At least in France a GP (médecin généraliste) sees people for everyday things. The "truly urgent" things are rare, this is what emergency services are for. Yes

At least in France a GP (médecin généraliste) sees people for everyday things. The "truly urgent" things are rare, this is what emergency services are for. Yes they see "urgent" patients that happen to be painfully sick (otitis for instance) and they need to give them well know and predictable medicine (and other such "urgencies" - which I put in quotes not because they are not urgent, but because they are expected and everyday business. If you had an otitis you will know that the pain is unbearable and that you either have to see the MD quick, lose your mind of have your eardrum break). These GPs will push you towards a specialist in case they detect something abnormal because they do not have the current knowledge to treat you correctly. For the record - one of my best friends is a GP and their work is terrific. They are a mixture of science, magic voodoo and psychologists to actually manage the everyday health of the whole society. I truly regard them highly. Also, the amount of hours they do is insane - way too much in my opinion and yet it is so difficult to get an appointment. They are on a strike today, the first as long as I can remember to get their regulated fee to be raised.