"Shocking since the previous doctor left!"

Not often that I go to the doctor but I have tried to get appointments on a couple of occasions in recent months at Crossways. On both occasions it was a struggle to get through and the telephone was not picked up for a very long time. For the first appointment I tired to make a few months ago after ringing endlessly the call was finally answered and the initial response was ‘we are not open it’s a staff training afternoon’. The tone of the receptionist was very abrupt, the staff training was clearly more important than any patient enquiries. Needles to say I couldn’t get an appointment. The second occasion more recently saw me telephone a total of 148 times in one morning. A couple of hours after my first call someone finally answered. I stated ‘I guess there are no appointments left’ to which the response was ‘no’. I explained how long I had tried to get through and the receptionist responded in a tone that came across as I was an inconvenience stating ‘there’s only me here and one telephone’. I have been at this practice for many years and even though I do not often need a doctor I am utter shocked at the decline in standards and service. Thank god the previous doctor was in the practice when I was eventually diagnosed with a tumour after her initial care and quick thinking, I would dread to think what would of happened if the same situation had occurred more recently.