It is for us. Our surgery has a triage system where you phone in the morning and if you need an appointment you get it the same day. I don't think it's that uncommon.
The problems are mostly concentrated in the poorer areas where they struggle to attract staff.
We have to call at 8am along with the hordes. If your call isn’t answered by 8.05am then you are out of luck. If you eventually do get through then you’ll be given an appointment with a “nurse practitioner” in a weeks time. I’ve heard about these things called GPs but haven’t personally confirmed their existence.
Good for you, but I think that is absolutely not the typical UK experience.