"Receptionist attitude is surgery’s Achilles Heel"

I’ve no problem with clinical care or attentiveness of the doctors or nurses but the attitude of some of the Reception staff and Management is woeful and has deteriorated in recent months.

The phone on the day only appointments, no ability to see your own GP for continuity of care, refusal to help with non-urgent matters, misinformation on the phone and tardy approach to repeat prescriptions is just not good enough and has caused my family considerable stress when trying to get healthcare or reassurance.

Refusal to assist with medical paperwork because it’s ‘not part of the service’ caused us considerable inconvenience (and eventually was resolved by another NHS practice which had better customer service than Claremont). Also, having to declare your condition out loud in the foyer is a dignity issue and I overheard an unfortunate young woman having to explain that she thought she was pregnant needed to see a doctor in tears which was utterly humiliating and could have led to her taking extreme measures.

Sadly I think the approach at Claremont is to make it so difficult that you go elsewhere and they can save their time and budget.

And we have - just out of pure frustration.

I’ve been with Claremont all my life and it’s a shame to see service decline and I don’t blame the doctors who work very hard and are oblivious to what’s happening on the ground floor, but more needs to be done to understand the patient experience and engage with what patients want and need.