I AM writing to complain about the nonsensical appointments service that is offered by the Stockton Heath Medical Centre in Stockton Heath.

When I called about my son's swollen finger I was told that calls after 2.30pm were only for emergencies (such as heart attacks) and that I would have to call back the next day. Having previously experienced this crazy system I was half expecting this so I lamely attempted to ask if I could be added to the list for a doctor to call back the next day.

This request was, of course, denied and I duly bit my tongue and resigned myself to a wasted morning of attempting to get through to the ever-engaged line.

The next morning I called repeatedly for over an hour and eventually got through at gone 10am only to receive a recorded message saying that due to a lot of staff being on leave only emergency appointments would be seen. When I eventually managed to speak to someone, after waiting in a queue of three callers for another ten minutes, I asked if there was any chance of seeing anyone or should I just go to A&E.

After the receptionist had a further chat with the nurse, I finally got an appointment for 12.30 today.

May I congratulate you on the utter ridiculousness of this system.

You have a great team of resources at Stockton Heath but you are letting them all down with this crazy, inflexible service.

Linda Howard Stockton Heath