PATIENTS could get a bigger say in the way doctors’ surgeries at Musselburgh are run following complaints about Eskbridge Medical Practice.

David Small, director of East Lothian Health & Social Care Partnership, has agreed to consider the formation of a patient involvement group for the three GP practices based at Musselburgh Primary Care Centre.

Eskbridge came under fire at a meeting of the community council in December for introducing a new patient booking system.

Patients have to leave their name and number via telephone and are later called back by a doctor.

Mr Small attended last week’s community council meeting, He heard complaints that the Eskbridge practice closed for lunch and staff training on Wednesday afternoons.

Irene Tait, community council chairman, said: “People feel that doctors are wasting their valuable time phoning patients and there will be a lot of people who can’t get to a telephone during a working day.”

The Health and Social Care Partnership’s clinical director Dr Jon Turvill also attended the meeting, as did Alison Macdonald, head of older people services and access.

Dr Turvill said that Eskbridge, which covered five care homes, had been “struggling” for about two or three years.

Last year, one of the partners retired and another resigned.

Dr Turvill said that nationally there were difficulties recruiting doctors and the practice wished to be directly managed by the NHS.

He explained: “At the moment we are trying to keep, as best we can, the service to patients running under a great deal of difficulty because of staff having left.”

He said an additional two part-time GPs and a nurse practitioner had been appointed but had not yet started in their jobs.

Dr Turvill explained that the aim of Phone First was not to avoid face-to-face consultations but to put people in touch with the team as quickly as possible on the same day.

“No system of access in general practice is perfect and, having worked with a system similar myself, the problems that arise can all be got round one way or another,” he added.

Dr Turvill said that there there was no intention to change the Phone First system at the moment.

Community councillor Betty Ramsden claimed that the Eskbridge surgery also closed for lunch and training on Wednesday afternoons.

Mr Small said: “You should be able to get through to a practice from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. We will look at that because that shouldn’t be happening.”

Protective learning is held on about six or seven Wednesday afternoons a year, when the practice is covered by the out-of-hours service.

Cathy McArthur suggested that the community should be more involved in the health centre.

Dr Turvill said that a patient participation group could be set up across Musselburgh’s three practices rather than having individual groups for each practice.

“We do want to promote cooperative working between practices – that is high up on our ‘to do’ list,” he added.

Patient groups already exist at Port Seton, Prestonpans and Tranent.

Mr Small later said: “Patient liaison groups can make a very positive difference to practices.

“They provide an opportunity for patients to feedback to practices about their experiences and give them the chance to ensure that patients’ views are taken into account as practices plan services.”