STAFF from a doctors surgery have apologised to patients after being forced to reschedule ‘less urgent’ appointments.

The Gratton Surgery in Sutton Scotney was faced with IT issues affecting the practice and its online patient records system.

Five doctors work at the surgery, one of the last village surgeries in the county.

Dr James Read, of the practice, said: “We would like to apologise to our patients for the inconvenience caused by this issue and would like to thank them and our staff for their understanding and support.

“It was a frustrating situation involving an issue with our patient records system, which led to delays in opening, updating and saving information.”

The surgery has a branch in South Wonston, where a new server was recently installed as part of a planned upgrade to improve computer links between the two sites.

A Sutton Scotney villager, who asked not to be named, said: “The Gratton is a really good rural surgery and we are very lucky to have it. Because it’s not too big, the doctors get to know their patients.

“Like everywhere in the UK, there is sometimes an issue with having to wait a couple of weeks for a GP appointment but if the patient says it’s urgent, an on-call doctor will call them back the same day and then, if necessary, you will be seen by a doctor that same day.”

She added: “That has always been my and my children’s experience - and we’ve lived in Sutton Scotney for 18 years.”

The situation has now been resolved and the surgery confirmed that emergencies had not been affected.

People who could not be seen at the surgery were offered alternative appointments at the primary care hubs in Winchester and Andover.