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"Impossible to get a meaningful appointment"

About: James Street Group Pract

I used the Online consultation form for a health issue which hasn’t been resolved for months. After waiting an entire week with 0 reply (Even though it says you will get a response within 2 days) , I walked into the surgery only to be told that i wasnt given an appointment as a blood test a month earlier came back “normal” This wasnt communicated to me in any way and also seems very nonsensical.

For the same health issue, when I finally managed to get an appointment with a doctor they said that they would follow it up ASAP. That was around December and it is now almost February and still no reply from that.

I have been trying to call the gp in the morning at 8am and by the time I am past the massive queue, there are 0 appointments left and are told to call back next week, When you do call back the next week they say the exact same thing. It really seems like there is a lack of care from this surgery and I have no confidence this complaint will either be seen or acted upon.

The last appointments I have managed to get were blood tests, more blood tests and samples, all come back as normal. I still have the same symptoms as before and were given no advice or medication to help the pain which is stopping me from functioning. Again… 0 follow up appointment or urgency.

I understand that other people with more threatening illnesses should be priority, but the fact that I’ve had these issues for months with no improvement is extremely worrying and impacts on my mental health

You cannot walk in to the surgery to book an appointment, you have to call at 8am and race everyone else for an appointment. If you go to a+e they tell you to contact your gp surgery. I cant get an appointment at the walk in centre either so it feels like an uphill battle just to see anyone which is extremely frustrating. I find myself not even wanting to call the gp sometimes as i know the response will be there are no appointments.

It really feels as if if you are not immediately in a life threatening condition you will not be seen, even if it impacts you to the point where you cannot do daily tasks.

I hope that this can be resolved ASAP as it is an absolute joke how this system is ran.

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Responses

Response from Alison Shaw-Daly, James Street Group Pract 2 years ago
Alison Shaw-Daly
James Street Group Pract
Submitted on 28/07/2023 at 09:56
Published on Care Opinion at 10:08


A recent audit by North Cumbria Primary Care Alliance (NCPC) Patient Experience team has identified that we did not respond to your comment in an appropriate timeframe. Please accept our apologies for this oversight.

The events you describe around our processes are not our usual standard and were clearly upsetting for you.

Due to the anonymity of a public web review I do not have the information required to look into this for you. If you require any further information you can contact the practice directly. Please send your email to nencicb-cu.workingtongpcomplaints@nhs.net

With our very best regards

Alison

NCPC Patient Experience

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