"Repeatedly not answering incoming telephone calls."

On 13 separate calls that I made to the practice today you are met with the usual dictated dialogue .....pick from the following six options, where I picked what was appropriate to myself. The phone rings and rings for two minutes and thirty nine seconds before you are then automatically cut off !! No attempt whatsoever to answer incoming calls.

This leaves one to ponder the reasons for this.

1. Not enough members of staff.

2. Putting the profitability of the surgery first rather than employing more people.

3. Placing impossible expectations on limited staff numbers.

4. A continuous downward trend since the two previous doctors left the practice.

5. To many patients already, yet still accepting more. Obviously, the more patients a practice has the greater opportunities for higher profits margins, especially noting that already it's clear that the practice does not appear to be well enough staffed to do a basic task as answering incoming telephone calls.

I could well keep itemising many further reasons, yet I feel that those above are the most pertinent in my humble view.

This review is by no way a means of being judgemental on the certainly overworked reception staff,but is very definitely aimed at the new owners of the practice. And obviously

the practises that they have put into place with an extreme detriment to all the patients at this surgery.

My message to the owner/owners of this practice is as follows ; Put your patients first and foremost in every respect. Inniciate steps to improve matters in a timely manner. Patients before profit always. Resolve the obvious staff shortages.

And finally, any patients who may read this review and feel that this practice needs to change, as I certainly do, then voice your opinions, as change never comes about when we just settle for accepting matters as they are. And on the flip side of the coin, the patients that think that the surgery is a shining example of what a surgery should be, then again I encourage you to leave a review expressing such an opinion. Anon.