Castlefields Health Centre

What is the point of an appointment?

We have recently had to swap GP practices twice due to very poor to downright diabolical service and treatment. Our GP of many happy years retired, DR Daksena of Heath road surgery, Runcorn. We were then transferred to Grove House, who's service, I blame for my wife's Vascular Dementia. After an all-round diabolical service in just over 12 months we switched to the Tower House surgery, this lasted but a few months before transferring to Castlefields health centre. Getting an appointment was easy, if you are prepared to wait a couple of weeks, by which time most people with an illness would feel better anyway. Our first appointment was today, I logged it on my phone as 11 am and I got text messages reminders from the surgery all saying 11 am. On arrival there was a small queue with one person behind the desk, on the phone. When it was our turn I noticed a screen for booking in, on commencement I was informed on the screen that the appointment was for 10 am and informed that I had missed it, the time was around 10:50 am. How can you go to an appointment you know nothing about? I booked in for the second appointment and waited. The waiting room was warm, very warm, so much so that I am ashamed to say I had sweat running down my back and stomach. My wife has severe dementia whilst I have back problems with severe sciatica and as such cannot sit on conventional seating so have to stand more or less everywhere I go, today was no exception. Now I know there are different surgeries for differing things but watching every single person book in and be called through within minutes really grate's on a person's patience and nerves, me no exception whatsoever. After a total time at the surgery waiting of thirty-five minutes, my wife getting anxious and myself suffering more pain than usual, I called time on the debacle and took my wife home. I am now all but certain there is not a single viable GP surgery within the whole of Runcorn. I am done with waisting my time, money and health on Doctors and if this now means we will be denied medication then so be it. Runcorn is an awful place for people with poor health and an even worse place for NHS GP service.