A man says he has been left waiting almost a month for a cancer check-up at his GP surgery.

The lack of support comes as Green Porch Medical Centre in Sittingbourne was rated "inadequate" for a second time by the Care Quality Commission health watchdog.

Daren Pattenden, from Waterside View in Warden, was told to wait almost four weeks for an appointment after becoming concerned with a lump on his body.

The 53-year-old said: "I rang Green Porch to ask for a doctor's appointment as I heard that it should be a waiting time of no more than two weeks.

"I was asked by the receptionist what I needed the appointment for, which is absurd.

"I explained it was for a number reasons, two being of cancerous concerns.

"So I was absolutely shocked when I was told the earliest I could have an appointment was Thursday, October 20. I'd rung on September 23."

The GP surgery remains in special measures following an inspection in July.

It was first rated "inadequate" at an inspection in January, when the CQC identified concerns around patient waiting times and the standard of care being provided to people.

Six months on, inspectors found some improvements had been made but there were still issues that were putting people at risk.

Daren, a stay-at-home dad, continued: "Every time you try to ring the surgery you never get through, even if you call at bang on 8am.

"No one is ever there. It seems like they have no doctors."

Daren had previously been at Warden Bay Surgery, but was due to move to Sittingbourne and registered with Green Porch.

Three years on he was unable to complete the move. However, he still has his appointments at the surgery which is a 20-minute drive away.

He said: "I have arthritis in my knees, lumps in places they shouldn't be and I've only been checked out once at that practice.

"I have also been on blood pressure tablets for the past 10 years and no doctor ever decided to look into why.

"It was only two years ago that they discovered I only had one kidney."

Daren said he only gets a blood pressure check at the GP if he asks for one.

He said: "On one occasion, when I needed a blood test, they gave me someone else's record.

"The surname was slightly different but if I hadn't have checked, my results would have been under someone else's name.

"All they said to me was that I could make a formal complaint."

As well as being rated "inadequate" overall, the Green Porch Medical Practice was rated "inadequate" in the areas of safety, effectiveness and leadership.

Neil Cox, CQC head of primary services inspection, said: “Although we did find some improvement at the service, there were still issues that were cause for concern.

“People couldn’t access treatment when they needed it, and appropriate recruitment checks still weren’t being carried out on staff, so we weren’t assured they could carry out their roles safely.

"Risks to patients weren’t being effectively assessed or monitored and leaders still needed an improved oversight of the service and the issues it faces.

“We have told the service what it must do to further improve but if we aren’t assured people are safe at the service, we won’t hesitate to take further enforcement action, against Green Porch Medical Centre.

"In the meantime we will closely monitor the service and liaise with our partner agencies to review the improvements needed.”

The report did note that staff treated patients with kindness and respect, and involved them in decisions about their care.

The full report can be found on the CQC website here.

Earlier this year, a mum felt she had no choice but to call 111 to make a doctor’s appointment at the surgery.

In May, Hannah Watts from Bittern Road, Iwade, said it was near impossible to get her call answered by Green Porch Medical Centre and that appointments weren't available for two months.

The 32-year-old mum-of-two said: “When you try and call you never get through and if you do there are never any appointments.

“I know Green Porch recently moved location and expanded but things have just got worse as they’ve taken on more patients.”

Hannah, whose two children are aged nine months and four years, has lived in Iwade for five years and been with the doctors for four.

She said: “The last appointment I actually managed to make there was when my son was born and he had his injections.

“I can’t fault their district nurse or the secretary that I speak to in person at the practice, but despite what people say about Green Porch getting worse since Covid, in my opinion it has always been like it.

“When my son was two, he is now four, I phoned the doctors as he had a nasty infection but they wouldn’t see him.

“I just phone 111 now if I need an appointment that badly. It is the only way I will get one."

At the time, a spokesman for Green Porch Medical Centre said: “We take these issues extremely seriously and are working hard to make improvements.

“We’re sorry patients are having difficulty getting through to us on the phone.

“This is because of exceptionally high demand. We are urgently looking at how we can improve our phone access so our patients aren’t left frustrated when they try to call."

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced referral guidelines for suspected cancer. You should not have to wait more than two weeks to see a specialist if your GP suspects you have cancer and urgently refers you.

A spokesman for Green Porch Medical Centre said: “We take the CQC’s findings very seriously. We have already made urgent changes and will continue to do so as we bring about the necessary improvements.

“We have recruited new staff members to improve our medication reviews and patient satisfaction, and are working closely with NHS Kent and Medway and the CQC. We will install a new phone system as we know how important this is to our patients. We are also in the process of recruiting more clinical staff to make sure all our patients get the care they need.

“Our staff take great pride in providing high-quality care and are disappointed in the outcome of the report, however, we are confident our hard work to improve standards will be reflected in the next inspection.”