"Used to be a great surgery"

Before the merge, Heyward Road used to be a fantastic little surgery. Trying to get a GP appointment regardless if it is urgent or routine, is near on impossible, even with the online access. I tried calling at exactly 8am early this week for a 'same day urgent' appointment, but every time I rang, my call was never connected or put in a queue and the line just went dead. I wouldn't of minded so much if I was put into a queue but every time I tried to call on option 1, I was cut off.

A member of my family went to the surgery face to face to make an appointment after 7 attempts or more on the phone but was told to call in to speak to someone in their call centre to be triaged. Which is all fair and well if you could get through to speak to someone!! I think this is appalling to turn a patient away who is in genuine need of medical help. I do think you should be able to make at least a telephone call appointment over the front desk. It is a dangerous way to treat patients who are genuinely unwell and puts demands on 111 to pick up the pieces. I work in a GP surgery myself as a Receptionist and appreciate the demands we face, but I would never turn a patient away without giving them different options of accessing care as we have a duty of care to our patients. This service needs to be improved for sake of patient safety.