“Good point is the fact you use them without booking the bad is the wait as said here. Some centres are 24 hours which is even better. I haven't used them much but I know they do seem to keep people hanging around and centres only have 1 or 2 doctors at busy periods. They could be a lot better or worse.”

“Did you ask why later arrivals went before you? Was there some kind of triage operating?”

“They are a great idea.

I have only used one once, late on a bank holiday eve when normal doctors' surgeries would be closed for two days. We were seen quickly and the doctor organised an immediate visit to hospital for further tests. A job well done.”

“I have been several times due to no appointments at my local GP or because of worrying signs that show on the day. After finally getting an appointment at my local GP the doctor told me that I shouldn't be seeing them unless its an emergency and that they are an alternative to A&E but less life threatening. When ever iv been the wait time has been longer than an hour and even upto 3 hours in Oadby!”

“Some walk-in centres are normal GP surgeries as well and they do have pre-booked appointments like a regular surgery. I am a registered patient at a surgery that does walk-in's as well and I could be seen long before people who have been waiting because I had pre-booked. Sometimes there are more than one doctor on duty and patients are assigned to each doctor. If one doctor is turning patients round faster, then people who are on their list are seen quicker even if they walked in after you.”

“Yesterday my wife asked for an appointment to see a doctor. yes certainly 11th of Feb.”

“it depends what reason the other people who were ahead of you were there for..

If you walk in and are after a check up for something relatively minor - then you'll be seen in relative order. Doctors can't kick people out halfway through a consultation in order to work to the clock, so every now and then things will overrun.

Occasionally someone will be referred to a walk in centre - maybe from a Paramedic or Telephone Consultation. And every now and then someone will come in with a condition which causes concern and may be a priority.

As Hugo also said, some walk in centres are used by regular GP's, or day clinics - which may explain why some patients get seen before you.

I wouldn't get too angry, it's just one of those times you have to be patient (no pun intended).”

“Chappy I am unsure where city10 said he was angry - it says this I was not impressed by the waiting time??”

“David, the use of an exclamation mark and his change in tone sort of give that impression, as well as the use of the word finally and not impressed. Maybe he wasn't physically angry, and may be more pragmatic, but you can't say he was happy.. but I'll let him speak for himself..”

“walk in centres are good as we all know getting in to see a GP can take days sometimes weeks. If you have to wait 1,2 or 3 hours to see a doctor then it is worth it instead of waiting 2,3, or more days. I understand the wait is boring and not fun and if you seen people going ahead of you then i agree that is not right unless they are more needy than you.”

“There must have been a system such as a triage one in action. This is where they let the more at risk patients go before others for the obvious reason/s. The service as already pointed out here can be very good, I feel waiting times might need to be revised. Apart from this the walk-in centres are a great idea.”

“At one time wk ends and out of surgery hrs your own Doctor would see you. I think the walk in centres lack responsibility, The people at these centres may be fully qualified but they don't know you like your doctor does. . Your own Doctor is responsible for your health. Doctors are well paid and should provide a 24/7 service.”

“@ ricardo what is that at a weekend?? And walk in centres have doctors, you can move doctors anytime you want so i can't see how that matters? x”

“are you serious Ricardo32x,

So let's get this straight, you think that Doctors should be like Robots is that it? and either live in their Surgery or drop everything to come out to see you at all hours of the day?

What if they are attending another patient?
What if they are so tired they crash on the way?
What if they make a mistake because they are tired?
What if one of their own family is Ill - or do they not have the right to a family?
What if they decide - stuff this lark and go private?

And who would willingly train hard to work under the conditions you propose..
that's right.. foreigners - no one knows you like your Asian Immigrant Doctor..

that is why we have a duty system..

What is it you do again?”

“oh and newsflash, your own doctor is not responsible for your health at all,
because you register with a practice and they assign you a Doctor once you are over 18,

The practice has a responsibility to provide a doctor for consultations based on appointments made by YOU. The reason they have appointments is because there are more patients than Doctors.

They try to get you the same Doctor when you visit to provide continuity of care.
But that Doctor is only responsible for your care, whilst you are in the Consulting Room, or if the Doctor has prescribed a course of treatment under their supervision.

If you go to hospital, you are assigned to the care of a departmental head, who may delegate individual responsibility to a consultant or nurse.

