A man has become so fed-up of struggling to get a face-to-face appointment with his doctor that he staged a protest in the waiting room.

Stevan Richardson sat in the Sydenham House practice in Ashford with a homemade sign pleading to see a GP.

The 60-year-old is suffering with his mental health and says he needs an in-person consultation with a doctor in order to get a proper diagnosis.

Bosses at Sydenham House have told KentOnline they are "working to improve access" to the surgery.

Mr Richardson says getting an appointment wasn't a problem before the Covid pandemic.

"I'm screaming for help and nobody is listening," he said.

"A telephone call is not going to help my situation."

The matter came to a head when Mr Richardson walked into the surgery in Hythe Road and asked to make an appointment at reception.

He says he was told this was not possible - and he needed to do it over the phone or via an e-consult form instead.

Mr Richardson then sat in the waiting room with his sign which said: "Peaceful protest. I want to 'see' a 'doctor'."

He told KentOnline he was waiting 30 minutes before being seen by someone.

"Originally, the practice manager spoke to me, and then I saw a man who isn't a doctor," he said.

"I could change to another practice but I shouldn't have to."

Mr Richardson says before the Covid lockdowns were imposed in March 2020, he was able to book an appointment at reception.

"They're just not listening," he said.

"As far as I'm concerned, I can just pop into my dentist and get an appointment over the counter, but you have to phone or use e-consult at the doctor's. I can't do either of those things so where am I supposed to go to?

"I'm struggling with my mental health at the moment - and I even think to myself, I don't look very well."

"How difficult is it for me to go to the receptionist and make an appointment with a doctor?"

Mr Richardson says he is trying to get help with his mental health, but cannot afford to put the funds on his phone to call at 8am and wait in a queue.

"I had to explain to the receptionist that I cannot call because I can't put the funds on my phone. I cannot use e consult, because my device doesn't support it," he said.

"They just responded saying I have to use these two options.

"How difficult is it for me to go to the receptionist and make an appointment with a doctor?

"Month after month, there's nothing - I can only use those two options.

"This is why I felt I had to resort to a peaceful protest."

In October, Sydenham House confirmed it will be merging with Hollington Surgery.

But this was not welcomed by patients, who said it is hard enough to make an appointment as it is.

When contacted for comment, a practice spokesperson told KentOnline: “We’re sorry to hear of this patient’s recent experience.

"We are working to improve access to the practice and realise it can be frustrating for those who have difficulty getting through.

"Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment further.”

New figures in October showed the number of patients seeing a GP face to face were the highest since the pandemic.

According to NHS Digital, more than two-thirds of appointments (68.1%) with family doctors in England were carried out in person in September.

This was the first time the proportion of face-to-face appointments were above the 66.2% recorded in March 2020 - when the country went into lockdown.