"Not able to access GP care"

Hi Carrieb,

Thank you for getting in touch and sharing you and your teenage daughters experience of trying to access care from the local GP. I can see why, when your daughter isn’t well, this will be causing such frustration and anger. Staff shouldn't be shouting at patients and families and I'm sorry this happened to you.

I’m not sure from your message if you are registered with a GP and having an issue with accessing an appointment or if the local GP isn’t taking on additional patients and you haven’t been able to register at all. I know from previous responses, to similar feedback, some practices had been given ‘breathing space’ and put a temporary hold on taking on new patients while they tried to recruit additional staff. Additional staff are required due to the significant increase in demand on GP Practices along with a declining number of clinical staff with either staff retiring or leaving the service all together. This has been further compounded by the increase in population and the number of new patients trying to register. Whilst this can be frustrating for new patients wishing to join a particular Practice, it was hoped these short term measures would support Practices to remain open in the longer term. There is also information around registering with a GP practice and where to get support on this page.

If your message was around trying to access an appointment at a GP you are already registered with, you would be best to contact the GP Practice directly. This is because GP Practices in Grampian are independent contractors, each with their own system for managing complaints and feedback. They don't have access to the Care Opinion system and won't see this without it going directly to them.

For your specific feedback to be addressed and looked into, you will need to call or write to the practice manager at the practice. If you would like independent advice or support on providing feedback to your practice there is the option to contact the Patient advice and Support Service by calling 0800 917 2127 or by visiting their website: https://pass-scotland.org.uk.

When contacting the practice directly, you will need to share your name and contact details, they won’t look into your feedback without this information unfortunately. I know not everyone feels comfortable giving feedback directly to the practice, and if would like, I can share your feedback with them anonymously - but you will need to contact me directly with the name of the practice (any contact information shared with me won't be shared any further). My contact details are kirsten.dickson@nhs.scot or telephone / text: 07885720267.

Happy help where I can.

Take care,

Kirsten