"Nigh on impossible to get an appointment as a..."

This surgery used to offer a positive and reassuring experience but this is sadly no longer the case. Unless you can sit on the phone or stand in a queue for varying times, plus are not picky about your appointment time, you have to take time off work to see a doctor. The system massively favours those patients who do not work or have such a good family support network that someone can queue or ring for them (This has been suggested to me more than once). Some reception staff are rude and offhand; others sympathise with you and say they face the same problems making an appointment there. If you actually get to see a doctor, the care is good, but it's a big ' If. It is such a shame to see this once excellent practice become a corporate face of NHS failure.