More than 40% of calls unanswered at three GP practices

Health Minister says work is ongoing to improve experience for patients

More than 40% of calls to three of the Island's GP practices go unanswered.

Figures for six surgeries that use a call monitoring system have been published by the Health Minister.

Ramsey Group Practice had the highest percentage of calls going unanswered, with almost 45% of the 75,000 calls made between June and December last year being abandoned by the caller before they were answered.

Southern Group Practice had a similar percentage unanswered, with 44.7% of callers not getting to speak to the surgery.

Patients in the south also faced the longest wait, with an average wait time between 2 minutes 20 seconds and 6 minutes 28 seconds.

Of the six practices that record such data, Laxey Group Practice performed best, with less than one in five calls going unanswered.

Palatine answered just under 60% of the 59,000 calls placed over the seven-month period, while just over two thirds connected at Village Walk in Onchan.

In response to the Tynwald question from Douglas North MHK and former Health Minister David Ashford, Lawrie Hooper said work is ongoing to improve the experience for patients calling their GP.

The DHSC also says all GP practices offer online services through Patient Access for patients to manage appointments and repeat prescriptions.