"Shocking Service"

Placed an online Anima request, after several weeks of it not progressing from submitted, I sent a referral request letter. Was advised unable to refer and needed a routine appointment. Called to book routine appointment outside of the 8am call window as your on hold for hours to be told not taking routine appointments and they were unable to give a time frame but it could be several weeks just for the request to be processed with an appointment weeks further on. I then reviewed a response saying my Anima request due to lack of response. It again called the surgery to ascertain what was happening, to find out the Triange Team had closed my online request as I hadn’t responded to a form the GP was supposed to have sent, of which I never received. The form was subsequently sent and immediately completed and returned. On month later, after no response, I called a third time. The helpful receptionist was unable to assertain the status of my request and it was still closed. The receptionist reopened it and the I was informed that the referral was placed though as yet I have not received anything to confirm this has actually happened weeks later. Luckily this is not that request that requires urgency or could significantly worsen resulting in a deterioration in health. However, this could well be the case for someone else and I have concerns that elderly patients who struggle with the online system are receiving substandard patient care and poor professionalism fed played by the triage team in simply closing a request without ascertaining the facts.