FURIOUS patients of five surgeries under IMH management lashed out at the town's Clinical Commissioning Group during its annual general meeting.

Three of the five Swindon practices which use the Manchester-based company to run its back-office functions – Moredon Medical Centre and Phoenix and Eldene surgeries – have been branded inadequate by the Care Quality Commission. A fourth, Taw Hill Medical Centre, is rated requires improvement and the other – Abbey Meads – is awaiting its report.

Swindon NHS CCG has come under fire as patients are frustrated with problems that began last autumn and has led to hundreds of complaints, with patients unable to get though to the IMH switchboard to make appointments.

Priory Vale councillor Emma Faramarzi this week labelled the healthcare body "an apologist" for IMH. Although the call centre firm has announced it will be withdrawing from the town in mid-November, patients are still waiting for answers about what comes next.

At the AGM, Sarah Church, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for South Swindon, said: “One of the major gripes of patients was that they felt they have been dumped and it’s not been dealt with.”

Dinesh Patel, community activist, told the Adver of the problems he had experienced when trying to make an appointment.

He said: “I left my phone ringing the surgery as I walked in and three people were sat at the desk. The phone was ringing and when I’d asked why they weren’t answering, they just told me they were busy with other things.”

Margie Phillips, a member of Keep Our NHS Public, looked at the bigger picture.

She said: “The big thing that doesn’t get mentioned in a place like this, it’s like an elephant in the room, is the politics, the background, the funding.

"What’s behind it all is the fact is that the NHS is underfunded.”

Gill May, executive director of nursing and quality at Swindon CCG, said: “If you think we haven’t had hard conversations with IMH you are sadly mistaken.

"We are looking at what they have spent their money on we are having to put money aside to deal with this situation.”

The CCG stressed that there will be another open meeting arranged to discuss with patients the changes that will be made at the five surgeries affected and how it plans to resolve the current situation.

Chief finance officer Caroline Gregory told the room: “The work we have been doing on this, we have provided.

"I understand that it feels like the CCG have been making this decision, but they (IMH) are an individual provider – they were making those decisions.”