"Bad experience at the overseas travel clinic"

I visited the Overseas Travel clinic at Leafield to have vaccinations before my holiday. My first impressions of the clinic weren't very good and I was disappointed with the lack of patient confidentiality. I sat in the waiting area and another patient was sat with the receptionist in another room. The door wide open so I could hear all the patient's personal information! I was concerned that others would be able to hear when it was my turn, but luckily there was nobody in the waiting area. I was told the clinic was incredibly busy, but for the 40 minutes that I was there, only two others visited the department.

I had to pay for my vaccinations and was confused by a sign and available leaflet which each gave conflicting information. The leaflet said payment could be by cash or card, but the sign said cash payments were not accepted! There was only one receptionist available so I had to wait approximately 10 minutes until she was free, so I could clarify whether cash was accepted. It turns out that it wasn't, so the leaflets need to be removed or updated.

I was approached when I was in the waiting area by a member of staff who asked me a question, didn't listen to my response, then talked over me, so I had to repeat myself. I do not think their customer service skills weren't the best! This was the same staff member who prepared the needles and vaccinations for the doctor. I was alarmed to see that after handling some paperwork, they didn't wash her hands before preparing the needle! I had my injections with another member of my family, and the member of staff didn't wash their hands before preparing their needle, even after preparing mine! I wasn't impressed with their hygiene.

Overall I found the attitude of the staff was poor. I felt like they treated me like a number and not a person. The department itself seemed poorly looked after, it looked grubby and run down. In my opinion the member of staff I saw wasn't concious of their hygiene, and I couldn't see that any alcohol gel was available anywhere.

I work for the NHS myself, and have never seen such poor treatment as a patient or as a member of staff. After this experience I will never return to Leafield clinic, and hope the staff are given some hand hygiene training, and customer service training too.