Impossible to get an appointment - even a phone call!
To whom it may concern. I am a registered patient at the Christmas Maltings and Clements surgery, in Haverhill, Suffolk. In the past, before the closure of the Crown Health Centre (a Darzi clinic), it was incredibly easy to get an appointment to see a real doctor about problems that were either low priority or not emergency, but needed a real doctor’s authorisation for tests. I was, at the time, a registered patient of the Darzi clinic, and it was a very dark day when it was closed, and the monies were diverted away from Haverhill and to Bury St Edmunds (and out of General Practise). Subsequently, and because it was within walking distance of home, I registered at the Christmas Maltings and Clements surgery. While I have been given a GP, I do not recall his/her name, nor do I believe I have ever met my GP! Now to the crux of the matter. While it is true that I have been put off communicating with my Doctor, I could in the past always rely on a phone call for a quick chat, if I felt something needed to be discussed. I could always rely that if I called in the morning, I could get a phone call for a non-emergency query. At least, until today. I called, in the hope of getting an appointment either for an evening or Saturday timeslot. I was advised that they are now fully booked, and that on the 2nd of May new appointments will be released at 8am, which will be booked before 8:30 for the next month. In other words… If you think you’ll get an evening or weekend appointment with a doctor, you must be joking! As for phone calls. Well, unless it’s an emergency, the soonest a doctor could call me for a non-emergency routine telephone call would be May 14th! I was, needless to say, flabbergasted! I was invited to partake of the walk in clinic at either 8am or 2pm, but on the understanding that places are limited, and that the wait may be up to 4 hours. Not only that, but I may not actually get to see a doctor, but rather a nurse practitioner or locum. While that would suit for most things, I saw a nurse practitioner just 2 weeks ago, and she was not able to procure any treatment or blood test, without me consulting a doctor, and therefore advised me to book another appointment, despite having waited nearly 2 hours that afternoon! I am honestly disgusted at the state of GP in Haverhill. We are a growing community, with the new innovation park and all of the new housing. Yet, we have only 2 GP surgeries responsible for Haverhill and the surrounding villages. One of the GP practises is in Special Measures, and the other (my surgery) is obviously over subscribed! Now I understand why so many people go to A&E for minor complaints, since the GP system in Haverhill is lacking.