‘A COMPLETE SHAMBLES’
GPs slam health board telecoms after slew of cut-offs
DOCTORS have said Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s new network constantly cuts them off, forcing them to spend up to half an hour trying to interact with staff at hospitals.
In some cases GPs have given up and sent patients straight to emergency departments because they couldn’t get through to wards by phone.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has been made aware of several GP practices in different areas of the region experiencing the same problems for weeks at Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.
The board said it has been installing the system across its estate since 2016 and was “aware of one call not being transferred”.
It said it had now created a “priority queue” on switchboards to deal with GP requests.
The problems connecting to specialities, to get urgent advice for patients, have been so bad that in some cases doctors have sent people directly to emergency departments, said a practising GP.
The family doctor, who asked not to be identified, said: “My colleagues and I have spent up to half an hour on the phone, on several occasions, being cut off and having to try again and again.
“It’s wasting a great deal of our time and it’s a major cause of stress and frustration. We’ve had to send patients to the emergency department purely because we couldn’t get through to the staff who could accept the sick patient.
“The delays caused by a faulty phone system could potentially endanger patients’ lives and it certainly creates unnecessary work, for us and the emergency departments.
“GP surgeries need to be able to speak to hospital staff to be able to provide safe care, and at the moment it’s a complete shambles.”
BCUHB’s chief information officer Dylan Williams revealed the organisation has been replacing its 16,000 telephones with a new system since 2016.
He said: “The new system is built to industry standards by a global manufacturer, and is compatible with all other telephony systems.
“Although the BCUHB telephone system is being securely maintained and managed in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations, from time to time due to technical complexities some operational problems are encountered and they are addressed as quickly as possible.
“We are aware of one example of a call not being transferred from our switchboard correctly. As a result, we have created a priority queue on our switchboard to deal with GP requests.
“In addition, we are working closely with our suppliers as a matter of priority to remedy this rare problem and expect a resolution in coming weeks.”