Barriers to face to face appointment
Patients rights to see a doctor face to face , in the right place, at a mutually agreed time, are being ignored with the proactive act of conducting telephone triage, with no timeliness, leaving elderly patients getting anxious whilst waiting at home for hours for the phone call from someone. This is a depersonalised service and does not put the patient at the centre of care. It build in delays for elderly patients to access GP care and advise. This leads to increased frustration by patients, contributing to increase in conflicts and verbal abuse. Also leads to increased use of Accident and Emergency due to patient loss of confidence to access GP practice.