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" Planning on making a doctors appointment for after work? You may want to think again. Some medics have suggested it&amp;#039;s better for patients to opt for a morning GP appointment to avoid possible afternoon &amp;quot;decision fatigue&amp;quot; from their doctor.   With some GPs seeing 40 to 60 patients every day (despite international guidelines suggesting a safe limit of around half this number) it may come as little surprise that the British Medical Association (BMA) is calling for limits to be set on the number of patients doctors see. GPs say the quality of decision-making may worsen as the day goes on and that tiredness has the potential to impair judgement. There are plans for a vote on industrial action, if numbers are not capped.  Rachel Ali, a GP from Devon, told peers at a London-based conference:   &amp;quot;Decision fatigue is the concept that as we make more decisions during the day, they become less and less good quality\u2026 I know that I would much rather be one of my first five patient contacts of the day than my last five.&amp;quot;  The family doctor added that she didn&amp;#039;t know where the cut off should be. Although a recent poll of more than 350 GPs discovered two thirds believe appointments should be capped at 30 or less.   Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the BMA&amp;#039;s GP committee, told The Telegraph:   &amp;quot;This is not just about the number of appointments being seen every day, but about the intensity of that workload, and the number of patients with complex and multiple conditions\u2026. When GPs are trying to listen and care while juggling huge numbers of patients they want to practice safely and not to make a mistake but you are trying to do the impossible.&amp;quot;  Despite the obvious importance of GPs wellbeing and patient clinical safety, GP wait times are on the rise (thanks to budget cuts and failure to attract graduates) and the impact on potential capped appointments may make the wait even longer. Analysis by the Labour Party discovered 14.2 million patients had to wait a week or failed to get an appointment the last time they tried to get one in 2015.   How to get the most out of your doctors appointment   Prepare: Make a list of any questions, problems or symptoms you wish to discuss. Ask questions: If you don&amp;#039;t understand something, ask your doctor to repeat it or write it down. The same goes for prescribed medicine \u2013 make sure you know why it&amp;#039;s been given to you and how long you need to take it for. Don&amp;#039;t get embarrassed: No matter how embarrassing you think the problem is, your GP will have seen it many times before.And there are plenty of things you should never hide from your doctor. Try to concentrate on one problem: It&amp;#039;s better to concentrate on your main problem. Rushing through lots may mean you won&amp;#039;t be satisfied with the doctor&amp;#039;s response. At the end of the appointment: Make sure you know what might be wrong, whether you need any further tests, what treatment is best for you, what happens next and who you should contact.  Find out how to get even more from your doctors appointment here.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a26597/best-time-to-visit-your-gp/>