York Medical Group, Monkgate

Since becoming a "super" practice this place has gone downhill rapidly. If you want to know where NHS funds are being wasted, see the management who are probably on six figure salaries. A routine appointment with a doctor has to be booked 6 weeks out due to a lack of doctors. Can't wait that long? You'll be phoning daily for an emergency appointment, but after an hour, (because they don't employ enough staff to answer the phones) and probably a verbal warning from your own employer for wasting company time, you'll still not have had your call answered. Put in a prescription request and it's ignored or someone with no understanding of you chronic conditions makes a unilateral decision about your needs without consultation. All of the above have happened to me in the last 2 months - again. Today my call to the surgery was transferred to another "team" because the people who asked me to call back knocked off for a 2 hour lunch, despite having callers waiting. The amount of time and effort wasted by this practice due to miss management would have a private business bankrupted within a month. I have no idea why any staff work at this practice and how they manage to stay polite given the stress and anxiety e patients are under trying to get to see a doctor.
Original Comment Report...

Called at 8 am for three consecutive mornings, just for the call to be cutoff every on 5 occasions just after 50 minutes, on the 4th day, walked to the surgery to make appointment in person as I was the 12th in the queue just a few minutes after 8 am . Was there by 8:12 but was told no appointment available and to keep trying every morning. By then I had spent over 5 hours waiting for someone to pick up the phone. I found it interesting that I was at the surgery for 9 minutes and the person making appointments was in the same call for all the time I was in the surgery, it is no wonder the waiting time for a call to be picked up it is so long. I didn’t get an appointment anyway, was told the doctor would call on the next day but didn’t. On the fifth day I walked there again (as I was the 6th in the queue at 8:05), still no appointments available but his time a doctor called, who was shocked to I was made to wait by the receptionist for so many days for something that was classed as urgent. Was sent to Woodthorpe clinic as no appointments were available. I have tried again after I ended up in A&E after 111referral, was asked to follow up with my gp, who ignored the recommendations of the A&E doctor, asked me to see the nurse for tests and despite the tests being negative but problem continuing, I was told no follow up appointment for further investigation would take place so I could not talk to the doctor. Ended up being referred to A&E again after failing to get an appointment, doctor in A&E included in my notes what tests needed to be done but still no luck with my gp surgery. May I suggest they hire more admin staff to deal with calls and perhaps training them better to allow a safer triage? Thank you.
Original Comment Report...