Article: published on 5 June 2023

A patient at a GP surgery where three doctors have been suspended has described it as a "shambles".

Great Barr Medical Practice, in the West Midlands, had its registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) suspended in May, because of urgent concerns over patient safety.

Sinead Sankey said her daughter was diagnosed with a cyst on the brain, but only after seeking out help from another surgery.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, which is now managing the practice, said it was prioritising historic patient complaints.

Ms Sankey said her eldest daughter went to the surgery several times over a couple of years, complaining of regular headaches, but got no diagnosis, simply painkillers.

"She got so fed up she went to another surgery and they sent her for a scan which revealed a cyst on her brain," she said.

"Luckily they think it's benign and they're just monitoring it with medication... but it makes you very angry as it could have been something so much worse."

Ms Sankey, who has been a patient at the surgery for about 25 years, said she was also a carer for her aunt and needed home visits, which she said the practice refused to do.

When she did manage to get her aunt there, she said staff were rude and they ended up leaving.

"After she passed away they phoned me eight months later to ask me if I was still her carer. Surely they can only improve now."

Three GPs at Great Barr Medical Practice were suspended for six months by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last month due to safety issues, while the practice's registration was also suspended.

A two-day unannounced inspection in April "confirmed the collective concerns", the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) said

Several patients the BBC has spoken to have complained of regularly struggling to get appointments, call backs and access to services, as well as concerns about quality of care.

Like Ms Sankey, another patient, Emma, also said the surgery refused to do home visits after her grandfather Brian, who had dementia, developed a water infection.

The family tried over about a month for a doctor to come and visit as his condition worsened, before the surgery suggested taking him to hospital.

"He ended up being hospitalised and the water infection turned to sepsis and inevitably was the reason for my grandad not coming home," Emma said.

"He died in January 2019... had they have treated him sooner, he may still be alive today - yes, with dementia, but we would've had a bit more time with him."

Fellow patient David Twine said it was such a frustrating experience attempting to get an appointment that it had put him off trying.

"When I would go in they’d say they couldn’t give you an appointment that day because they were full, but also couldn’t give you a future appointment either so it was just stupid and I’d just leave it to be honest," he said.

Some patients told the BBC standards declined after the medical centre was formed through the merger of two local surgeries before the pandemic.

"You couldn't have wished for a better service from the surgeries before that," Ms Sankey said.

"I don't go any more. If I was ill, I'd use 111 instead."

In response to the complaints, Daren Fradgley, chief integration officer with the trust, said: "We are aware of historic patient complaints made before we stepped in to manage the practice, and are looking at these as a priority to see how we can help.

"Patient safety remains our focus, as we ensure patients receive the appropriate and necessary care they need.

"Patients registered at the practice are encouraged to continue to attend their appointments and contact the practice as normal, where they will be seen by GPs and clinicians co-ordinated by the trust.

"We are doing everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum whilst managing the service for an interim period of six months."

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