FRUSTRATED patients are faced with having to phone hundreds of times to get through to their GP.

Mark Cahillane dialled the Ashington House Surgery 269 times on his mobile and waited hours on the phone while trying to speak to a doctor.

And another patient has told the Adver they dialled the Abbey Meads practice 390 times before getting through.

Mark said: “My wife rang on the landline and it took 45 minutes before she could get through.

“And then the receptionist was saying that they can’t make a face-to-face appointment until we speak to a doctor. You’re just going around in circles.”

The couple called the surgery the following day and waited another 55 minutes before getting through.

Mark added: “Then there’s a call queue which was another 15 minutes. And again, they said they can’t do a face-to-face appointment, ‘you have to wait for a doctor to call you’.

“Unless you’re familiar with local government policies, you’re a good communicator, you’re articulate or you can use all the jargon, you’re going to get the run around, which is what we got.”

The 63-year-old said having to deal with long waits was very stressful.

“You’re trying to get things sorted out because the NHS is trying to catch up on the backlog of patients. My wife has a very bad ankle and it’s serious and she needs to get it sorted out.”

He added: “I was trying to be polite and calm. It was stressful as anything.”

After waiting for hours, a doctor ended up calling Mark’s wife.

“A doctor rang her, and she was absolutely brilliant. You give respect, you’d like to have a bit of respect and this doctor was absolutely beautiful. And now my wife is getting referred.

“It’s just the process, the process causes you a lot of distress.”

A patient at Abbey Meads Medical Practice, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had phoned the practice 390 times to get through.

She said: “It was for my husband. He’s had cancer and needed to change some of his medication. It was on a Monday, and I know Mondays are always busy – so I just rang the surgery and I just redialled for 390 times – but before I’ve had about over 425 – and then you get put in a queue and you still have to wait.

“It takes a good hour and 15 minutes to get through, and then they’ll say ‘sorry there’s no appointment, you’ve got to come back tomorrow’’ and you start all over again.

“But how can an old person do that?  Someone in their 80s can’t keep trying to get an appointment.”

The woman said she is unable to change her GP practice. “I tried to go to Homeground Surgery, and what they said is that if you’re with a surgery, they won’t let you change.

“So, I have to move out of Swindon and then move back to Swindon to change my surgery and have another address.”

She said after three days she finally managed to get through.

Assistant practice manager at Ashington House Surgery Dean Mills said the pandemic had seen new working methods introduced.

“The introduction of an initial telephone assessment ensures that patients can be cared for by the most appropriate member of our team, either in person or online.

“Patients can play their part in easing the pressure by calling outside of the busiest times, such as first thing in the morning, and making use of alternative healthcare services, such as NHS 111 and local pharmacies.”

GWH NHS Hospital Trust took on Abbey Meads in 2019.

A spokesperson said: “Our practices are currently experiencing significant pressure and the high level of demand has meant that some callers are waiting much longer than we would like to speak to somebody.

“We introduced a new electronic consultation system to help provide a better experience for those wishing to access primary care and are working to improve our telephony system as quickly as possible and anticipate a significant improvement from October.

“We are sorry the caller concerned had to wait such a long time.

“The booking team, which supports Moredon, Abbey Meads, Penhill and Crossroads surgeries, are working hard every day to answer as many calls as possible.”