by that time.  So then I ask if it possible to make an appointment for the following week, so that I can plan my work around the appointment.  But it's never possible to do this.  I'm asked to phone back again tomorrow at 9, and the same happens again.  I would love the opportunity to book appointments on line - the system seems to be designed around what makes life easier for the health centre rather than what makes life easier for patients.  Not all patients have cars and not all patients can be sitting by the phone at 9am.  More availability of telephone consultations would also be great as sometimes you don't actually physically need to see a doctor or ANP.