"We've been in this surgery for 5 years and the only reason why we haven't changed yet is because we wanted to give them a chance to improve (which they said they were trying to do very publicly last year) and to avoid the disruption of having to change doctor's in the middle of 3 pregnancies. But we have now decided to definitely move surgery and feel we must submit a public review as we would never recommend this surgery to anyone!
We have experienced several problems similar to the ones reported in other reviews and over and over again, as they are clear patterns:
- It is almost impossible to get through via the phone, often being put on hold for over 10min. It is much easier to walk to the surgery but then most other patients have come to the same conclusion so you then need to queue for a while to speak to a receptionist
- It is almost impossible to get an appointment; in fact in all those 5 years we have only been able to use one routine appointment that we had to book 2 weeks in advance to discuss a consultant referral - even though we had been told already that we needed the referral at a previous appointment with another GP in the same surgery! The only way to be seen by a doctor is to get an emergency appointment on the day, for which you need to call as soon as they open, wait around 10min to get through a receptionist, and then hope she agrees you need an appointment
- Even when you get an appointment and turn up on time you often need to wait 30-45min (I have waited over an hour) to be seen, and then I have even been told by one of the GPs that she didn't have time to read my child's notes as she only had 10min and it was an emergency appointment ...!
- One of my children has a perforated ear and has been under the care of the ENT consultant for 3 years now. Even though the consultant has recommended specific ear drops, the nurse and one of the GPs have both refused to provide them - claiming they had to follow "procedure" or they weren't insured to prescribe the drops (which I find surprising as other GPs have prescribed them, it seems like a lottery - you get the medication you need depending on the GP you see)
- Countless problems of miscommunication between the surgery and our local chemists' in dealing with repeat prescriptions. We've had our local chemists' calling and being put on hold for over 10min, physically walking to the surgery reception to request it on our behalf, emailing, faxing and in summary chasing for us on several occasions. The surgery has never accepted responsibility and has shown very little care at all when we've had to ask for an emergency supply, refusing to provide it with no reason
- Some of the doctors have been very good but you never get to see the same one
- Rude and unprofessional front-desk staff. This has improved but you still often face very poor customer service - probably as a result of dealing with lots of very frustrated patients who are fed up with all those problems."
–Anonymous, 25th February 2019
We have experienced several problems similar to the ones reported in other reviews and over and over again, as they are clear patterns:
- It is almost impossible to get through via the phone, often being put on hold for over 10min. It is much easier to walk to the surgery but then most other patients have come to the same conclusion so you then need to queue for a while to speak to a receptionist
- It is almost impossible to get an appointment; in fact in all those 5 years we have only been able to use one routine appointment that we had to book 2 weeks in advance to discuss a consultant referral - even though we had been told already that we needed the referral at a previous appointment with another GP in the same surgery! The only way to be seen by a doctor is to get an emergency appointment on the day, for which you need to call as soon as they open, wait around 10min to get through a receptionist, and then hope she agrees you need an appointment
- Even when you get an appointment and turn up on time you often need to wait 30-45min (I have waited over an hour) to be seen, and then I have even been told by one of the GPs that she didn't have time to read my child's notes as she only had 10min and it was an emergency appointment ...!
- One of my children has a perforated ear and has been under the care of the ENT consultant for 3 years now. Even though the consultant has recommended specific ear drops, the nurse and one of the GPs have both refused to provide them - claiming they had to follow "procedure" or they weren't insured to prescribe the drops (which I find surprising as other GPs have prescribed them, it seems like a lottery - you get the medication you need depending on the GP you see)
- Countless problems of miscommunication between the surgery and our local chemists' in dealing with repeat prescriptions. We've had our local chemists' calling and being put on hold for over 10min, physically walking to the surgery reception to request it on our behalf, emailing, faxing and in summary chasing for us on several occasions. The surgery has never accepted responsibility and has shown very little care at all when we've had to ask for an emergency supply, refusing to provide it with no reason
- Some of the doctors have been very good but you never get to see the same one
- Rude and unprofessional front-desk staff. This has improved but you still often face very poor customer service - probably as a result of dealing with lots of very frustrated patients who are fed up with all those problems."
–Anonymous, 25th February 2019
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