Unfortunately appointments are a finite resource and the number available is dependent upon the number of GPs we have working at the practice. Our allocated budget (£85 per patient per year) will only stretch so far when employing GPs and you may be aware, as reported in the national press, there is a current shortage of GPs in the UK. So even if we had the funds we probably could not recruit! Of the appointments we do have, approximately 2/3rds are offered up for booking 6 weeks in advance, on average these are fully booked up to 2 weeks hence. Of the remaining 1/3rd approximately half are held back until the day of the appointment for medical problems that manifest themselves at short notice, these are booked on a first come first served basis from 8 a.m. and when these have gone, the remaining 1/6th are then only available for medically urgent problems that will not wait until the next day. Having more staff answering more phone lines at 8 a.m. would only work if we had more appointments to offer. You may also have heard on the news about the 1% cap on public employees pay rises, this also applies to General Practice in that our funding has been restricted year on year for the last 7 + years resulting in the Primary Care budget reducing from 11% of the overall NHS budget to below 8%. When you consider this in light of the increase in the cost of living over the same period (medical practices are not protected from increased costs) and the increase in demand for appointments, it should become apparent as to why sometimes it is difficult to get an appointment. The Woking Community Hospital is funded out of the Primary Care Budget, is that funding better being distributed out to the 14 GP practices in the area or is it better to provide a centralised service to their patients - there's the question?