Real story: changing GP

Isabel, 38, moved house in July 2008 and wanted to register with a GP close to her new home. She describes how she chose a GP, why she changed practices twice in the same year, and why she's now happy with her choice.

"The first thing I did was to ask a friend who lives in the same area for advice. She recommended a surgery, but it wasn't within walking distance of my house. Although I have a car and could drive to the doctor’s, I preferred to be registered with one closer to my home.

"I went online to locate the practices closest to me. I knew there was an NHS facility to search for GPs, so I went on Google and typed in “find NHS GP” plus “N19”, which is my postcode.

"It came up with the Find services page of the NHS site. I entered my postcode, and the site produced a list of GPs, in order of distance from my house. This was very useful because my main criterion was distance.

"My other preference was to find a practice with several GPs, including at least one woman doctor. The first entry was a sole practitioner who was a man, so I discounted that one. There was only one practice with several GPs within walking distance, so I registered there.

"Shortly after registering, I went to see one of the doctors. I was happy with the GP himself, but I wasn't impressed by the practice. It felt dark and dingy, and the reception area didn't seem clean. It was also a relatively small practice, with only one woman GP who worked part-time. I felt that I wouldn't always be able to see a female doctor when I wanted to.

"For these reasons, I decided that the practice wasn't right for me. At this point, I decided that it wasn’t so important to find somewhere within walking distance. So I checked out the practice that my friend had recommended.

"Various things impressed me. They have a very efficient phone system that clearly signposts the different options: “Press 1 for emergencies, 2 for appointments,” and so on. When you've chosen your option, you're told where you are in the queue, and you're given updates as you move up the queue. At my previous practice, you had to keep ringing until somone answered, and the line was often engaged.

"The practice also has its own website with detailed information about the appointments system, the services available, and the staff. Having access to all this information was reassuring. It helped me to build a clearer picture of the practice.

"A big advantage of the practice is that it has 10 GPs, including several women. Because it's a larger practice, it has several clinics, which gave me confidence that it would meet all my family's needs.

"When I visited the surgery, I noticed how clean and airy the reception area was. There’s a touch-in screen for registering your arrival, which means you don't have to wait to tell the receptionist that you've arrived. There are also overhead screens telling patients when to see the doctor or nurse.

"Overall, it seemed a better organised and more dynamic practice. I strongly felt that it would be the right place for me.

"In the end, I had changed GPs twice in a year, but it was very easy. When I registered with the second practice, they didn't even ask for my NHS number. They took my details and found my number for me.

"I'm pleased with my decision. I think that when you go to the doctor’s with concerns about your health, you need to feel confident that the practice is well run."

Comments

4 Comments about ‘Real story: changing GP’

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User653031 said on 07 March 2012

First of all, can I ask if the NHS is reviewing these comments? It would be extremely helpful to have our comments acknowledged and gain feedback, as my first visit to this site has filled me with doubt. After reading comments from 2010 etc. I see no updates. If people are going to the bother of writing on this website, I think it is a further disrespect to ignore them!

I'm an ex nurse and can't believe the way patients are treated now. Patients are consumers, if you don't have consumers of your services, you don't have a job. Where has this arrogance came from within the NHS? It was recently stated that the govt are going to take attitudes into question now when hiring staff. That used to be the case before, why on earth was that not kept as a priority? I had to move into academia due to a back injury, but I was originally hired for nurse training based on my compasssion and empathy (as I was told this at my interview) not on my qualifications.

However I came on here to reinforce what others have already stated, ie that changing GP's is not a choice we have the liberty to do. I have been trying to change mine whom I have been with most of my life. However despite being told from NHS Lanarkshire that GP's do not have the right to refuse you, I have discovered that the GP's themselves have a "pact" not to allow patients into their practice when they are registered with another gp in the same area! When contacting the PCT practioner services, they said that they cannot force GP's to take a patient on. Therefore GPs' has full control, patients zero. Why? Is this because most people I talk to are not happy with their GP and it would mean chaos if the one highly regarded GP I've found in all these months of research would be inundated and the rest left with low patient numbers = low salary per patient head? How can such selfishness be respected by the public?

KFT

emmerlooeez said on 08 December 2011

I've had an absolutely horrific experience with trying to change GPs. There are only 2 surgeries in my catchment area and I cannot change from mine as 'the surgeries want to maintain a good relationship'

I suffer from mental health problems, of which would be greatly improved just by having a gp that I know and trust, yet I cannot change!

I know all 3 GP's at the other surgery as when I lived in this area before I was under their care. Upon moving back I foolishly used the other surgery as it was a closer distance and they ran a baby clinic on a Friday and I was expecting.

I'm now bound to 10 or so doctors that do not give a damn, rude, hostile receptionists and a way-below-par service. With me having panic attacks, they have worsened with me not being able to talk to any GP about it, I'm scared of going to the surgery I am with now as I often leave in tears. I am now condemned to sleepless nights and constant 'research' of how to change GPs, whilst trying to look after my little boy. I have been trying to change surgeries for way over a year now! Several of my support workers have called the surgery and I have written a letter a year or so ago. The only reply we EVER get is "The surgeries want to maintain a good relationship" although on the NHs website it says that if you're having problems with another local practice you might be able to change to them. The letter I wrote was 2 pages long and I got a 2 or 3 lined reply.

I've even considered moving out of the area, just to move back to re-register with a GP. If nothing else can be done then that's what I'm going to have to do.

Absolutely appalled by the way I'm being treat. Just for the sake of a 'good relationship'.

oldschool said on 19 November 2011

I would fully subscribe to the reply from 'lawqueen', as being totally accurate. My experience is that of being with the same excellent practice from birth, until I moved a mere 3.5 miles away from that practice, eleven years ago. I desperately wanted to remain loyal to my birth practice, but was told that my new address was outside of its catchment area. I believe, that it is the local PCT which proscribes these boundaries, and not the practice, itself. Even more frustrating, if the catchment area was a regular geometric shape, I would fall within it. However, it is obviously drawn that way because my new address comes under the banner of a different PCT. I have never been really satisfied with my present practice for a myriad of reasons.

I read about eighteen months ago that Andy Burnham, the then Health Secretary, was investigating the possibility of extending patient choice in respect of preferred GP practice, with Tory backing. Whatever happened to those proposals? Were they just another costly exercise which contributed to the current economic downturn?

Without decent competition, some GP's will continue to provide an indifferent service, with impunity.

lawqueen said on 27 September 2011

This all sounds very easy, but if you try to change a GP practice in real life you will find out that you can only be registered with the practice if you fall into their catchment area. NHS promotes choices, but it seems like they have forgotten to inform GP practices about it.
It took me 2 weeks of constant research and phoning GP surgeries to change my GP (there was only one male GP at the practice my post code assigned to). NHS website generates a list of GP surgeries you can supposedly choose from, but when you phone them, the first thing they ask is what the postcode is and then the standard reply follows: “your postcode is not in our catchment area”. I also wrote several letters describing the situation I had with my GP and the reason I wanted to change the practice, and when I nearly despaired, a reply came back from one of the surgeries saying that they would take me on a temporary basis. I agreed to that although I had to travel for 30 min to the surgery.
I found the whole process of changing a GP really frustrating. NHS lead you to believe that there is nothing simpler than changing a GP, but in practice it doesn't work and something needs to be done. Please write your feedback.