I’ve waited a year to get formal advice from a GP about a condition due to the pandemic and knowing how much pressure the NHS is under. I’ve done my utmost, due to poor experiences I’ve had with this surgery in the past, to take all possible actions I could myself before making an appointment as it is beyond difficult to be seen. I finally bring myself to do it and am told that appointments are no longer available and I must complete an E-Consult form. No problem, I actually think it’s a great idea to get an in depth understanding of a problem before being seen by a Dr - more time efficient with clarity of what the problem is. 4 pages completed of detailed symptoms and the severity of my concerns. I received a text swiftly (great) which says to book a blood test and I will then receive a telephone appointment with a Dr, fab, a potentially quick and thorough process for appointments.It’s now been 2 weeks and I’ve called to ask when I should expect the telephone appointment as I’ve had no updates. To be informed bluntly by reception that it is my responsibility to chase up bloods (I wasn’t, I was chasing up my appointment) and that the dr would never have called me, that it is my responsibility to book a further appointment with a dr in order to discuss the form and bloods, but I can’t do that until 830 the following morning and that’s only if there are appointments available. The Dr that I had the text from will be in tomorrow so the appointment could be with them, but call and see if there is availability... so if I hadn’t have called to check when my telephone appointment with the Dr was, I would never have received the appointment I’d taken all these steps to obtain?? And if I can’t get an appointment tomorrow, I have to call again the next day until there finally is availability? This unfortunately is not the first negative experience I’ve had at this practice, and I’m frequently left feeling unsupported and even having to resort to visiting A&E. We are told not to delay, get checked as soon as possible, but it is impossible to speak and be heard by a Dr at this practice. The technological advances are great, if you don’t forget that the patient should still be the focus. It has taken a great deal for me to already have taken these steps just to be seen by a Dr - which still isn’t happening, and I only get a telephone call if I’m lucky. It shouldn’t  be so difficult to get help from your assigned Gp. I worry for people with additional needs, mental health concerns or the technophobes who will struggle more so than myself and will cause conditions to worsen to the point where Gp intervention may be too late.