The Southbroom Surgery

This is a surgery which has in my opinion provided excellent care for its patients previously. However this is no longer the case. Whether this is a response to the demands of the pandemic or for other reasons is not for me to say. Whatever the cause what matters is the experience of the both patient and the staff. Sadly at this time I have to conclude it is not as good as it was. The concerns I have experienced is that hand delivered correspondence to my Doctor was never delivered to the Doctor and appeared to have been lost. Furthermore when I sent a copy letter some weeks later to the Practice Manager I was told he too had no record of receiving it! Another issue is the appointment system. I have been number 16 in the phone queue which is intolerable. When it was answered I was told I could not book an appointment further than 2 days ahead. As my preferred Doctor was not working on those days I was unable to make an appointment. Seeing my 'preferred GP' was desirable because previously he had been advising me about the concerns I had. The change in appointment protocols where once an appointment could be made to 6 weeks in advance but then was required to be within 48 hours is incoherent. It would be better for the patient if the the time lags was 5 working days. I also discovered that my allocated GP was changed and I was not informed of this. The confidence I once had in the way the surgery is administered has diminished. That said; I have no concerns what so ever about the medical staff; only about the way the practice is being organised and administered.