Cash-starved GP tells inquest ‘patients queue around block’
A GP has told an inquest into the death of a mental health patient of her battle against the lack of NHS resources.
Christopher Fairhurst, 26, died from alcohol poisoning after battling depression in December last year.
His family claimed he was often “20th in the queue” when booking an appointment with his local GP in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Dr Joanne Chew, whose practice serves 15,000 patients with four or five GPs, said: “We are struggling, we need more money. You can’t rush mental health.” She added that patients often queued “35 around the block”. Heywood coroner Lisa Hamshi recorded a misadventure verdict. One in three family members has fears about hospital care of an elderly relative. The poll by the Health Service Ombudsman also found too many vulnerable people “suffer in silence”.