Patients needing to see their GP are having to wait up to an hour on the phone to get through - only to be told they can’t have an appointment.

People using The Limes Medical Centre in Margate say it is virtually impossible to book a slot, with no other option than to try again the next day.

In one shocking incident, a patient says they ended up being hospitalised after being unable to get an appointment for five days running.

Cllr Pauline Farrance, founder member of Save Our NHS in Kent (Sonik), has called the situation “shameful” and says there needs to be an urgent investigation into the widespread problems of accessing GP services in Thanet.

She says she has been left waiting for 45 minutes at a time to get through to The Limes so understands people’s concerns.

“This is not about the individuals working there and I don’t condone them being abused by frustrated patients, but the system needs to be improved,” she said.

“The appointment process doesn’t work. Patients are waiting up to an hour on the phone from 8am, or they try half-an-hour later, still end up waiting an hour, only to find all appointments have gone.

“So they then have to go through the whole process again the next day.

“This is almost impossible for many people who are working or have children to look after.”

One patient, who asked not to be named for fear it will affect her already strained relationship with the surgery, says she ended up being hospitalised after being unable to get an appointment, despite numerous attempts over months.

From March until July - when she eventually went private so she could see a doctor - she had been unable to see her GP for severe breathing difficulties, for which she is now under a respiratory specialist.

Instead, she says she was only able to speak to a paramedic at the surgery on one occasion and was issued a prescription for steroids three times, which were having little impact.

“I wasn’t getting better; I needed to see a doctor but I couldn’t get an appointment,” she said.

'If anyone needs quick and easy access to their doctors, Thanet people do' - Pauline Farrance

“One morning I called and was 53rd in the queue and when I got to number one it timed out as I’d been waiting so long - I had to rejoin in position 38.

“When I eventually got through, I was told I can’t get an appointment and to call earlier in the morning, even though I had. It’s horrendous.”

Things came to a head when for five days in a row she was unable to get an appointment despite hour-long waits in the queue.

“I couldn’t breathe properly and the receptionist said ‘I can hear that but I have no appointments’,” she said. “I was told to wait until 6pm and call NHS 111.

“When I did so, a doctor rang back and said they wanted to send an ambulance and get me to hospital. My daughter took me in and I was given oxygen and had four nebulisers for a chest infection.”

The patient, who has asthma, says she eventually paid to see a doctor privately who was “gobsmacked” she hadn’t been able to see her GP.

“It was only when they sent their report to the surgery that I finally got a phone call from my GP - the only time I heard from her, asking why I’d gone to a private doctor,” she said.

“Its absolutely awful, but I can’t change doctors because there aren’t any available.”

Cllr Farrance warns the impacts of not being able to see a GP could be potentially dangerous.

“Thanet is an area of high deprivation, the kind of area where people are likely to be in greatest need of primary care,” she said.

“If anyone needs quick and easy access to their doctors, Thanet people do, and my fear is that many are not getting it.”

Cllr Farrance says she is also concerned that too often people in the district are being offered telephone or online consultations, which she argues puts some vulnerable people at a disadvantage.

The district councillor, who is a founder member of Save Our NHS in Kent, believes the root of the problem lies in a chronic shortage of GPs in Thanet.

“The national average is 1,750 patients per GP but, as an example, at the Limes surgery it’s more than 5,000 patients per GP.”

Cllr Farrance says she has been told that GPs don’t want to work in some parts of Thanet and suggests an incentive scheme.

“We need to have ready access to our GPs or the health of our community can only get worse,” she said.

The practice manager at The Limes was unavailable for comment both times the surgery was contacted by the Thanet Extra, after being in a queue on the phone for 20 minutes in the first instance and 50 minutes in the second.

A spokesman for NHS Kent and Medway CCG said: "GP practices across Kent and Medway have remained open during the pandemic but they adapted to keep patients and staff safe.

"Like all businesses, practices have to be Covid-secure with pre-booked appointments only and face coverings at all times.

"More telephone consultations are being carried out than before which puts additional pressure on practice telephone systems and there may be delays in getting through. In addition, practice staff will also have to self-isolate if required in accordance with Government regulations.

"Patients may experience some disruption during this challenging time and we’d like to thank them for their support and understanding.

"Patients with a minor health condition may wish to use 111 online (111.nhs.uk) or eConsult via their practice website. eConsult can also be used to book an appointment as an alternative to phoning.

"This in turn would help practices focus on patients with more severe or long-term conditions.

"There is no limit on how many GPs are required per practice and the Limes Medical Centre, like all other practices in the country, will recruit a mix of trained staff as appropriate for their patients’ needs. "There are four practices in the Margate area that work together in a network to share resources and are planning to recruit additional staff in the coming months, including a clinical pharmacist and a first contact physiotherapist."

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