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Ridiculously difficult to get an appointment

Story from nhs.uk

"Ridiculously difficult to get an appointment"

About: Corner Place Surgery

Just been for a routine appointment with a nurse and asked about something I need a doctor to look at. Very helpful nurse told me the GP who would be best to see.

Back to the awfully situated reception desk where to give the people at the desk privacy you have to stand wedged next to the door. Heard, because it is impossible not to, the lady in front - with a dreadful cough - be told that the doctor would speak to her on the phone and decide whether she needed a proper appointment, the receptionist was apologetic but not allowed to make an appointment for her.

Eventually get to the desk, very pleasant receptionist tells me they can't book an appointment for me next week when the doctor I need to see is available and that I will have to try and phone on the day. .I have tried to phone before and the best I have achieved is 6th in the queue. They can't book for me to see them further ahead either, they are not allowed to.

Ask when the online booking system is going to be fixed. It isn't. Too many people using it an non online people not getting appointments. This is not the solution. It needs to be managed not removed. Having to phone and wait for ages in a queue for ridiculous.

Hopefully what I need looking at is not going to be a serious problem because who knows when I will finally succeed in the appointment lottery and get to see the doctor suggested to me.

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Responses

Response from Corner Place Surgery 5 years ago
Corner Place Surgery

Submitted on 06/03/2019 at 13:30
Published on nhs.uk at 15:08

Thank you for your feedback and sorry to hear you have had some problems with our service.

Whilst we allow pre-booking up to two weeks, some Doctors do get booked up quicker than others.

Once the appointments have gone, we suggest ringing on the day because the rest of the appointments are freed up on the day.

It is a first come first served system but if you are struggling to see a particular Doctor by ringing at 0800 on the same day, our Practice Manager or Patient Services Manager would always be willing to discuss the issues you are facing and see if there are other options available to you.

On average, calls take 1minute 33 seconds to deal with and most calls are dealt with within 10 minutes.

There are usually 4 receptionists answering calls.

At times of sickness, calls may take longer to be answered and we apologise for this.

Our online booking system is still available, but only to book a blood test or blood pressure check. We changed this because our receptionists are now trained to do Health navigation.

Some appointments can be dealt with over the telephone, some get offered Physiotherapy or Pharmacist and we also offer evening and weekend appointments at other surgeries which you can not book online.

Whilst we appreciate you have to ring and may be in a queue, we can offer more when you ring in and we in turn can save some much needed Doctor appointment time...

We do have a complaints procedure available on our website or at reception.

We take complaints very seriously and would be happy to discuss any issue over the phone or in person....

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