GP appointments 'even harder to get' after mergers

Simon Purnell said his wife had been on hold for an hour-and-a-half after calling their GP about medication for the side-effects of her cancer

Patients have criticised GP services in a town where six practices were merged into two.

Health bosses promised the changes, which began in 2022, would improve access to appointments for 40,000 patients in the Bridlington area.

But a survey has found that a majority of patients at one of the two new practices, Humber Primary Care (HPC), believe it is now harder to get an appointment.

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, which manages HPC, said staff were "dedicated and caring" and it was "committed to consistently improving the service".

HPC was formed in June 2022 by merging Manor House Surgery and Practice Two.

A second new practice was created early in 2023 by merging Drs Reddy and Nunn (known locally as Practice Three) with Practice One, Wolds View and Field House.

It was hoped that the changes would improve staff recruitment, with an aim of working towards a same-day appointment service, or within two weeks for routine matters.

Jen Booth struggled to get an appointment to see her GP, even when "in a lot of pain" with a swollen leg

However, a survey of 481 patients, published by Healthwatch East Riding of Yorkshire in August this year, found 61% of patients at HPC said it was very difficult to make an appointment by phone, while 59% said ease of access had declined.

Meanwhile, 17% said they would go to A&E if they could not get an appointment.

Jen Booth, a 74-year-old patient at HPC, told the BBC she had a "real problem" trying to book appointments on the phone or via an app.

On one occasion, she said she called complaining of leg pain but was told there were no appointments and to go to hospital, where she waited for four hours.

She said she was then sent back to the GP, but no one would see her, even though she was "terrified" and "in a lot of pain”.

She was given an appointment the next day and told to go back to hospital for a clot-busting injection.

'Disgusting' wait

Simon Purnell, 54, said his wife had called about a prescription for medication for the side-effects of her cancer, but was left on hold for about an hour-and-a-half.

Mr Purnell then drove to the surgery and waited for 45 minutes until the prescription was done.

He said he was looking for a GP outside Bridlington.

"It’s disgusting," he added. "We get a better service from the vets for the dog than at our practice."

At Drs Reddy and Nunn, the survey found that most patients said it was neither easy nor difficult to make an appointment, and that there had been no change to ease of access to clinicians since the merger.

A spokesperson for Healthwatch, a patient advocacy group funded through local government, said the survey showed there were "clear opportunities" to improve services, including access to GPs and communication between services.

A spokesperson for Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust said: "We know many people are very happy with the service they receive. However, where areas are highlighted as requiring improvement, we make changes to the service we deliver.

"One example of this is introducing a call-back function for patients to use when calling their practice to remove the need to wait on a phone line."

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