GPS Healthcare - Knowle

It beggars belief that in this day and age you cannot just phone up and book an appointment with a doctor, but instead have to go through the complete rigmarole of waiting in line every morning from 8 am or having to book online for an emergency appointment and travel for miles. It’s not unique to Knowle, but the system is totally broken.

This surgery is fabulous and always provide referrals when needed. If I need an urgent appointment for myself or my children I can always get one.

The blood test clinic here is very good. Blood tests go much better now they are offered here rather than elsewhere.

The respiratory nurse here is very good.

This service has declined since some of the doctors retired.

This service is good but I have not visited for anything other than injections since COVID.

It appears that there is only one receptionist handling calls for all of the GPS practices, not just the local surgery. I typically wait between one to two hours on the phone, only to be disconnected or encounter delayed responses due to telephone issues on their end. On several occasions, I have been hung up on after long waits. Despite using the call-back service, I have never received a return call. Additionally, I am unable to make appointments other than on the day, which is highly inconvenient and impractical.

Not only is this situation frustrating and inconvenient, but it is also severely worrying for the elderly or those who are seriously ill and cannot physically go into the surgery. The inability to secure timely medical help could have serious health consequences, potentially breaching NHS standards of care and the duty of care to patients. The current system fails to provide the necessary access to healthcare, which could result in untreated medical conditions and avoidable health complications. I am extremely concerned that this inadequate phone service is compromising patient wellbeing.

This situation is unacceptable and needs immediate attention to prevent any further risk to patients' health. This issue requires an urgent review and resolution to improve the phone service and appointment scheduling process.

It is hard to get an appointment through the online system used by this service and when you do get an appointment the doctors are rubbish.

Bad experience on phone 25 mins they called back later got no space for me, place is a joke, been there for long time never again. It has changed for the worse since it became GPS

If I have a medical need I can get an appointment at the surgery. My concern is the lack of mental health support and treatment. I have medication review every 3 to 6 months, but I have been really struggling with my mental health over the past few months and the doctors have told me that there is nothing that they can do for me. I have been told I can self refer to other services. I find it very difficult to make phone calls because of my struggles, and living in a rural area means that phone signals are very unreliable. It would make a huge difference if doctors made referrals like they did before.