"Was once an excellent surgery !!"

I have been a patient at Westgate for over 30 years and have always been happy and confident in the service offered. However it's such a shame that I have to write about the disappointing changes to the quality offered.

Firstly contacting the surgery is a nightmare. Apparently our calls go through to an anonymous call centre. It took me half an hour to get to speak to a receptionist at 8am, who was less than helpful.

I was told there were no appointments for over 2 weeks. When I explained it was a serious problem and I needed to see a doctor urgently she miraculously found a cancellation.

Each time I have needed to consult a doctor in recent months I have had the same experience. I have seen different doctors each time which is not a good way to look after someone's health. Why have so many doctors left ?

I got a letter asking me to contact the surgery to arrange a blood test and blood pressure test. When I did I was told there were no appointments for 2 weeks. This is unacceptable. Again I was talking to the call centre who obviously don't understand the need for prompt testing.

The admin staff at the surgery are friendly and try to be helpful in finding appointments but they are working under a lot of pressure. The doctors are also very friendly and efficient and very professional, but they too are working in a pressurised environment.

The nursing staff are very good and continue to offer good healthcare.

I am saddened to see the service offered by Westgate deteriorate.