Abingdon staff shortages at GP surgery impacting patients

The Malthouse Surgery at The Charter has staff shortages and as a result some patients are having problems getting appointments.

A statement on the surgery's website said new GPs were now being recruited and asks patients only to book an appointment if they have a "truly urgent need".

Two new GPs have already been hired, according to the practice manager.

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The statement says: "Due to a recent surge in demand for our services and temporary staffing shortages, we are currently experiencing a limited availability of appointments.

"We recognise this situation is not ideal, and we want to assure you that we are actively working on solutions to increase our capacity and make appointments more readily available."

One patient said on Facebook: "We have had to use both 111 and the A&E on at least three occasions recently because we have found it impossible to even reach Malthouse. At 91 and 84 years old, this leaves us feeling rather desperate and betrayed ( by the government.)"

Another patient said she had been registered with the Malthouse surgery since she was born, but has now decided to register elsewhere.

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One patient said she had struggled to get an appointment.

She posted about it on Facebook and said: "I rang on Monday and was told they were up to capacity, and that I must ring at precisely 8am the following day.

"So I did, I rang 27 times from 8am to 8.13am, which just went straight to voicemail saying they were busy. They finally put the phones on at 8.13 and I was already 11 in the line. When I finally got through I was told they were up to capacity again."

Another patient wrote on Facebook: "Talking from my experience I cannot fault Malthouse Surgery. I have had to contact them a lot these past few months and I’ve always managed to get a phone call or an appointment at the surgery.

Practice manager Paul Drinkwater said: "Here at Malthouse Surgery, we are committed to providing the best possible care to our patients.

"We've undertaken a thorough review of our working practices to improve efficiency.

"Additionally, we're pleased to announce an ongoing recruitment campaign that has already yielded positive results.

"We've secured two new salaried GPs who will be joining the surgery in the coming months, bolstering our team, and we are continuing to develop our new workforce of GP assistants to improve patient care."

Mr Drinkwater added that a "robust triage system" ensured that patients with urgent needs were seen on the same day.

READ MORE: Abingdon is desperate for new GP surgery 

As hundreds of new homes in the town are built, it is putting increasing pressure on the four existing GP surgeries in town - Stert Street Surgery, the Malthouse Surgery, Long Medical Centre, and Marcham Road Family Health Centre.

About £1m of contributions from developers - known as section 106 funding - was agreed for a satellite GP surgery in North Abingdon, and land identified.

But no GP surgery was willing or wanted to take on the project.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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