Last week I had some weird pain attack which woke me at 4am on Sunday morning. I had no idea what was causing it but it was incredibly excruciating and debilitating.
I almost called an ambulance and went up to the ER. But as it was the weekend I decided to wait.
First thing Monday morning I called the GPs office and was seen by 11 am. I not only didn't wait for more than 10 minutes but there was a medical student visiting her who got to "have a go" asking me questions first. This extended the usual 10 min appointment time with my doctor to almost an hour.
At the visit she asked all the right questions and gave me a test which confirmed that I had a bladder or a kidney infection (which explained all the horrible traveling pains). She gave me a prescription and told me to return two days later if not better and to make an appointment to come back and see her today (after one week).
As I'm a homeopathic practitioner who really doesn't like to use orthodox medicine when not entirely necessary, I treated the infection with lots of cranberry juice and homeopathic remedies (prescribed by another homeopath). I was better within a day or two.
Today I went back to her and we spent about 15 minutes or longer discussing all my concerns. She was very thorough and caring given my particularly stressful circumstances and made very well thought out recommendations. She sent me for a full set of blood tests to monitor a chronic condition and I left.
None of this cost a dime. Not the office visits. Not the prescription and not the diagnostic and blood tests. Had I called an ambulance and gone to the ER it would have been the same.
Oh and she told me it would be good for me to come back every few weeks to talk to her so she could monitor my situation as we go along and that I can have an appointment with her any day of the week except Thursday. The procedure at the practice is that 70% of visits are for advance scheduling and the other 30% can be made on the day, if necessary.
I also just wanted to add that the offices are well appointed, bright, modern, ultra clean, cheery, and the waiting room is light, airy, large, and has a play area for children (in case anyone thinks the NHS offices resemble communist Russia!)
You can look at what a modern British doctor's practice looks like here:
