THE family of a 95-year-old Kilmacolm woman with dementia were told she would need to wait a week for a doctor to visit her at home.

Her son, who lives outwith the area, said he made repeated calls to the New Surgery, in the Cargill Campus, over a three day period asking for a doctor to call on his mum.

But it was only after he contacted the Tele that a GP went out to visit his mum later the same day.

The 61-year-old, who lives in Stirling, said: “I didn’t get a home visit at all until I contacted the Greenock Telegraph.

“You would expect a 95-year-old with dementia to be a priority. 

“I don’t live nearby and while visiting my mum I was concerned about her health. She didn’t look well and she has dementia.

“She said she was feeling unwell and was complaining of a sore back.”

The man called the surgery on June 27 to ask them to visit his mum.

He was told by the receptionist that they would pass on a message but the next day he called again and was told there was no record of a phone call the previous day.

By June 30 no visit had been arranged.  He acted on his concerns and he was eventually told over the phone that one would take place the following week.

He said: “I was furious as that would be a week after I contacted them — were they really going to leave her for all that time?

“I didn’t think it was appropriate to distress her and bring her to the surgery or make it an emergency and frighten her with ambulances and hospitals.

“I thought that was what we were trying to avoid.

“The surgery’s procedures have failed as far as I’m concerned.”

When the Tele contacted the New Surgery the practice manager said that matters with patients were confidential and they would not comment.

They later phoned their patient’s son and arranged a home visit at the end of the day.

A spokesman for the Inverclyde health and social care partnership said: “We would not comment on an individual case but each GP practice has its own individual arrangements around home visiting.”