Ultimately if you are over 18 - out in the big wide world - it is YOUR responsibility to look after your health, if that means doing what the doctor told you in your last consultation then so be it. But it's up to you to seek medical advice if something is wrong, and it's up to you whether you take their advice.”

“I feel doctors are like any other person/people in any job role. You have the good and the bad ones; we have all had good & bad experience with doctors, as we have with teachers, bus drivers, shop assistants etc...”

“I agree C10, and sorry for the big rant posts folks - just winds me up the stuff people come out with on here.. 24/7 robodoc indeed..”

“okay...”

“I havent had to use a walk in centre (as of yet) I did have to walk into A&E once, and the service was excellent, I was seen straight away, but then my condition was fairly serious. I do believe that even the front of house staff can tell (sometimes just by looking) if someone requires swift attention, or is able to wait a little longer. hence why it may seem that people are 'queue jumping'”

“by mam35

Thursday, January 31 2013, 7:43PM
.
"I havent had to use a walk in centre (as of yet) I did have to walk into A&E once"

So you have used one then...”

“I didn't think they were the same thing..I thought the poster was referring to a walk-in centre that is like an alternative to a GPs surgery, or out of hours GP service.”

“JayBe11, where have I been?

Most hospitals have a walk-in centre now. However, A&E is different as mam35 has stated as that is for more serious cases. The walk-in centres are for less serious cases and if someone is feeling that ill I would say call an ambulance.”

“It always amazes me when people complain about services we pay so little for..when we look at the percentage of our taxes to income...do we want to be an insurance led society?..I don't think so, its far cheaper this way..We have other countries bringing people here (and contrary to what people believe they do actually have to pay for it) for the care of our NHS :/”

“"It always amazes me when people complain about services we pay so little for." That is just it though mam35, who is 'we' pay for? Not everyone does pay for this free service, only taxpayers do. To pay tax you need to be working otherwise the taxpayer is paying someone else's taxes/bill.”

“..To pay tax you need to be working otherwise the taxpayer is paying someone else's taxes/bill."

Untrue actually, we are all consumers, without money that we pay into the economy, taxes on goods, money to the bosses of companies where we buy goods...wages wouldnt be paid, even benefit claimants money goes in a circle City_10..there are some breaking this chain, and its not benefit claimants..”

“Mam35 - You start with this "we are all consumers, without money that we pay into the economy.." So how can you 'pay' for something without having money in the first instance, please explain that?”

“I feel the full house is already here. Is this a game called Bingo? Oh_come_on & JayBe11 two posts, however both have not said much about the title so let me help - what do you feel about walk-in centres?”

“so how can you earn without the money being paid in the first place City_10..think of it logically, it doesnt matter where the money in the purse comes from, it goes to the same place, without it being paid into the economy, none of us get paid :/ The chain is broken when the money is paid by the consumer and it goes elsewhere..go figure :)”

“Thanks for the very speedy reply mam35 – So are you going back to the early stages on living, before people worked for money in a free society. I am unsure what this means?
"think of it logically, it doesnt matter where the money in the purse comes from, it goes to the same place, without it being paid into the economy, none of us get paid…"
Again, how is their money in a purse as you are saying there is no money? This in turn, we do not have, is going to the same place, what money/place? Without being paid with what money, food, carrots, as you said we do not have money? Therefore, we are paying money that does not exist into an economy and being paid with money that is not there…
Indeed, that makes full sense now, thanks for that??

One word Bingo!

:)”

“City_10..benefits like JSA are taxable (which very few realise)....You are not getting the bigger picture (which doesn't surprise me) Most of the countries fortune and progress comes from our economical well-being, now whether working or claiming benefits, we spend our money at the same place for the same cost...for example someone on benefits goes into a shop, spends £10, that is then taken from the till and put in the till workers pay packet..they then pay their tax which may (or may not) have the few pound paid each day to a JSA claimaint..do you see what i mean...Where is the chain broken?? As it has been in the past for many years..well we can trace it back, but no-one really wants to because it doesn't serve the rich and successful and internationsl business very well :)..We have to decide who and what we want to provide for in this Country..to me the decision has been made as it was in victorian times, and that is where we are heading im afraid :/”

“Again, as normal we are going off track. Please read the title and let us try and go back if you can (which doesn't surprise me if not)! :)”

“where so workers get their money from to pay taxes, the employer? where do employers get their money from, the consumer?? its a big circle...Need we go on city..you are blind sided but not surprising :/ ..as for 'off track, I stayed on track with praising the NGS service, tis you that decided to harp on about who pays what :/”

“*NHS' that should say...but anyway..I think we get a fair service for what we pay..”

