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"Poor communication"

About: General practices in Lanarkshire

(as the patient),

I recently attended for a GP appointment. I had tried to get an appointment twice in the previous 2 weeks but gave up after waiting 40- 45 minutes on the phone. It is generally not possible for me to call at 08:30 owing to work commitments.

I finally got through to the surgery. The helpful member of staff I spoke to  advised me to call into the surgery at 08:30 when I could to try to get an appointment on the day. I advised that this was a non urgent issue but owing to the delay in getting through another issue had cropped up which I hoped to discuss. 

I duly attended at 08:30 two days later, I advised that I had 2 issues to discuss so required a longer appointment, I was advised by the member of staff on reception that the appointments were 15 minutes long and was offered an appointment.

I was seen by a locum doctor  who was clearly running late. I advised the doctor of my 2 issues where I was promptly told that its one concern per appointment, highlighted on the poster that I had not noticed on my way into the surgery.

The GP could not access my notes so some of my precious GP contact time was spent waiting on access to my medical history. I explained my first issue and I was duly offered some treatment for this which I was pleased about. The locum GP did not want to assess me for my second concern. As a keen runner, I had  ongoing ankle pain and wanted to exclude a stress fracture as I have a history of this. 

I felt supported by the the staff on reception to help me to get a non urgent appointment, however the information they gave me does not match that of the GP. 

The GP made me feel like I was an inconvenience, it wasn't my fault that they could not access my health records. When I asked about my ankle -they told me that I knew what I wanted. I left feeling like a scolded child. 

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Responses

Response from Christine Da Cruz, Improvement Advisor, Quality Directorate, NHS Lanarkshire 12 months ago
Christine Da Cruz
Improvement Advisor, Quality Directorate,
NHS Lanarkshire
Submitted on 07/11/2024 at 13:30
Published on Care Opinion at 14:20


Dear Emmemmcee,

Sorry to hear about your recent experience at your GP practice.

GP surgeries are independent contractors and as such, are not registered to respond on Care Opinion but are responsible for investigating any feedback or concerns about their service. Please could I ask that you contact the practice manager so they can investigate your concerns regarding getting through to the surgery on the phone.

Kind Regards,

Christine

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