"Struggling "

When you eventually get through on the phone after upwards of 30 minutes, staff are helpful and obviously doing their best under extreme pressure. My elderly parents have given up even trying to get through on the phone - they feel defeated. The impression is that the practice has taken on far too many patients and cannot cope with demand - patients are left with no alternative but to call 111 or 999. My experience while trying to get help for my elderly mother was horrible - I had to really be persistent and make a fuss to get her seen and then I was spoken to by the doctor like I was overreacting and that my mother was fine, although plainly she was not. Within 48 hours she was back in hospital after unnecessary suffering. The most annoying thing was the doctor’s insistence that we call the surgery for any issues arising - the fact that it is so hard to get through is not the doctor’s fault - as they informed me - but it is the reality of the situation and if we don’t continue to raise the problem then how will it ever change. I know the pressure health services are under but keeping quiet about it helps nobody in the long run.