Birmingham: Dog chases residents down street

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Solihull residents Stewart Priddey, 72, and his wife, June, 83, said that they have waited almost an hour and a half on hold at Solihull Healthcare Partnership when trying to get a GP appointment. They claimed that they have twice called emergency services on 999 when they couldn’t speak to their doctor.

Stewart said that June used to have regular doctor appointments four times a year, but hasn’t seen her doctor since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

June suffers from psoriasis and osteoarthritis, and was taken into hospital in 2020 with sepsis.

Stewart said: “Hand on heart, I’m frightened to death.”

He explained to BirminghamLive: “My wife is 83 years old and she is struggling with her health, but we’ve been struggling to get through to the doctors’ now for the last year.

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“We’ve been told to ring at 8am but we’ve tried and it’s already full.

“We’ve tried turning up at the surgery to book an appointment in person but last time we tried that, it was 8.30am and there were already nine people in a queue outside.

“Last year, I was trying to get an appointment for my wife and two times she ended up in hospital with sepsis.

“The first time was March-time and then it happened again in August.

He continues: “We are frightened to go out the house now. The furthest June will walk is our back garden – just in case we have a fall or something. We wouldn’t know what to do.”

Stewart detailed how he has contacted his local MP five times and also lodged official complaints with SHP.

He then described switching doctors out of desperation to see a medical professional.

“One time I couldn’t get through so we took the bull by the horns and went to Heartlands and we were there for 14 hours.

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“When we saw the doctor at Heartlands, they were magnificent. The doctor looked at us and said ‘why haven’t you been to your GP about this?’

“The problem isn’t the doctors or the staff. The NHS is fantastic. We love our NHS but it’s getting into it that’s the problem. A lot of people are genuinely frightened.”

A Facebook page has been set up by another patient to collate stories of those local residents who have had similar experiences. Some in the group share positive experiences of receiving timely contact from their doctor.

However, others have spoken of issues with the telephone system, with phone lines “at capacity” just one minute after the phone lines open for the day.

SHP, apologising to patients, said that it is “continuing to see unprecedented high demand”, but that staff were being subjected to “surprising levels of rudeness and aggression on a daily basis.”

Addressing the Priddeys’ complaint, a spokesperson said: “We can confirm Mr and Mrs Priddey both raised individual complaints with SHP in May 2021, which have followed our complaints policy and procedures.

“We are unable to provide any details due to patient confidentiality and data protection.

“However, we want to reassure patients that we take their complaints very seriously, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss Mr and Mrs Priddey’s concerns with them.”

An NHS Birmingham and Solihull CCG spokesperson said: “We have been working closely with SHP to seek assurance that they are addressing issues around access as quickly as they can, however, we acknowledge nationally and locally that there is a huge increase in demand, which includes patients who may have previously put off seeking care due to the pandemic.

“The way we all access and receive health services has changed, and it’s as important as ever that anyone with health concerns ensures they are using the correct service for their condition, for example by visiting a local pharmacist or using NHS 111 for an urgent but non-life-threatening concern.”

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