Wick medical practice apologises to local man over admin error

A local man took issue with the NHS-run Riverview Practice in Wick and received an apology over a delayed document that was vital for a new job.

Eric Rollo said that as a result of the experience he has decided to move to a different practice in the town. "I'm absolutely disgusted by the way some very important paperwork has been treated by Riverview surgery," he said.

Mr Rollo says he had applied for a position as a trainee bus driver but to get that provisional category on his licence he had to pass a medical test. The DVLA needed extra information and sent a form to his GP for completion.

This was received by the GP at Riverview on September 10 and completed by September 29, he claims. "I contacted the surgery for an update at the end of September and was told 'that's all been done and sent off'.

"Ten days into October I heard nothing from the DVLA. I talked to the DVLA on the phone and they said the form's not arrived so I decided to check with the GP when the form was sent and to chase it up.

"That's when I was told by somebody at Riverview 'Oh, I think it was posted last week'. It was at that point I got quite upset and insisted I talk to the practice manager. She told me it was sitting in a tray and said there were issues with their postage stamp order which has caused the 14-day delay."

The Riverview Practice is based at Wick Medical Centre, which contains two practices, Riverview and the separate Pearson Practice.

Mr Rollo said that if he had not phoned Riverview the form may have sat in the tray for weeks or maybe even months longer. "My job effectively lay in the balance as the DVLA didn't get it back. They could have refused my licence.

"To add to this there appeared to be little genuine remorse for the delay and the fact someone has openly lied to me about the paperwork being sent off. There was little caring that the delay caused by admin staff could ultimately affect me retaining the new job."

Mr Rollo said the matter has now been resolved and the form has been forwarded to the DVLA. "The good news is I'm now a trainee bus driver. After I'd complained, the practice manager said she'd sort it out and get it posted First Class. The next day it was gone and within a week the DVLA had approved my licence categories."

Mr Rollo said he has spoken to others who have experienced similar delays for vital documents including one person who needed a renewal of a shotgun licence. "They had to have a medical form and it was sent in months before when they received notification from the police saying 'we haven't had your medical form back'. It seems low priority for them [Riverview] if it doesn't have NHS stamped on top of it. It's high priority for the person who wants the form though."

Mr Rollo says that "what was once the best health surgery" has now "fallen to the worst". "It's almost as if they're putting two fingers up to the public and saying 'stuff you'. That's the way I feel. It got to the point where I had enough of Riverview and changed practice."

An NHS spokesperson spoke to the Groat on behalf of the practice and said: "We are very sorry this patient did not receive the service expected. The practice have apologised and have put in place more robust admin processes to help prevent this from happening again."

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