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Inflexible and unhelpful

Story from nhs.uk

"Inflexible and unhelpful"

About: Bannockburn Surgery

I am not able to give a review of the treatment at this surgery due to my struggles to register. Having moved to the area my partner and I both had difficulties registering here. The surgery operates specific registration times that are difficult to make if you are working. Following registration they will not allow you to see anyone until your information has come through from your previous surgery, after which you must have a new patient check up with a nurse, after which you can finally book an appointment. Given waiting times for an appointment this means that someone who needs to see a GP for a potentially serious condition may have to wait for over a month due to bureaucracy. Both myself and my partner were told separately by staff to go to A&E if we wanted to see someone sooner, which is completely baffling given the pressures on the NHS and the supposed shift towards preventative, community based practice. In addition if you are already concerned about a potential health problem, the added wait time and dismissive attitudes of staff adds to anxiety. In my case when I finally found time to go in to register I was told this would not be possible until my new driving license comes through with my current address on it, despite bringing multiple bills and other proof of address. I'm not sure what the surgery is like once you get in but I have found my (failed) attempt to register stressful and upsetting and do not intend to use this practice.

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Responses

Response from Bannockburn Surgery 5 years ago
Bannockburn Surgery

Submitted on 05/04/2019 at 15:12
Published on nhs.uk at 16:06

Dear Sir or Madam

I am very sorry to hear about your troubles in registering and that you and your partner have decided to look for healthcare elsewhere.

I can confirm that we do, like many surgeries, have specific registration requirements (photographic identification and proof of address) and times and that it is usual to have a new patient check prior to being seen by a GP but that this is usually done in a timely fashion.

Of note, we register several hundreds of patients a year without many issues and ensure that notes are safely transferred to future surgeries.

Regarding medical records to be transferred over, some are automatically done and we would chase things ourselves should there be the need to do so, it does not affect when one can see a GP.

Our reception staff are taught to triage and to safety net which involves the A&E and out of hours emergency clinic services, but this would not be their first place they would signpost patients.

As a surgery we work hard to champion disease prevention and early intervention and we aim to do this at all levels within the surgery.

I apologise that you experience led you to choose another surgery, however, should things change, you are very welcome to come back to us and we hope that things will be smoother the next time.

I will, however, discuss the points you have raised with our surgery staff to help improve future experiences, with best wishes, Dr Sabrina Ong, GP.

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