"Extremely disappointing"

In a care centre where patients have on site GP, blood clinic, midwife services, baby clinic, physiotherapist appointments, dentist and a pharmacy you would expect a high standard of service and care for the patients.

You unfortunately have to manage to get through to the receptionists who do a terrible job.

Should you let the phone ring for over a minute without getting an answer and try again soon after you'll find the line is suddenly busy... for hours. There is also no ring back service though you get the option to press 5 on your phone. This should be addressed.

Appointments are far and few between to see the only GP in the surgery. The respected Dr has now left the practice however the new GP is very good.

Several points need to urgently be addressed in this surgery:

-Hire more receptionists so the phone line gets answered

-Train the receptionists on how to prioritize their work (phone line, queue at the desk...)

-Investigate as to why the phone line can be busy for hours on end after a patient leave it ring for along time without getting a response. Is the receiver being disconnected so as to cause a nuisance? I wonder...

-Hire an extra GP in addition to the one on site and the locum one. Personally I would prefer to see a GP for recurring health issues, not a nurse practitioner, not a healthcare assistant. It would also shorten the delay between appointments. It is absolutely unbelievable to have to wait weeks to see a GP. How can patients feel safe in the knowledge that small or severe medical issues are addressed in a timely manner?

-Listen to your patients. Looking at the various reviews it seems the complaints fall on deaf ears. Perhaps the staff and their family are not registered in this practice. Our complaints would mean little to them. The standard of care should be improved or another career should be considered.

It's a shame considering this care centre has got a huge potential to be thriving. A lot of people are registered here due to its location and have no other way of getting to another practice.

I look forward to seeing an improvement in the service.