"Terrible experience, would never recommend"

I have been registered with Ridgmount for a little over a year and a half and it has easily been one of the worst practices I've ever had the misfortune of attending.

The specific doctor I was originally placed with made unkind comments about my appearance and medical conditions I had already been diagnosed with, and refused to treat me with the recommended medications because I was a woman and they make women “spacey.” No gp would ever tell a man that they would not treat them because it would make them “spacey,” they would tell them it would be harder to concentrate but offer it anyway. I got a second opinion from a specialist at uclh and she recommended I switch doctors asap. The practice made it clear they thought I was being ridiculous for requesting a different gp over these issues.

After I switched, I found that the new doctor was rarely available - often having to wait months between appointments. When she was present, she was easily the most helpful, but it felt like every time I requested an appointment or prescription refill I was told I would have to wait weeks to months to get an appointment because she was “unavailable for the foreseeable future.” The other option they gave me was seeing someone else in the meantime who was unfamiliar with me or my medical history. I ended up seeing two other doctors during this time as needed.

The two doctors I was scheduled with while my gp was unavailable both refused to treat me in accordance with the treatment plan my usual gp had previously prescribed and the medications the rheumatologist (who they had referred me to) was recommending. They made it clear to me that they were unwilling to treat me at all even though I had specifically been scheduled with them for prescription refills. According to 5 different rheumatologists, all of the medications I was recommended were standard treatment for my diagnosed conditions. Although my rheumatologist had an extended back and forth correspondence over formal hospital letters, emails, and multiple phone calls with the practice, they still refused to treat me. My rheumatologist recommended that I switch practices if possible because he had never experienced a failure to treat like this in the past. Based on my prior experiences, I do believe this is because of my demographics - I am a young gay woman, which they explicitly clarified before denying treatment.

I never had any follow up on several referrals supposedly made during this time - one for kidney issues and the other for endometriosis (which I had surgically been diagnosed with 5 years prior). Any attempts to gain information on these referrals or appointments for these issues was dismissed.

I would not recommend this practice to any woman, student, lgbt individual, or anyone with a chronic condition or disability. You will receive misogynistic and ableist commentary, they will refuse to treat you regardless, and it will be a massive waste of your time. I would put zero stars if possible.