A POSTMAN left blind for weeks after suffering a detached retina is among nearly one in five people across Brentwood, Billericay, Wickford and Basildon who say their GP opening hours are inconvenient.
According to a new survey from Ipsos MORI, 18 per cent of people in the area are unhappy with their GP's opening hours, with 74 per cent wanting their doctor to be available after 6.30pm.
According to the NHS, there are 261,947 people registered with a GP in the area covered by the Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - the body which organises health care in the two boroughs.
Postie John Murnane, 43, from Pilgrims Hatch went blind during his delivery round last month when his retina became detached.
After treatment at Moorfield Hospital in London he says he had to wait four days for an appointment to enable him to return to work.
"I started work at 7am in the morning and only four hours later I couldn't see a thing out of my one eye," he recalled.
"My vision began to go slightly hazy but bit-by-bit in segments like the numbers on a clock face. My retina became completely detached. There was no pain whatsoever, which was weird, and then I was completely blind."
As Mr Murnane's vision returned he was required to present his employer with a doctor's letter to allow him to drive his delivery van.
But he claimed getting an appointment at his Hutton based GP surgery proved challenging.
"It was ridiculous," he said.
"I told them I could do any time over the next few days but they told me I couldn't have an appointment until the day after my meeting to assess the return of my licence.
"The system doesn't make any sense. I was able to get an appointment at my opticians straightaway but couldn't see a doctor for days.
"If anyone who is ill phones up and wants an appointment to see a doctor how long do they have to wait?"
A spokesman for NHS England said: "81 per cent of residents living in the area covered by Basildon and Brentwood CCG are satisfied with the access they have to appointments, which is higher than the national average.
"Many practices in this area are already providing appointments in the evening and on Saturday mornings, as part of an extended hours scheme.
"NHS England works with GP practices to assess their appointment systems and will help identify any changes that are particularly needed. We want to ensure that patients have convenient access to local primary care services."
