This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Joke

Story from nhs.uk

"Joke"

About: Thorndike Surgery

I have been away and in agony with urine infection over weekend. I could not wait to call surgery to get an appointment and some medication. After ringing through 10 5 times this morning. I've given up. I will now have to sit in A&E clogging up a bed or a corridor for something that is just a normal go. Appointment. Also I hate having to explain to receptionist why I want an appointment. In front of others standing nearby in a queue

More about:
nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Thorndike Surgery 5 years ago
Thorndike Surgery

Submitted on 19/07/2018 at 12:51
Published on nhs.uk at 14:06

I am very sorry that you were unable to obtain an appointment, we are heavily reliant on Locum GPs.

Locums choose the hours/days they work and do not complete admin work,

therefore I have 4 doctors doing the work of 7.

We use the Locum GPs for book on the day appointments only, just in case they cancel at the last minute leaving us with fully booked sessions.

In addition the severe shortage of doctors has meant we have been unable to recruit salaried GPs although I continue to advertise. The on-line system releases appointments daily at 07:00am unfortunately these are all taken within minutes of the system opening them up.

As you have found the telephone lines are very busy we usually take over 40 calls in the first 20 minutes and we acknowledge, of course, the difficulty getting through on the phone.

Practice Manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k