"Awful"

I live and work in China with my wife and baby daughter. Some vaccinations are unavailable here so my local doctor advised me to try and get them done in the UK when I came home to visit my parents. So, in February 2016, I brought my daughter to this practice to have her immunisations. Initially the receptionist insisted that this was not possible as I live in China with my family, and we are not UK residents. This is despite both my daughter and I having UK passports, and the fact that I have paid tax and NI consistently in the UK. I insisted on speaking to the practice manager and they advised me to register temporarily and in that way we could get the jabs done. We did this and arranged to see the nurse who was really helpful and performed the procedure expertly.

In December 2016 we returned to the practice to get the next round of immunisations completed. Once again the receptionist was downright rude, and insisted that we could not get my daughter’s jabs done. Once again, I insisted that they speak to the manager. After various refusals to do so, finally they relented and then told me that I could make an appointment to see the nurse in three weeks’ time. This was impractical for us as we were only in the UK for a short stay. I asked to see the manager myself and was told no. I insisted, and then got to speak to the manager who contradicted the receptionist and offered me a slot a day after our flight was due to leave back to China. Apparently this was the only time possible despite four nurses being on full-time duty at the practice. Of course, we could not rearrange our trip so my daughter was unable to get all the jabs she needs, including the MMR jab.

As it stands, I have a beautiful girl who is unprotected against some deadly diseases, as a result of a lack of flexibility on behalf of the practice management. I have no doubt that this was a result of ‘saving the face’ of the receptionist who had constantly lied to me, and made every effort to stop my 1-year-old baby daughter from getting treatment on the NHS. I am frankly disgusted that in the UK people are willing to put the life of a young girl at risk in this way.

At this practice the nurse was amazing, the management were at one point helpful but ultimately inflexible, and the reception staff are a disgrace. I am sure that these comments will change nothing, but the office staff at this practice should be thoroughly ashamed of the way it treats patients.