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16
Jun 2021
Patients express frustration at seeing a GP in Harrogate district
Patients have expressed frustration at trying to see their GP after health bosses said face-to-face appointments were still available.
Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, last week said national reports that practices were closed and not offering face-to-face appointments were “a myth”.
But her comments sparked a backlash on social media, with some people saying they had “more chance of winning the lottery” than seeing a GP.
Read more:
- Health boss denies GP surgeries are not offering face-to-face appointments
- ‘They’re only trying to help us’: GPs face verbal abuse over delays for non-covid services
Ernie Butler, a parish councillor in Darley, said he could no longer book an appointment in person, which left him frustrated.
He added patients from his area were often sent to Pateley Bridge and Birstwith.
Mr Butler said:
Others on social media claimed they could not book an appointment by going into Pateley Bridge surgery.
Local GP practices have been running telephone and online assessments since March last year for patients.
The process, known as “total triage” assesses people first before offering face-to-face appointments.
It has been used throughout the pandemic and NHS England guidance says it has been used to "reduce avoidable footfall in practices and protect patients and staff from the risks of infection”.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group said face-to-face appointments have been available to patients at GP practices.
Ms Bloor told a North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum press briefing last week:
Ms Bloor said that in March there were 387,000 appointments in North Yorkshire and York, which was more than any month in the last two years and more than 60% of the appointments took place face-to-face.
The Stray Ferret approached Pateley Bridge surgery for comment.
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