"Hard to contact"

I have recently tried to get an appointment two days running. I know that you can only book a relatively urgent appointment by ringing up at 8am on the day. For two days running I tried for an hour to get through, only to get a message to say that the surgery was experiencing a high call volume so to try again later. I was not even put in a queuing system. When I did eventually get through I had missed any appointments for that day with the GP. On the second day I was offered a telephone consultation with the Pharmacist. I possibly have symptoms of a chest infection but it could also be Asthma, however I was prescribed antibiotics without anyone listening to my chest. I cannot see a GP or go to the surgery as I have been told I have symptoms of COVID (a cough, however this is chronic and not new and furthermore I have had several negative lateral flow tests and been double jabbed and recently had a booster too). What is going on? It is nigh on impossible to see a GP. I understand the pressure the NHS is under, I am a health care practitioner leading a team who have been in the thick of it with COVID patients too. I do not often request a GP appointment, last time was around three years ago. I understand things will never go back to normal but I really feel that some things can only be diagnosed face to face, especially when we are also trying to cut back on antibiotic prescribing. Very disappointing