ADVICE FROM OUR WOMAN’S WEEKLY DOCTOR
It can be hard to get urgent face-to-face appointments. With barriers such as being at the back of the early-morning phone queue only to be told there are no more available slots, or being asked to submit a request online, many give up and seek alternatives, such as visiting their local emergency department (ED) or booking with a private GP.
Routine appointments can also be hard to come by, often with a wait of several weeks. A major problem is demand: GPs aren’t being intentionally elusive but overwhelmed by an ever-increasing workload. Pre-COVID, GP surgeries in England completed around 25 million appointments monthly. That figure