GP appointments: Man leaves doctor of 77 years over delay

When Gwyn John heard he was 32nd in the call queue for his GP, it was the end of a relationship that began in 1945.

The 78-year-old widower hung up the call in frustration, booked a private appointment and enrolled at a new NHS GP surgery.

Doctors have warned GP practices are in "crisis" after talks broke down over a new financial deal.

The Welsh government said its pay offer was at the limit of the finance available.

A recent survey from the British Medical Association (BMA) found the number of full-time GPs had fallen in Wales in the past decade, while patient numbers had increased.

The survey found 80% of GPs feared their high workload meant they were unable to provide quality care to patients.

"I'd been with that GP surgery 77 years and 10 months," said Mr John, who lives in Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan.

He also booked regular appointments for his wife Gloria, who had dementia, until she died two years ago.

"When my wife was alive, I couldn't take chances, I had to hold on [in the queue].

"But if she needed me, I wouldn't hesitate, that phone would go down and I would have to start again."

Mr John said he was only able to book same day appointments at his old surgery, which meant calling between 8am to 9am or filling in an online form.

He is not someone who makes changes lightly, having lived on the same street for the whole of his life. But he said changing to a GP with a different booking system had left him feeling "refreshed".

His former GP surgery, Llantwit Major & Coastal Vale Medical Practice, said his wait time was "not typical", with the number of calls it received fluctuating day to day.

Age Cymru said many older people reported having to call their GP back the following day if they were unable to get through to the surgery by 9am.

The charity found 72% of the 1,200 people who responded to its survey had a negative experience accessing GP services.

On this issue, the Welsh government said it was "disappointing" to hear of people have difficulty accessing GP services.

A spokesman urged anyone having trouble to contact their local health board or Llais, saying most GP practices had said they were "working to make getting an appointment easier".

It comes after GP leaders said there was growing concern about the financial health of practices.

Dr Gareth Oelmann, Chair of BMA Cyrmu Wales's GP Committee, said the situation would get worse unless the Welsh government could commit to a "rescue package".

"The unsustainable pressure facing GPs is felt up and down the country," he said.

"We have heard from GPs who have been unable to recruit permanent staff for years on end, examples of extreme burnout causing hospitalisation and a rising number of surgeries having to close their doors as they struggle with bills and staffing expenses, leaving thousands of patients having to be treated elsewhere."

Cleona Jones, a practice manager in Barry, said her surgery had recently adopted a call-back system to "stop patients holding on for an hour on the phone".

However, Ms Jones, from The Practice of Health, said she was struggling to keep her reception staff due to poor pay and the difficult nature of manning the phones in the morning.

"We've always retained our staff and if they left it was because they retired," said Ms Jones.

"In the last six months I've lost three receptionists, and I'm one of the lucky ones compared to my colleague practices, they've lost a lot more."

Ms Jones said she believed one way to help GP practices cope with the volume of calls would be to make alternative options easier to find.

"There's a lot of other services that are offered to patients that they don't all know about," she said.

"You've got the Common Ailments Schemes at pharmacies, where patients can be seen for lots of common illness. Ear infections, skin infections, sinus infections. It's about knowing who offers what."

Stephanie Squires, who started working on reception at the Practice of Health Surgery three years ago, said Mondays could be the most challenging.

"It starts at 8am and it doesn't stop until 6pm in the night," she said.

Ms Squires said most patients were "lovely," but frustrated callers could be abusive.

"One time I had somebody phone at 18:15 on a Friday," she said.

"They wanted to speak about infertility, and I said they would have to phone back another time. They said: 'I'm going to take your children from you so you can feel what it's like'.

"It can get very personal just because you can't deal with them there and then."

The Welsh government said any threats to staff were "completely unacceptable" and, while it understood the "strength of feeling" around talks on pay, the offer was at the limit of the finance available and reflected the pay position reached with other health unions.

It also said it was committed to working in partnership with the General Practitioners Committee Wales and was available for further talks at any stage.