Patient says he's unable to get Burton GP appointment despite 'making over 180 calls' in one day
A man from Burton claims he called his GP more than 180 times in one morning - and still did not manage to get an appointment.
David Langford said he constantly struggles to get through to Carlton Street Surgery.
The 64-year-old claims he has made dozens of calls this week alone. He suffers from chronic psoriasis and says his inability to see a doctor means he cannot get his medication.
He's now made an official complaint against the surgery as he battles to get an appointment.
Talking of the day he "called more than 180 times" back in August, the father of three said: "It's ongoing and it's getting worse. This is typical of the problems ringing the surgery - it took 182 calls to speak to someone.
"This happens regularly - it's not an exception. This day was during Covid, but the government had instructed surgeries to see patients face to face again.
"I made these calls after the pharmacist at Carlton Pharmacy had examined me and said I needed to be seen by a doctor due to the severity of my condition."
Mr Langford says after speaking to other people, he found he was not the only one who had struggled to get an appointment.
He said: "I know a lot of people who have to deal with that surgery. It's ridiculous the amount of hoops you have to jump through.
"Covid has made it a lot worse. You can't get an appointment or to speak to a doctor."
"For three years now I've been suffering with this and I haven't even been properly examined by the doctor.
"Everyone I know is a patient and they're always getting the same thing," he adds.
A spokesman for the East Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group said: "We have urgent appointments available every day and our doctors will see people either face-to-face or remotely, dependent on clinical need.
"We appreciate it can be difficult to get through by telephone sometimes, and 8am is always the busiest time. Waiting can be much shorter at other times.
"Carlton Street is the biggest practice in East Staffordshire, serving over 16,000 patients.
"We would ask patients to understand that GP practices throughout the area are working harder than ever before."