"chest infection and not being able to get a face to face appointment"

This morning,  I rang the surgery for an appointment to see a doctor, with a bad chest and coughing up phlem (light brown ). I requested to see a doctor face to face, but was told I couldn't, as the policy is, the doctor has to decide if they need to see you in person. I asked the member of staff,  how can you diagnosis a chest infection over the phone plus listen to someone's chest? or look at their throat? I explained I also suffer from asthma which doesn't help with my breathing. I explained that, to my knowledge,  it is now possible to make an appointment with a doctor. As the policy had changed, they told me I could speak to the manager if I wanted. I declined this offer as I prefer to do this face to face. I agreed to a phone consultation which was within a 4 hour timeslot. With just over an hour to go, I am still waiting. This is not the first time I have been refused an appointment. I can understand why people don't consult their doctors surgeries until It's too late as you have to get past the person on the phone first.  I understand that there are people who could just have a phone call, but when its something to do with breathing and chest complaints, you would think they would give you an appointment straight away. I feel this doctors has a lot of problems that are not being dealt with accordingly.