"Impossible wait times Rowcroft MC - dangerous…"

The length of time to get an appointment has become impossible to deal with to the point where it is both dangerous and bordering on incompetence.

Today I first emailed with a cluster of symptoms that may or may not be a heart valve issue. My considered letter was in the hope that I might get a reasonably timed response, and that any GP responding might be armed with a written list of issues to make the appointment more focussed, or (in appreciation of GP time shortages) start the ball rolling for investigation or referral.

Fat chance! First I get an email response by a non-gp advisor telling me to phone and make an appointment. Ringing the practice has become almost futile - no-one on the phone has any connection with other direct communication or with anything vaguely medical, and the wait times to see anyone are so long that this practice has ceased to be a valid front-line medical service.

On ringing, I was first offered only a 'telephone appointment' which in the circumstances would be a total waste of time. The earliest face to face appointment available was five weeks and three days away – and that was with any GP, not a regular contact.

This has become so farcical that Rowcroft seems to have ceased to be a viable medical unit. It is one thing to 'protect' GPs from ad hoc contact but quite another to delay access to medical staff for so long that it becomes dangerous or unhealthy. It call into question why Rowcroft exists at all…

I am left concerned, anxious and upset. Perhaps the only way I can get to be seen in timely fashion is to go directly to A&E at Gloucester or Cheltenham, although that's not really what they are there for, is it?