"Disgraceful appointment system"

The practice's appointment system is frankly hostile to patients.

I wanted to contact the practice a few days ago, on advice from a pharmacy. I looked online, thinking that would be the easiest method and read on the practice website 'We will endeavour to be open initially from 8 am until 9 am, Monday to Thursday.' as their procedure for online contact. It was a Thursday afternoon and the online contact system was indeed closed when I checked. I wanted to get the ball rolling before Monday morning (I was unsure about the seriousness of my medical issue) when the online system would presumably be working again so I phoned. The person I spoke to had little to offer. The choices was given were essential phone the next morning when there might be an urgent appointment available or contact NHS 111. I didn't think I needed an urgent appointment but to make it very hard to leave some sort of message that would get replied to is in due course is just nonsense.

This, unfortunately, is not my first such experience of this sort here.

It's not just patients who are put in a difficult position by procedures like this but also the phone and front of house staff who have to deal with patients who are understandably upset when coping with a system that s designed to make their cases difficult. Surely you can do better?