Bedford pensioner left hanging on phone to GP for TWO AND A HALF HOURS

A Bedford pensioner has spoken of his distress after being left hanging on the phone at his GP’s for two and a half hours.

Stan Routledge called the De Parys Group in Church Lane after being told he needed a blood test.

And because he’s disabled, he was phoning to make an appointment for a home visit.

The 88-year-old of Goldington said: “Throughout the call there was interject of ‘if you have been waiting a long time please consider calling again later'. Having tried to make the call later on another phone, I was given the same input as my original call, you are 30+ people in the calling system’.”

He started the call at 2.50pm and finally got through at 5.22pm.

Stan added: “Having to stay on the telephone for well over two hours is quite upsetting and on speaking with the receptionist, they will need to call me back to arrange for a home visit.

“What has happened to the NHS in the care of its patients?”

Only last month NHS figures revealed nearly five million patients each month in England were waiting over a fortnight for a GP appointment.

And although Stan concedes he was calling for a routine appointment, he said: “To be perfectly honest, whatever appointment one is attempting to make, it should not involve a two hour 30 minute wait on the telephone.

"The receptionist gave no indication of how long I will need to wait for a home visit.

"It is very distressing to have to wait on the telephone this long – even worse to try later on another telephone and be given the same response as my original call."

Ten days later – on April 28 – Stan was finally told a nurse was coming out that day but as yet, has still not had the test results.

A spokesperson for the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB) said: “We take patient feedback seriously, and we are in touch with the patient so that we can investigate fully the concerns raised.”