Stevo 666
Senior Member
Funny, as you seem to be saying saying that Labour aren't left wing.
Starmer's vision quest
- Thread starter mjr
- Start date
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Funny, as you seem to be saying saying that Labour aren't left wing.
Stevo 666
Senior Member
I thought you'd be busy celebrating the launch of a new party for socialist nut jobs?
AndyRM
Elder Goth
It does appear that a few of the newer peeps on here think that the "lefties" love Labour and Starmer.
Like you say, there was only one poster who stuck up for him and the party, despite everything they were doing and have done since election. In a way it was admirable.
bobzmyunkle
Über Member
Autocorrect or Freudian slip?
Xipe Totec
Something nasty in the woodshed
Listening to Mr Streeting on TV news last night singing his great successes with additional GP appointments yet, whilst I've not seen anybody from my GP Practice for over a year, whilst they used to be very busy you could generally get an appointment without horrendous grief.
Yet over the last few weeks I've been getting messages from them over the NHS App saying how they can't offer non "on-the-day" appointments (which are their emergency appointments - telephone at 08:00 on the dot and join a long queue or redial). Message few days ago is they expect the situation to continue until at least mid-July. Still fully staffed with GPs, nurse practitioners, etc. so not due to resignations/recruitment difficulties.
Anecdotal, were I to need a GP appointment today it would be a lot lot harder than little over a year ago.
Ian
Yet over the last few weeks I've been getting messages from them over the NHS App saying how they can't offer non "on-the-day" appointments (which are their emergency appointments - telephone at 08:00 on the dot and join a long queue or redial). Message few days ago is they expect the situation to continue until at least mid-July. Still fully staffed with GPs, nurse practitioners, etc. so not due to resignations/recruitment difficulties.
Anecdotal, were I to need a GP appointment today it would be a lot lot harder than little over a year ago.
Ian
Pblakeney
Senior Member
I got an appointment last week within hours of phoning up about a tick bite mark.
Much easier than trying around this time last year for something else. Possibly backs up his claims, even if on a small anecdotal scale.
matticus
Guru
Useful, thanks.
Bazzer
Senior Member
Locally it seems to be very much down to where you manage to land in the telephone queue. A couple of weeks ago my wife queued before the surgery opening time in order to circumvent the telephone system, to secure an appointment on the day for one of our daughters.
About 3/4 months ago a system was briefly introduced where most appointments would be provided only after you submitted an online form detailing symptoms etc. The patient would then be contacted by telephone and offered an appointment at one of several surgeries within the local health authority. So potentially you could be seen earlier if you were prepared to travel to a surgery other than the one to which you were registered and by a doctor who may have more experience than some others of dealing with your particular issue.
Ringing the surgery for an appointment was actively discouraged.
I happened to use the system within a day or so of its introduction and whilst it worked for me and I applaud the local health authority for looking at ways to relieve the pressure on GP appointments, the flaws were obvious. It was abandoned very quickly.
Pross
Active Member
You also have to know how to play the system like all the 'regulars' who seem to get an appointment at will. I'm under Welsh Government here for health but when I needed an appointment last year I tried for weeks at the 9am time that it said on the website was the earliest you could call and whenever I got through I'd be told they were fully booked for two weeks and didn't take appointments further than that in advance. The NHS Wales app never had anything available. In the end I ignored the no calling before 9am rule and called as soon as they opened which got me an appointment 2 weeks later, something like 4 weeks after I first tried. Luckily it wasn't urgent but could have been (lump in my groin).
This year when I was having a weird heart rhythm I didn't even bother trying the GP and used the online GP service with my work private healthcare. I got a video appointment within 24 hours and had a referal to a cardiologist the same day with that initial appointment within two weeks. All the follow-up tests and scans were then completed within around 3 months. That said I felt like a queue jumper as I suspect the doctors I saw (GP and cardiologist) also work in the NHS and the time they are giving to private patients could be spent on NHS work.
It's an annoyance that a small proportion of patients seem to account for the bulk of a GPs time though and always seem to know how to get seen.
icowden
Shaman
Have you not seen Keir Starmer? He didn't get elected by promising to nationalise the utililties, strengthen the unions, increase taxes to 40% for anyone earning more than £30k etc etc
He went to the right. The weird bit is that most Labour PMs who have been centerist have stopped moving rightwards at some point whereas Starmer is trying to adopt reform policies!
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