GP surgery patients face appointment nightmare
SOLIHULL patients are still struggling to see a GP, with the borough’s largest partnership seeing monthly calls surge by more than 13,000. “Unprecedented” pressures during the Covid crisis are continuing to cause frustration and follow last year’s concerns some were being caught in queues for hours at a time. Solihull Healthcare Partnership (SHP), which serves some 55,000 patients, is among the groups to have drawn criticism. It has now taken to social media to respond, amid warnings that primary care services nationwide face a huge backlog as we emerge from the latest lockdown.
Data revealed that calls to the partnership increased from 25,824 in February to 39,075 last month, an increase of more than 50 per cent.
One resident said there were “serious concerns” and the phone system, which serves seven different practices, was “overloaded”.
Another patient, who said she had been registered at Monkspath Surgery for almost 40 years, said: “I think it’s really sad it’s come to this. It worked so well when they were independent surgeries but now you can’t speak to anyone you recognise, you can’t see or speak to a doctor you know.” Solihull Healthcare said in a statement: “We are aware of the challenges and increase in demand that we are facing in these unprecedented times, and the criticisms we are currently receiving from our registered patients, which are justifiably being made.
“GP access during Covid-19 is not just a Solihull Healthcare Partnership (SHP) issue, but a national issue.
“Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the average number of contacts per patient per year was just over five.
“Currently we are seeing an increase in activity of seveneight contacts per registered patient per year, and demand that is outstripping resource at present.”
Figures for last Wednesday (April 14) revealed the partnership handled 911 calls by 4.30pm, taking an average of seven minutes and 33 seconds to answer. The maximum wait was 19 minutes and 11 seconds. Some of the strain is because acute pressures on other sections of the NHS, including hospitals, are having a knock-on effect on GPs.
“If the consultant wants a test to be done, they are asking patients to ask their GPs to arrange them,” said the SHP spokeswoman.