GPS Healthcare - Tanworth Lane

Don't even try getting through on the phone.

The phones are always busy, the receptionists are mostly rude and there’s never any appointments (you have to phone at 08:30 when by the time you’ve got through no appointments are left)
I’ve had to call 111 around 5/6 times in the last year and they’ve always got me an appointment at another surgery.

After waiting between 30 minutes to an hour for someone to answer you are then greeted by extremely rude staff. It’s not all staff at GPS medowside but the majority talk to you like dirt, making you feel as if you’re a burden to them. The communication skills between the office team is absolutely diabolical to the point I was told I was booked in for an appointment by the individual who answered the door then 15 minutes after my appointment time I asked reception to double check and she said no your appointment has been cancelled and I was too busy doing something else to book you in! Absolutely shocking service. I also had another incident where the doctors would not send my prescription for insulin to the pharmacy as I hadn’t had a review (even though this had been cancelled by the surgery) they then continued to say I will have to wait 48 hours! A diabetic in need of insulin was told they would have to wait 2 days. It’s like as if they did not understand the consequences if I did not take my insulin. GPS healthcare need to have a serious review of medowside.

This is for Meadowside. Phone on the day for an appointment, on average wait time on the phone is over an hour, to be told no available appointments and to call again the next day, also no prebookable appointments available. When you do attend surgery (pre COVID) no other patients waiting so they only have one GP seeing patients for the whole practice. Reception staff are very rude and unprofessional. When you do manage to see a GP they do not really seem to care. When something more serious they do not want to refer you to see a specialist, it’s as if it’s coming out of their pockets. I will be changing surgeries as soon as I can.

Takes so long to get an appointment (even before Covid). The reception staff make you feel like your concerns are irrelevant and doesn’t warrant a doctors time. How can you book an appointment for two weeks time if you don’t know you’ll be ill or not? Then the appointment gets wasted. I’ve never understood it.
Don’t get me wrong the nurses are great and have always been friendly and welcoming.
I don’t think all the staff are to blame but the powers higher up. It used to be a wonderful family doctors.

Feels like everything is an effort and you have to prove that you’re worthy of care.

Only so many times I can hear that they don’t know what to do with me and that there’s a pandemic (like I wasn’t aware).

Left in chronic pain and loosing weight because it always someone else’s job to be monitoring me.

Knowle Surgery- Regularly takes an hour to get through to make an appointment.
Majority of receptionists and doctors are fantastic but as always the odd person can be rude and unhelpful.

Ridiculous wait times despite promises from them it would improve.

It was tough enough trying to get an appointment pre-lockdown 2020 it is now near impossible. Even when you wait for 40 mins on hold when you become caller No.1 the phone just rings out and no one answers. If you do get through you have to get past a receptionist who decides whether or not you need a GP to call back. I’ve spent hours on the phone over the last 12 months and have gotten absolutely nowhere:

Staff do not communicate well. Brusque telephone manner leading to confusion
.My own recent experience means despite forwarding photographic evidence 2 days ago and telephoning again to ask when to expect feed back I was asked to phone again at 8am the following day - in total that would be 3 telephone calls plus photographic text. Time wasting at the least. I have life long chronic conditions which I manage well with the aid of action plans but based on previous experience I believe I have either an infection or possibly. but unlikely shingles . Two days now and no feedback .











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