Grieving family repeatedly contacted by Stopsley GP to arrange treatment for a woman four months after her death

A grieving widower is still being contacted by a Stopsley medical practice to arrange treatment for his wife – four months after she died.

The family of Peter Saunders, aged 75, has slammed the Stopsley Village Practice for a catalogue of mishaps connected to his wife Betty.

Betty, who was 77 when she died in August at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, had been housebound for five years.

But her family says attempts to get the surgery, which had been her local doctors for the past 20 years, to provide covid jabs at home were repeatedly unsuccessful, to the stage where they had to go to their local MP Rachel Hopkins to get support.

After Betty’s death however, which was not connected to covid, her husband has been repeatedly called or messaged to ask him to book flu jabs for his wife, despite asking the practice to update their records.

The couple’s son, also called Peter, said the first call was a couple of weeks after his mum’s death and the practice apologised and said it would amend her records. But a few weeks later his father was contacted again by phone and three times by text. Just last week another call came from the local pharmacy to arrange a flu jab.

Peter said: “He is very upset about this, and every text and call obviously brings his loss to the fore. They are supposed to be treating people sensitively but it’s just a trail of issue after issue. It is really really poor administration on their part.

"Every time they contact him it brings it all back.”

The Practice, on Ashcroft Road, was last week revealed to be the 11th worst practice in England for providing face to face appointments.

Peter said: “I witnessed the difficulties my dad faced trying to get an appointment for my ill mum at this surgery when I visited one morning - he was in a call line queue that lasted from 8am to 10am and when he got through he was given an appointment weeks away.”

The medical practice, which was rated ‘good’ in its latest inspection from the Care Quality Commission, has been contacted for comment.