The Limes Surgery 2014-12-04 Person 3 5 0

Very difficult to get an appointment. Have been kept on hold when trying to make a telephone appointment for up to 25mins, only to be told no appointments available when finally answered. Have been told to queue up at reception at 08.30 to try for an appointment. If a sick person wants to see a doctor this can be most unsatisfactory if they have to go out in the cold and bad weather on the off chance that they may get an appointment when they could make the appointment from home and not run the risk of making their condition worse un-necessarily. They could then turn up for appointment at time given instead of perhaps having to go out again at a later time. Automated answer machine asks if it is a medical emergency, presumably to enable a queue jumping system to operate, as to most people not being medically trained this is a pointless question as to them being unwell is a possible emergency. I have felt unwell at times during the day and have telephoned late in the afternoon to try and make an appointment for the next day only to be told to phone or call in the next day. For those at work this can be most awkward as not all firms are understanding on such matters.