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That's only relatively recent though isn't it? I agree that waiting weeks for an initial GP appointment should be simple, straightforward and quick. In some places it's still a day or two as it should be but increasingly people complain of long waits. To me that service should absolutely be NHS provided and free and is something that should be fixed rather than left to private to pick up. I used to believe it was because the medical training filtered and produced fewer people who wanted to be GPs (as opposed to the more competitive specialisms) but seeing the proliferation of private services advertised in London, I guess that can't be true. It's not that doctors don't want to be GPs, it's that the system is forcing them out or is less attractive than private. Is it because practices became bigger? Or the job requires more practice management and less doctoring? What are the conditions that are the problem? I think most doctors would rather be NHS than private. (Not really questions for you specifically just a general response! Any GPs on here?)
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hoefla
@Bad_Science
I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the NHS, so I literally have them to thank for my life.
However, when I first went to my GP, when I thought there was something wrong, I was told there was a 4 week wait to see a doctor.
I paid £80-odd quid to see a private doctor in one of those walk-in clinics, and they knew immediately what was wrong with me. They told me to bugger off back to the NHS and make a fuss until I was listened to.
How many people give up at the 4 week wait, or don't take it any further because they don't want to be any bother?
Once I was in the system, under an NHS oncologist, I was fine. But I really wonder how many people die of cancer because the initial meeting with a GP is such bloody hard work.