"Worse Than Useless and Getting Worse"

2 weeks ago I was sent a text message saying by this surgery, to call to book an appointment since the Doctor had received my lab report.

The first time I called, it seems all the phones were down and were down for the whole day. When I called the next day somebody obviously answered the phone and then promptly hung up. When I persisted someone finally picked up the phone after several rings but said appointments were booked on a daily basis and that days' appointments had all been taken.

(This has not always been the case. I had intended to book ahead on any future date.) She asked me to call the next day at 08.00am.

When I called the next day at 08.00am the lines of course were busy. I kept calling every 15 minutes for the next 2 hours and kept getting the message 'All our reception team is busy at the moment taking other calls, you can continue to hold or call back later..'

And this has been the story for the last 10 days. If I had something serious wrong with me I'm sure I would be dead by now. I have alway heard people complain about calling surgeries to book appointments, Now I know why.