'I had one patient who was happy to get an appointment in August after I referred him to urology in June – until he realised it was for August 2024.'
Dr Stefan Waldendorf, GP partner at Linden Hall Surgery in Newport
The duty doctor at Linden Hall, which has a patient participation group for raising issues that arise, currently has to deal with up to 50 telephone appointments every morning, having had numbers of 15 to 20 before the pandemic. "Usually the summer is a quieter time, with people on holiday and not getting ill as much, so you tend to get some breathing space - but that hasn't happened this year and people are dreading the autumn. Coughs, colds or a flu outbreak – it could explode.
"We are trying our very best to help and look after our patients but there are limits and constant pressure and stress can bring members of the team to their limits. Social prescribers have been brought in, who can talk patients through issues and signpost them to the best help available. "Heart failure, kidney disease and cancer symptoms have developed and got worse over the pandemic and need to be addressed urgently."
"The knock-on effect is that patients who would have been seen by a cardiologist, someone in orthopaedics and many other specialities are not being seen.
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