Dad who tried to get urgent appointment for poorly son 'banned' from Shefford GP for being 'aggressive'

A frustrated dad who was trying to get urgent care for his young son with suspected Strep A has been banned from a GP surgery for ‘aggressive’ behaviour.

Martin Penny, 55, claims he is "concerned with the procedures" of Shefford Health Centre after trying to get an appointment for his poorly son.

He has been removed from the practice register and placed under NHS Special Allocations, with Shefford Health Centre saying it does not tolerate "threatening, intimidating or aggressive behaviour".

But Mr Penny, who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 35 years, said: "They wasted 24 hours, allowing a pathogen to manifest in a child; all we wanted was for a doctor to see him. I feel I've been treated as a villain, a criminal. I was concerned but firm – not angry, swearing, or aggressive".

He phoned the surgery on January 30 as his son was showing what he believed to be Strep A symptoms – and getting worse. Guidance on the NHS website advised "an urgent GP appointment".

But he says he was told no GP was available and the call "was terminated".

Unsatisfied, he visited the surgery in person, was given an appointment for 7.20pm and told to come back. But he later received a call to say that appointment was cancelled. "Desperate", he returned to the surgery anyway.

He said: "My son was crying and incredibly lethargic. I spoke to a nurse, but I wasn't rude. I was told there was no one to see him. At this point, I decided to leave."

In a letter to Mr Penny, seen by the Chronicle, Shefford Health Centre states: "When you were asked to leave, you sat on the floor in the corridor and refused to leave until you were seen. At this point the police were called.” It adds that both the receptionist and nurse complained to me about Mr Penny’s “aggressive, threatening behaviour” and says there was “no option but to remove you from our practice list".

But Mr Penny claims: "I had my five-year-old son in my arms who was still presenting as lethargic and upset. I squatted against the wall to take the pressure off my back."

His wife took their son to the centre the next day for treatment.

A spokeswoman for Shefford Health Centre said: “Our surgery does not operate walk-in services. As all our appointments were full when Mr Penny first contacted us about his son’s symptoms, we advised that walk-in services were available at both Bedford and Putnoe, where he could be seen more quickly.

“When a cancellation arose, we offered Mr Penny an appointment for his son but, due to a clerical error, this was with a nurse practitioner who is not able to see patients aged under 18. We are happy to repeat our apology for this oversight. We again reminded the family that other options were available.

“We take the safety and security of our staff and patients very seriously. We do not tolerate threatening, intimidating or aggressive behaviour.”

Bedfordshire Police said they were notified of an alleged public order offence at the surgery – but no action has been taken and the investigation is closed, subject to any new evidence coming to light.