We hear lots of Southend residents talking about problems in making GP appointments. In fact, patients across the country are all concerned about this. We asked local people whether they could use the internet to make appointments, or whether they would like to be able to do this in future. The answer was an overwhelming "yes". We know that using computers or smart-phones won't work for everyone, but at least it may take the pressure off the phones in surgeries.
The NHS in England has announced more money for better phone systems, with primary care networks (groups of GPs) in every area having to make plans to improve access. We have shared our findings with the four primary care networks in Southend, in the hope that it will help shape their plans.
We will keep collecting your experiences and feeding this back to local GP surgeries. Let us know what works well and not so well. Your stories help make things better.