"Administration"

The main problem with this practice is the administration. As far as the medical staff are concerned I have few issues. The three nurses who I normally deal with have been brilliant. The doctors have been variable, you soon learn who not to go back to, but in general I admire gp's who have to deal with such a wide variety of medical problems on a daily basis. They're not experts but in general do a decent job. However the administration is next to useless. I have had issues with the telephone system for years but still it takes over half an hour to get through, only to be told there are no appointments available. The appointment system is unfathomable to us patients. I now prefer to walk the 30 mins to the surgery to speak to a receptionist, after all it takes that long to get through on the phone, and at least I'm getting some exercise.

It has taken my wife and I over 6 weeks to get a flu vaccination, because we have to contact the practice for an appointment. They know how many doses they have. They know who are most vulnerable. Why are they not more proactive - contact people by text, email, phone or letter with an appointment in order of vulnerability. At least then the most vulnerable will have had a chance of getting in first, not jostle with the rest of us for an appointment. I wonder how many people just give up and miss out on this vaccine.

Hopefully soon we will be in line for a covid-19 vaccine. If the administration can't get their act together and prioritise appointments the telephone system will be in melt down. I'm hoping it will be taken out of the hands of gp's otherwise I can foresee a large group of very vulnerable people slipping through the net.