"Gp appointment access"

While the care from doctors is good, accessing appointments is a significant problem. Routine appointments mean a four week wait, whether in person or by phone. This lengthy delay is simply unacceptable for effective patient management.

Urgent appointments are equally frustrating. Patients are offered just one timeslot for the day. If you can't make it (which could be due to caring responsibilities etc) your forced to re-enter the lengthy phone queue the next day with no guarantee of success. This rigid system places an undue burden on patients needing urgent care.

Adding to the frustration, the practice frequently texts patients not to call them. While communication is welcome, these messages are exclusively to tell patients not to contact the practice because staff are sick or appointments are full. This consistent need to tell patients not to call them strongly indicates to me a fundamental issue with adequate long term resourcing.

It's clear to me the practice needs more full time GPs in order to meet patient demand. Other local practices offer much quicker appointments, highlighting this level of poor access isn't inevitable. The current system at  is failing patients, despite the quality of care you receive once you are able to see a doctor.