Keir Starmer at it again..

[Walshes Wolves]

4 weeks to see a doctor in many places in the south of England.

 

[Sniffer]

4 weeks to see a doctor in many places in the south of England.

I can't believe that - Maybe if its for a general appointment but if you think that you are on the way out with a mystery virus they'll tell you to visit in 4 weeks?

 

[Walshes Wolves]

I can't believe that - Maybe if its for a general appointment but if you think that you are on the way out with a mystery virus they'll tell you to visit in 4 weeks?

The problem is, waiting 4 weeks for a routine appointment, can mean something that seems routine is actually more serious and 4 weeks can make a lot of difference in those cases.

Record number of GP appointments to have four-week waits this year

Data shows the number of lengthy waits for appointments is set to be more than 17.6 million this year.

news.sky.com

 

[The Bear]

My doctors online system is generally a 2 week lead time. You have to brave the morning rush on the phone for appointments sooner or the same day.

 

[prawnking]

What is definitely patronising is saying that “the left” is one homogenous group that all think, act and speak in the same way.

I wouldn't say that's patronising, more reductive.

And we all do it to the Right as well, or Trump supporters, or Reform voters etc

 

[The Saturday Boy]

I wouldn't say that's patronising, more reductive.

And we all do it to the Right as well, or Trump supporters, or Reform voters etc

Fair enough, is your second sentence also reductive?

 

[Jack Regan]

My GP only offers on the day appointments since last year. Phoned whilst I was at work and offered an appointment in about 50 minutes time. I was in Telford (and hadn't long arrived) so unfeasible to walk straight back out again so was told to ring back the following day.

Had some trouble with my eczema getting infected earlier this month, called on the morning and got an appointment two hours later.

The online service (although touted on the phone call) never seems to work for my GP.

 

[prawnking]

Fair enough, is your second sentence also reductive?

Happy to be reductive in forum chat

 

[Derby Wolf]

Recently moved surgeries as you'd routinely call at 8am and be met with "you are caller... 58... in the queue" I've spoken before about how my other half couldn't get her repeat prescription because they simultaneously wouldn't re-prescribe without a medication review but wouldn't give her an appointment for a medication review either. It took us contacting PALS per a suggestion on here to get that addressed.

Best thing to do is ring 111 and let them force through an appointment.

When my plantar fasciitis was playing up I phoned them as couldn't get in at GP's and the operator suggested each surgery has a few appointments per day set aside for 111 referrals. My surgery rang me later that day and got an appointment for the following morning.

 

[Sniffer]

A bloke I work with cut his hand, had it stitched up at A&E and was told to book an appointment at his local drs to get the dressing changed after 3 days. He rang his local drs, got through but was told that there were no appointments. Rang the hospital to see if they could do it and they said ring 111. He did that and was given an appointment that day at his own drs who had told him an hour or so before that there were no appointments.
You can understand why patients get frustrated with the system.

 

[EpsomWolf]

Not sure if the credit goes to Starmer/Labour or not but they can have it anyway…

Have noticed some fairly significant road repairs going on locally lately. Not the usual lasts-5-minutes patches either, but professionally finished stretches on both sides often a 100 metres or more.

Driving on a nice stretch of road suddenly reminds you of how normalised weaving in and out of potholes and the jarred crashing over sunken manhole covers had become. Difficult to say what if anything can be read into that but either way, the outright neglect over many years has been shameful.

 

[sycophantia]

We're lucky, our doctors is usually a week at the most for an appointment. If you're OK seeing a nurse or their in house paramedic it's usually within 2 days. Our grandchildren at the same surgery it's usually same day.
Used to be a pita to get through on the phone but since the appointments went online last year its been easy.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

 

[Del Woppio]

And that includes a fairly heft increase to the minimum wage too, outrageous

 

[Tredman]

Not sure if the credit goes to Starmer/Labour or not but they can have it anyway…

Have noticed some fairly significant road repairs going on locally lately. Not the usual lasts-5-minutes patches either, but professionally finished stretches on both sides often a 100 metres or more.

Driving on a nice stretch of road suddenly reminds you of how normalised weaving in and out of potholes and the jarred crashing over sunken manhole covers had become. Difficult to say what if anything can be read into that but either way, the outright neglect over many years has been shameful.

That's the HS2 money Rishi acquired I think, great to see it being spent in Epsom...

 

[EpsomWolf]

That's the HS2 money Rishi acquired I think, great to see it being spent in Epsom...

Ha, I wondered if that might get picked up. I know we can all make claim to having the worst roads in Britain but they really are diabolical around here. Cambridge was bad but I half expected that as it’s an anti-car City and they’ve no intention of making life easy for motorists, but the neglect and lack of investment in the roads here is shocking.

You may well be right, I dunno, but I’m looking for positives. The work needs to be done and we can only hope it’s a sign of things to come and that it’ll get rolled out everywhere eventually.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

And that includes a fairly heft increase to the minimum wage too, outrageous

It's a significant drop too.

She's just dismissed that data though, very Trumpian.

 

[Tredman]

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

What an appalling response from Reeves, in both tone and content.

Jeremy Corbyn on Instagram: "Welfare, not warfare."

4,115 likes, 384 comments - jeremycorbyn on March 27, 2025: "Welfare, not warfare.".

www.instagram.com

 

[Tredman]

Really interesting to see all the pushback HS2 gets vs spending 12bn plus on ANOTHER Thames crossing getting waved through without comment.

Best thing any government could ever do is to properly enact true divestment of government outside of London.