What happens when you go to see a GP (family doctor)?
In this article, we will describe what happens in a GP face-to-face appointment. Let’s start with the basics.
Making an appointment with a GP
- You can book a face-to-face appointment with the GP practice reception staff over the phone or by visiting the practice in person.
- You can also book online (via their website).
- GP practices are often very busy and you may need to wait several days or up to two weeks for an appointment.
- If you think you need to see a GP urgently, you will need to tell the receptionist why and they may be able to get you an appointment quicker.
- You can also phone your GP practice at 8am, to see if there are any appointments the same day. Be aware, these same day appointments get booked up quickly.
- You can ask for a male or female GP, or nurse, if you want – specifying the gender of the doctor may delay the appointment.
- You might not always need to see a GP. A practice nurse, or similar health professional (e.g. physicians associate (PA) or advanced clinical practitioner (ACP)) may be better for some problems.
- Practice nurses are qualified to give vaccinations, treat wounds, and provide advice about contraception and stopping smoking.
What to expect when you arrive for your appointment
- It is really important you keep your appointment and arrive on time.
- If you think you cannot attend the appointment you need to call the GP practice as soon as you can.
- This is really important so they can give the appointment to someone else. Be aware, if you arrive late your appointment will be cancelled.
- When you arrive at the GP practice you must tell the person on the reception desk you have arrived so they know you are there.
- Some practices have a computer screen you can use to do this.
- The receptionist or computer will ask you to confirm your name, address and date of birth.
- After this, you will need to wait until your name is called for your appointment.
- Be aware, if the GP practice is particularly busy, sometimes there can be a delay with appointments – sometimes up to an hour.
What happens in your appointment
- Appointments usually last for about 10 minutes.
- Usually there is only enough time to talk about one health problem.
- If you have more than one problem you want to talk about, it is a good idea to decide which is the most important.
- You may have enough time to talk about two problems in your appointment, but often the GP will advise you to make another appointment. Or you can ask for a 20 minute ‘double appointment’.
- Each appointment is for one person only. It is often useful to bring a family member with you.
- You cannot bring other family members to ask about their health problems in the same appointment.
- It can be helpful to write down what you want to ask the GP or nurse and take it into your appointment to remind you.
- If you don’t understand anything the GP or nurse tells you, you should ask them to explain it again.
- It is also a good idea to take notes so you can remember what they told you and look for further information if you need it.
- The GP will tell you if they need to see you again, and how that will happen.
Further treatment
- Your GP or nurse may also make you an appointment to see a specialist hospital doctor (a called a consultant), if your health problem needs further treatment or tests.
- You will receive a letter in the post with the details of that appointment. If it is not urgent It should occur within 18 weeks of referral. You may be offered the choice of where to go for the treatment.
- If you need to be seen by the specialist earlier than he/she will need to mark the referral as urgent. If it’s very urgent, they will need to ring the hospital and speak to the relevant specialist.
- If cancer is a possibility, a different system called a ‘two-week’ cancer referral should be used – and you should be seen within 2 weeks.
Summary
We have described what happens when you go to see a GP. We hope it has been helpful.
