GPS Healthcare - Meadowside Family Health Centre

I am often waiting a long time for an appointment when trying to book them over the phone. This can often be up to 3 weeks. This is less of an issue for online appointments which are easy to access and I only wait around 3 days.

I have mental health issues and have found Meadowside surgery to be very supportive. Whenever I have needed an appointment I have been able to access one. The doctors have been very good.

I was given COVID and flu jabs at the same time which made me very unwell. I was not asked any questions about my general health prior to being given them.

It can be difficult to get appointments here but I have no complaints about the care I have received.

As a patient, I expressed my concerns after seeing the doctor who is also the Medical Director. She lack empathy and was dismissive towards my concerns after seeing her with acute tummy pain. There seems to be a gap in clinical skills and acumen as she brushed it off without proper consideration. I ended up in the ED the day after. I wanted to highlight this issue for the well-being of other patients .

Getting an appointment is quite difficult, but the new triage system seems to be working well, and I recently needed to be seen and managed to get an appointment. The online systems they use are quite difficult and I require the help of my family to navigate these.

I was seen by my GP on time. I felt very comfortable and listened to and my GP was very informative and caring.

GPS Healthcare have a new appointment system called Patches. I received a text 2 weeks ago telling me to call the surgery to make a routine appointment, for which I am happy to wait 4/6 weeks. I called this morning and was informed that there are no appointments available today. Having explained that I did not expect this as it is not urgent and I am happy to wait, I was then informed that I must use the Patches system to request an appointment. Following this I will be put on a triage list and an appointment will be allocated to me or I may call the surgery at 8am. How can a system like this be beneficial to the patient. I don’t need to be seen urgently so why do I need to use Patches, or call the surgery at 8am. Why could I not be added to the triage list having been asked to call the surgery. I can make an appointment with the asthma nurse over the phone so why is that not the case here. I cannot see how this system benefits patients and certainly the elderly and disabled.

I recently called to book an appointment when I was feeling unwell. The service is good and I was attended to well but I find it difficult to communicate with my GP whenever I visit.

It can be hard to get appointments here especially when trying to get through on the phone.