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Appointments are not very accommodating.

Story from nhs.uk

"Appointments are not very accommodating."

About: Hollymoor Medical Centre

My experience of being at this surgery now for 6 years.

-Staff (receptionist's) are very friendly, always have a smile and make you feel welcomed when you don't feel your best, this I feel is important.

- Doctors, now I must say there are a few doctors at this surgery, I think I have only seen the same one 2-3 times however, (I was previously at a single doctor surgery so this has took some getting used too) all are friendly and there to help. Never have I seen a doctor time watch or limit the appointments due to a time restraint.

-appointments, the reason for the review.

I've never seen such a mess of an appointment system. This isn't the fault of the receptionist and I do feel for them having to enforce this.

They say you can book an appointment in advance (you cant or I have never been able to for some reason)

You have to show up at the surgery from 7-8 and wait for reception to open (at 8) to book an appointment. Bearing in mind by the time 08:00 comes, there is a wait of about 30+ people wanting a appointment so the earlier you get there, the best chance of an appointment. Then from 8 you can ring to get an appointment but you risk not getting one due to the time waiting on the phone and the people who have shown up at the surgery to book one. For me, this needs to change, open up future booking again.

Today I tried to book a future appointment and there isn't any, my issue isn't an emergency or require any prescriptions, I just need a consult with my DR regarding a future issue. Now I have to ring from 8 in the morning to get a same day appointment when my issue isn't an emergency. It just doesn't make sense to me.

All in all though, good surgery to be at.

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Responses

Response from Hollymoor Medical Centre 5 years ago
Hollymoor Medical Centre

Submitted on 19/10/2018 at 12:41
Published on nhs.uk at 13:06

Thank you for your comments both negative and positive.

Our appointment system is under constant review and we do our very best to accommodate all of our patients.

Unfortunately due to demand and capacity issues this is not always possible.

As part of a federation we are able to offer appointments to see a GP at the West Heath Hub when our appointments have all been allocated.

We offer appointments at different levels so that we can meet the needs of parents, carers, the elderly and people who work.

We offer an online booking system and also offer extended hours where an appointment to see a Doctor can be booked as early as 7am in the morning.

We are sorry to hear that you are not happy with this system and that you may have experienced problems getting a suitable appointment.

Can we assure you that all medical emergencies are seen on the same day and often if an appointment is not needed one of our GP's will call the patient back and try to deal with the issue over the phone.

If you would like to call the practice and ask to speak to a member of the management team then we can explain things further to best understand how our GP's need to work within safe standards and can only see the amount of patients which is clinically safe.

Regards,

Dr Lawrence & Partners.

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