A MAN has raised concerns about the ability of Halstead’s surgery to cope with the growing town after being disappointed with the way his father-in-law was treated.

John Smith, 84, visited Elizabeth Courtauld Surgery while suffering from a chest infection.

He was told no one was available to help and to call back in the week for an appointment.

Instead, Mr Smith decided to ring the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) unit at Broomfield Hospital, which sent a nurse to see him within 30 minutes and issued him a prescription.

His son-in-law Mike Alston, also of Halstead, said: “My father-in-law was suffering quite badly with this chest infection, he went to the surgery and was simply told there was nothing they could do.

“He was given a phone number and told to call back on Wednesday.

“To me that isn’t acceptable, he is 84 years old, no disrespect to him but at his age he could keel over the next day due to a chest infection and he was simply turned away.

“Luckily he has the number of the COPD Unit from where he has been in hospital with similar issues before. Within half an hour someone was on his door checking him over, and that is the service he should have been given by his local surgery.”

With nearly 300 homes set to be built off Oak Road and several more developments in the pipeline, Mr Alston said he was concerned about the ability for Elizabeth Courtauld to cope.

He claimed that every morning the phones are engaged until 9am, despite the surgery opening at 8.30am, and once you do get through you are told there are no appointments available.

He added: “Really, the main issue here is, if the surgery can’t cope with the numbers coming in at the moment, how are they going to cope when all these new houses are built?

“Even myself a little while back, I needed an appointment, it was nothing serious, just needed a check up, but I couldn’t get an appointment, and it seems impossible.

“It is not good enough. What is the point of having a surgery if you can never get to see the doctor?”

David Shedden, practice manager, said: “Like many GP surgeries in Mid Essex, we are under pressure to provide appointments to a growing population with increased health needs.

"We will aim to recruit GPs and nurses to meet rising patient numbers and offer the best service possible.”