400 phone calls to get through to the surgery

PATIENTS are calling their GP surgeries up to 400 times to get through – only to be told they cannot have a face-to-face appointment with their doctor, it has emerged.

One individual who needed to change some of her husband’s cancer medication said she rang 390 times before her call was answered.

And Mark Cahillane, 63, from Swindon, Wiltshire, claimed he and his wife rang their local practice, Ashington House Surgery, 269 times before they got through.

His wife had been experiencing problems with her ankle. Mr Cahillane said: ‘My wife rang on the landline and it took 45 minutes before she could get through. And then the receptionist was saying that they can’t make a face-to-face appointment until we speak to a doctor. You’re just going around in circles.’

They called the surgery the following day and waited another 55 minutes before they finally managed to speak to a member of staff. Mr

‘You are going around in circles’

Cahillane added: ‘I was trying to be polite and calm. It was as stressful as anything.’ He said that while his wife had to wait for hours to be contacted, they were pleased with the conversation with the doctor.

In another shocking case, a woman called Abbey Meads Medical Practice in Swindon nearly 400 times trying to get her cancer-suffering husband a face-to-face appointment. The woman said her husband had needed an appointment with his family doctor in order to change his medication.

She said: ‘I just redialled for 390 times – but before I’ve had over 425 – and then you get put in a queue and you still have to wait.’

It took her three days to finally get through to an operator and book an appointment.

Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust, which is responsible for the running of the Abbey Meads surgery, apologised and said the delays had been the result of ‘significant pressure’ on their staff.

Dean Mills, assistant practice manager at Ashington House Surgery, said the pandemic had seen new working methods introduced.

He added: ‘Patients can play their part in easing the pressure by calling outside of the busiest times, such as first thing in the morning, and making use of alternative services, such as local pharmacies.’