“Mam35 – last post on this. Again, you say there is no money and now it is the 'consumer'…where does the 'consumer' get their money from, you still have not answered that? I agree it is circles, but you have missed out a part of the circle here. What you have missed is where the money comes from in the first place, none of you many comments have/has addressed that, and it is a simple enough question, without reply?”

“For the other parts, they mean nothing to me by the way : )”

“Where did money first came from? The royal mint isn't it?..They printed it...A business is nothing without consumers. Consumers are nothing without money (no matter where that money comes from.).blah blah..It does get a bit tiring when people blame the 7.8% of the UKs population that are unemployed for all its troubles....

Anyway back onto the subject....I think the walk-in centres are very useful for those whose time is limited to out of ours GP services :)”

“I will do :) And going back to another point you mentioned (and relevant to the topic too) about it being a 'boy' thing for toilet visits, agreed, my other half goes 10x more then I do lol..but my son has a thing about washing his hands aswell, I think that was the biggest pull to the toilets. funny thing is he is very rarely ill, with colds, bugs etc, I think for GP visits for illness he has only ever been twice since he was born :/..I guess there is something in the theory of washing hands = less chance of being ill :)”

“by mam35

Saturday, February 02 2013, 11:37AM
.
"Where did money first came from? The royal mint isn't it?..They printed it...A business is nothing without consumers. Consumers are nothing without money (no matter where that money comes from.).blah blah..

Just reading over this area quite odd in parts near the end here if you care to explain the posts, I am all ears? Getting back to you point there mam35, you do know that money is only printed and not distributed freely if that was the case money would have no value. I have to agree with city10 here, you have not addressed where all this money comes from and therefore you have no debate/argument.”

“i don't think its odd at all . A business does not exist or even start without someone paying for a service or paying for goods..The chain starts and finishes with the consumer..it doesn't matter where that consumers money comes from, whether from wages or benefits, its that they spend it, and when you take it from their purse then you are taking away their ability to contribute to the economy, nothing else..its a fairly simple concept :/ the chain is broken when someone takes from the consumers purse but does not spend it on that economy or wages, but puts it elsewhere or in another Countries economy, a different one from where the money generated from. Understand?”

“I had to use a walk in centre today and it wasn't too bad and looking @ this city10 is top of the house as always : ) x”

“I don't need close proximity to a 'walk-in centre' ..he is very healthy, his condition is neurological :)”

“Thank you for the posts - I feel we all agree the walk-in centres are overall a very good service : )”

“I feel we need to make Leicester's hospitals better and a walk in centre will help take stress off hospitals for the less urgent cases.”

“Great point there Happy I agree with that, does anyone else?”

“OK so to keep this interesting (although a little off topic), do you really think the NHS provides good service? Personally I think it is terrible. Better than a tend in the Sahara I will admit, but when your government is proud of wait times for hospitals being down to just 18 weeks, give me a break.

How many Emergency rooms are in Leicester, 1? How about the whole county, 4?

Your average family doc is good for your cough and cold and maybe the odd scrape. Need a specialist? How long is the wait. When my sis in law was diagnosed with cancer, she needed a PET scan. There were (2009) only 2 in the country. one if you dont count the one is Scotland.

Ok so I dont live in Leicester anymore, I have 5 ER's within 20 minutes drive, my Dr. can do bloodwork and xray in her office, I can get an appointment next day and if I need a specialist, the day after that. So clearly I dont live in England anymore. Sunny Florida. So next I would expect the usual discussion of cost. Yes, US healthcare can be expensive. It can also be free. My Mother in Law racked up $17k in a week when she was here. Didnt have to pay any of it.

I love the idea of NHS, but in practice, it is a disaster.

End of speach.”

“You have to ask the question why is the NHS getting worse? The simple answer would be lack of funds as the NHS is funded by taxpayers and therefore in this current market there is little moneys in the pot. I feel the walk-in centres are doing a good job but sure there is room for Improvement, but with reduce funding this might take awhile to see positive changes.”

“that sounds about right city 10 i think the walk in centres are really good and you can go whenever x”

“Walk-in centres provide a great service for all ages. I took my mother into one the other week, as she wasn't feeling too well. The doctors she normally sees was on leave and I drove her to the walking-in centre in Oadby and she was seen fast and I was very impressed by the service.”