"Shambles"

I think the reviews already here say just about everything I've experienced. I am also not in the habit of going to the doctors unless I feel it's life-threatening. Before recent times, I have only gone in for pre-natal checks over the last 4 decades.Trying to talk to someone on the telephone is just about impossible, often not even making it in the queue. Even if you do manage to speak to someone (by going in) you are told you will get a call with an appointment in the next so many days - this often does not materialise, or, as in my case, you are referred straight for a blood test (which you have to try and book and so the saga continues) & even after results come back, you don't get to speak to a Dr and tell them what's wrong, blood test results are often wrong - such as missing vital things that were supposed to be tested for, being incorrectly labelled etc. & need to be repeated; I have been asked to go back around 5 times this year and still haven't spoken to a Dr with what's actually wrong and have been left once again to try and get on with it. When I have been in the different surgeries i'm sent to or accompanying others, they have been virtually empty! Also, like someone else said, I/we have still been made to wait 10 - 20 mins after time, which is fair enough when busy, but not when it's empty. What is going on?

There are going to be dire, even fatal consequences for some with the way the systems are being run here. Those with less confidence or too ill to fight are the worst affected. I fully appreciate that current political circumstances are putting a huge strain on public services as they hope to end them and us all go private , which will be far worse for many, but St Austell does seem to be particularly bad compared to most practices in the country - ask your friends who live elsewhere or read through the NHS reviews in other places and you will see ours is far worse and as it's now all run by one body, we can't even move surgeries to a better system.