"Poor service at GP - poor basic communication and patient care"

I had booked an in-person appointment online, as the system indicated that telephone appointments were unavailable. I arrived 10 minutes early for my afternoon appointment and was informed at reception that the appointment was, in fact, scheduled as a telephone consultation. The receptionist checked with the clinician, who confirmed they could see me in person after a few patients. I agreed to wait.

What followed was nearly two hours of confusion, mismanagement, and poor service, not just towards me, but towards multiple patients in the waiting area. I witnessed:

* A patient leaving after waiting 30 minutes with no update.

* An elderly patient left unattended after 40 minutes.

* A visibly fragile patient waiting for close to an hour before being told, simply, to come back tomorrow, anytime.

* A young patient being told -don’t yell at me- and -it’s not my fault- by the receptionist after waiting more than 30 minutes.

At no point did reception offer anyone an apology or meaningful explanation, only repeated, dismissive instructions to -take a seat.- This is unacceptable.

45 minutes after my appointment time, I asked for an update. Rather than assisting me, staff argued that my appointment had always been a telephone one. I reminded them that I had been told to wait in person and asked why I was neither being seen nor receiving a call. No answer was given, just another instruction to continue waiting. I was finally seen 1.5 hrs after my appointment time.

The situation deteriorated further during the consultation. I had booked the appointment specifically to request medication to help with severe, prolonged insomnia. Instead of seeing a GP, I was seen by a physician associate, a role not authorised to prescribe the medication I needed. They offered me an antihistamine on the basis that one of its side effects might make me drowsy. I am not allergic to anything, nor was this clinically appropriate. Worse still, it was an over-the-counter drug, and they were not even able to prescribe that due to their limitations. The consultation was a complete waste of time.

I left without any support or solution. Shortly afterwards, I received a generic text message from the physician associate suggesting I contact Samaritans. I found this patronising, inappropriate, and unhelpful. At no point during the appointment did I express an intention to harm myself, and this kind of blanket message risks trivialising serious mental health concerns.

I am a strong supporter of the NHS. I understand the pressures the system is under, but what I experienced was not a result of underfunding, it was a failure in basic communication, patient care, and operational oversight.