A LARGE queue, which spread out onto Plymouth Road, formed at Abbey Surgery’s recent flu clinic, due to an ‘unprecedented number’ of patients arriving early for their appointment.

One patient highlighted that the surgery’s flu clinic was usually an ‘amazingly efficient operation’ with patients being ‘in and out in minutes’. But this year, people were queuing out of the building.

The patient said: ‘This year the queues went right around the building, into Plymouth Road, necessitating a wait, in the rain of up to 30 minutes. The harassed staff were confronted by chaos.’

When approached by the Times, a spokesperson for Abbey Surgery said: ‘Our flu clinics normally operate efficiently and in the past this has been the case, despite patients arriving earlier than their booked appointment.

‘On Saturday, there must have been some concern regarding the impending bad weather as an unprecedented number of patients turned up well before their allocated appointment, which unfortunately resulted in the huge queue outside of our building.

‘If patients can come at the time allotted, they will find the whole process much smoother.’