At my local practice, you ring between 8:15 and 8:30 for an emergency appointment and after that for normal appointments. They don't let any old person take the emergency ones because they're very far stretched as it is, but I've always found that I can get one if I need one. Even if there are no emergency slots left, they tell you to turn up in the morning and they'll have a doctor find time for you. If I get a normal one, and not for a nurse or anything, I'll usually be waiting a week or two. If I request a specific doctor, the one I usually see and is very familiar with my conditions, I'll have an appointment within about 3 weeks. They're usually incredibly delayed. I'll get there 5-15 minutes early and usually be waiting until between 20 minutes and an hour past my scheduled time, but I don't really mind. I always plan ahead for this. The longest I've been waiting in the surgery past my scheduled appointment time was about 2 and a half hours.