"Disappointed with the Practice "

We had waited almost 2 weeks just to get an appointment (telephone consultation). At no point was I told this particular doctor sometimes calls patients earlier than what is advised, being a receptionist myself I'm aware a telephone consultation sometimes can be within the hour of the timeframe. So I waited till after 10.30am in case the doctor was busy, only to be told the GP tried to call at 9.45 am, we've missed our chance and we'd need to rebook.

I was misadvised, I was told 10am and was not informed by anyone this particular GP may sometimes make phone calls earlier than expected, had I known this the phone would have been available. The receptionist I spoke to insisted they warn callers this GP may call earlier than expected at times but I can assure you we were not advised this. This is not the first time I've had trouble with the surgery, previously a receptionist booked us in somewhere else and told us it was at Bradwell hospital (part of the extended access hub) , we borrowed money just to get there in a taxi, took leave from work and were told no appointment, I was then told it was somewhere else. Not only did this waste our time and money, it would have gone down on the records as a "did not attend" even though we did attend but the wrong place because that's what the reception staff told us. I understand it's busy, I've worked in a similar setting and appreciate they're doing their best during these unprecedented times, but a lot of mistakes are happening and it's very incompetent.

No one gets in touch with the surgery for fun, it's because we're desperate and in some sort of pain as well as vulnerable. The GPs themselves are fantastic, the reception staff in person are friendly but over the phone it's like they don't have time and want to quickly get people off the phone. This is seriously damaging the quality of care people receive. They need to use this feedback to resolve and dismiss this matter, this is simply unacceptable.

I feel like enough is enough, I need to say something, we can't carry on receiving the sort of outcome from this surgery. Both clinical and non-clinical staff have a duty of care to their patients.