The struggle to get appointments at the GP surgeries in Ross-on-Wye, due to high demand and a lack of doctors, was just one of the concerns raised at the Town Council Meeting on Monday, October 9th.

The Director of Primary Care for Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Lesley Woakes, told the Councillors: “Struggling to fill vacancies for doctors is a national problem. A problem, really, that Herefordshire is only now seeing and experiencing.”

With the walk-in clinic in Hereford having closed its doors in August, there are even less opportunities to get much needed appointments.

Ross Councillor, Philip Cutter, raised the issue that lots of people make appointments and then fail to keep them. He said: “There are so many missed appointments.

“Speaking to Pendeen Surgery in Ross, they told me that around 140 appointments in a month were missed.”

CCG Director of Primary Care, Lesley Woakes, said: “We now offer text service reminders with an option to reply to cancel the appointment, and to reply to confirm your attendance. But unfortunately, not everyone has a mobile phone.”

If all 140 appointments missed were 10 minutes in length, that is over 23 hours of unused doctors time per month.

Ms Woakes said that the NHS and the local doctors urge people who know if they cannot make an appointment, to please cancel it with time to schedule someone else in. If a problem arises last-minute, and you suddenly can not attend, still take the time to ring up, as a courtesy to those who provide your healthcare.

Ms Woakes attended the meeting to give the Town Councillors an insight into the information which is emerging from the engagement process the health service is undertaking to help shape the health service in the area in future.