Rarely do I allow anger and frustration to dictate what I post on here, but the {one time} simple task of booking a doctors appointment has now become unrecognisable..... nay virtually impossible.
The wife and myself, now were getting on, admittedly need the doctors services more frequently than we did, that does not mean we're ringing them every ten minutes. Over the decades we have only ever contacted them when absolutely necessary and even now in our dotage we think twice before we ring, now with good reason.
We have both been ill over the past 4 weeks and have had occasion to "ring" the surgery about 4 times. Waiting times to be connected by phone to the surgery I think the fastest time of those four calls was half an hour, this morning the wife was hanging on for just under an hour and when she finally got connected the girl on the other end couldn't have been less helpful if she tried, so much so the wife told her to just forget it and hung up the phone.
We all KNOW the difficulties the N.H.S. face, but for all the difficulties it doesn't help the public who rely on the N.H.S. Saying sorry all the time to patients on the line who are in pain and distress does not cut it.
It's down to the Conservatives spending a decade under funding the N.H.S. to the point it's unrecognisable. Saying they are investing in more doctors and nurses is no good for the here and now, someone training today to be a doctor won't be "up and running" for at least 7 years, likewise nurses, it's not like shelf stacking that can be taught basically within days.
I actually saw something this morning on t.v. about a hospital who brought in an agency doctor and he was paid FIVE AND A HALF GRAND for one shift!