GP practices in Sefton have been “consistently” turning off online consultations as patients continue to struggle to access doctors.
Healthwatch carried out an investigation into the availability of online consultations, known as e-consults in GP practices in Sefton after receiving complaints from patients.
According to a report released ahead of a Sefton Council overview and scrutiny meeting due to be held tomorrow, October 18, Healthwatch logged onto GP practice websites at various points in the day over a two month period.
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Choosing two practices in different parts of the borough the patient voice champion carried out a “non-scientific” survey in July and August and found five Sefton GP practices which “had their e-consult turned off consistently.”
The five practices identified in the report are Ainsdale Medical Centre, The Village Surgery in Formby, High Pastures in Maghull, Ford Medical Centre and Glovers Lane surgery in Bootle.
The LDRS attempted to log on to the e-consult at the practices today and was also unsuccessful, in each case directed to a page which said the service was “unavailable.”
The Healthwatch report states: “In contacting practices by telephone, patients are often advised to use the online service. Patients who choose to do this, give up their position in the telephone queue, go online, only to find that this service is unavailable.”
Healthwatch’s findings have been shared with the Sefton Primary Care Committee, with the organisations continuing to “await an update”
The report also said that GP access was overall one of the “key issues” residents mentioned when contacting the service.
The report states the impact was particularly being felt for people with disabilities. Sometimes unable to engage with reception staff, this was effecting communication with the practice for a number of patients.
According to Healthwatch, which advocates on behalf of patients, the concern is what effect these access problems will have on undiagnosed conditions and longer term health impacts for people.
The report also quotes a statement from Healthwatch’s national director, Louise Ansari, stressing the importance of GP access ahead of an anticipated challenging winter.
Ms Ansari said: “GP access is by far the most common frustration people have been raising with us for the last two years, and we know barriers at the front door of the NHS can create very serious problems further down the line.
“Bringing in more support staff and improving phone lines will provide much needed reinforcements for GP surgeries and help them make the process of getting an appointment more efficient and easier for everyone.
“As we head into the winter months the NHS is going to face pressures across the whole system, while managing the backlog in diagnostics and surgery that built up as a result of the pandemic.
“GP practices, as the vital first port of call for most people, need to be supported to make sure everyone who needs care is able to access it in a timely and appropriate way.”
Ainsdale Medical Centre, The Village Surgery in Formby, High Pastures in Maghull, Ford Medical Centre in Bootle and Glovers Lane surgery were all contacted for comment.
Practice manager of High Pastures surgery in Maghull, Sue Jago said the practice would be taking a look at the claims and so had no comment at this time.
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