PATIENTS in south Essex are struggling to get through to their GP surgeries over the phone to book appointments, according to a patient survey.

Thousands of patients across the region feel it takes too long to speak to someone on the phone at their doctors’ surgery.

However, the figures also highlighted that many patients were unaware they could book appointments online.

The survey of 2,736 patients in the Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) shows that just 62 per cent of people found it easy to get in touch with their GP’s surgery on the phone – five years ago it was 76 per cent.

Only 41 per cent said that they knew that they could book appointments with their GP online – and just 15 per cent had done so.

Patients at the Hollies Surgery, in Hadleigh, struggle the most as only 41 per cent feel they can get through to the surgery.

In Southend’s CCG, only 28 per cent of patients at the Queensway surgery felt it was easy to get through to someone over the phone - well below the national average of 70 per cent.

Across the CCG, 64 per cent of patients felt it was easy to get through on the phone but only 13 per cent used the online services to make an appointment.

The figures – which come from the 2018 GP Patient Survey, conducted between January and March this year – also show that patients are seeing their GPs less often.

In the last three months, 53 per cent of those surveyed had seen their family doctor, down from 55 per cent in 2013 – despite the new figure including appointments with nurses at their practice.

Basildon and Brentwood CCG’s worst performing surgery in this area was the Beechwood surgery, in Brentwood, with only 35 per cent of patients claiming it was easy to get through while the CCG’s average was 66 per cent.

A total of 15 per cent of patients said they used the online facility to book an appointment. Trevor Harp, chairman of the patient participation group at St Luke’s surgery in Southend, which scored 70 per cent for phone accessibility, said a shift is needed onto online booking for those who can.

Mr Harp said: “I know there is a big push to do a lot more things online.

“The main issue at St Luke’s is quite simple - we only have four phone lines into the building and that can’t be resolved until we move into the new facilities. Moving towards online facilities will become more important but what we have to bear in mind - and not to denigrate the older generation - but the older patients aren’t as likely to use online booking and the older generation are the ones who will be using the GPs more often.”