The Gainsborough Practice

You can be 79th in the queue at 08:01hrs then your call gets terminated. This happens regularly. I went to the surgery and filled in 4-5 A4 pages and was told by the receptionist that I would receive a call within a day or 2 that was almost 2 weeks ago. I’ve tried emailing but they’re returned saying that they can’t be delivered. So when you have multilingual chronic health problems and need to see a Dr how on earth are you supposed to see one if they don’t answer the phone, reject emails and don’t ring you back. This is totally unacceptable and disgraceful

When you have to make an appointment with your primary care doctor, getting through to their surgery can often feel like hitting a brick wall. Most appointments these days must be made by phone, but many of us have grown frustrated over the fact that it appears to be so difficult to simply get our inquiries answered. Calling a doctor's surgery is like playing a game of telephone tag, and getting any actual resolution is unlikely - every call just seems to bring you back to the beginning. At its core, this is a complaint about the inefficiency of communication in doctor’s surgeries. Too often, when you call a doctor’s office it seems like the receptionist is too busy to take your call and arrange a consultation. Either they never answer the phone, no matter how many times you call, or they refer you to someone else who is yet farther away from your desired goal. Even after giving your information, days can pass with no response. What makes this problem so frustrating is that it prevents patients from getting the care they need. A doctor’s office should be a source of accessible healthcare, yet many of us struggle with being able to even book an appointment. Without being able to speak to a receptionist, patients may find themselves going to the emergency room because they do not know what else to do. This issue is often wide-spread and can be experienced in most medical facilities. While it is understandable that some days are busier than others and that the staff may need extra help, it is not acceptable that people’s health needs are not being met. Issues with medical appointments can be extremely distressing for patients and may result in a decreased quality of life. A solution to this problem must start from the top. Doctor’s surgeries should implement a system that ensures phone calls are answered in a timely fashion. This could be done by hiring additional staff or training receptionists to quickly handle callers’ inquiries. Alternatively, surgery staff should consider providing an online portal where patients can easily access appointment schedules and book appointments at their own convenience. Doctors should take responsibility for the way they are running their practice and prioritize patient care, no matter how busy their day is. They should attempt to create a more efficient communication system to ensure that phone calls are answered, and patients’ needs are heard. Patients should not be put through the ringer, just to get the help they need.

I’m unsure if it’s this bad at every GP surgery or the Gainsborough Practice is just over subscribed and poorly run? For the past two years, I have on numerous occasions spent over an hour on hold before being cut off and having to call back. I have been unsuccessful in booking an actual face to face GP appointment. I saw a paramedic who arranged an appointment for me to come back the following day, which was then cancelled via text message. I have spoken to various people on the phone and been told to expect a call back which has never materialised. In short, I have given up. I just don’t have the fight in me to keep going round in circles and getting absolutely nowhere, so I’ll therefore take my chances with various health conditions and hope at no point they come back to haunt me. I have absolutely no faith in this surgery, which I fear is just one example of an NHS service which is failing each and every one of us.