Richmond Surgery Fleet

I know reception work is difficult as I have done it myself but the rudeness I have experienced in the last 2 calls I have made have been met with a level of disrespect which is unacceptable
Apr 23rd, 2023

The level of service here has dropped in the 27 years since we joined the surgery. Our son, who has a compromised immune system (a fact that we made clear from the start), had developed a bad throat infection with other issues which prevented him from eating. He was really weak, sore joints, dizzy when standing up and feeling awful. We phone Tuesday 8:00 and eventually got a phone consultation at 9:30 with a nurse practitioner. There was no option to take him to be seen in person, despite asking for that. Instead, we were asked to take photos of the back of his throat and upload them to a link that was texted to him. An appointment was also set up for 10:15 Weds, 'in case the photos aren't clear enough'. We heard nothing back and so I went in person after lunch to check that they had received the photos. The receptionist found them on her computer (so they had been sent) but said that they 'weren't appearing on the system' and so the medical person might not have seen them. I asked if that could be checked, and was told not. Having heard nothing back on Tues, we went for the appointment 10:15 Weds. The nurse practititoner identified what she thought the issues were, and our son was told that a prescription would be ready that day and he'd be notified electronically when ready. The surgery shuts at 18:30 and so when we hadn't heard anything by 18:00, we phoned reception. The GP who was signing off the prescription 'was aware and would notify us when it was done - the pharmacy is open until 22:00 and GPs sometimes take until 20:00 to sign off prescriptions'. By 20:30 we hadn't heard anything and so phoned the pharmacy on the off-chance - and the prescription was there. Finally got the drugs 36h after calling to make an appointment. Right, so that's the story in full, for context. My problem with this surgery is the difficulty getting to see a GP, the complete lack of communication between the surgery and patient, and the fact that a patient with potential issues wasn't treated faster. - asked for a GP appointment but instead got a phone consultation with someone not fully qualified to issue medication, despite making our son's situation very clear - photo upload system is rubbish, if we're told that it uploaded ok and yet the medical staff can't see it on the system - reception staff (and yes, I know they do a difficult job) were helpful as far as they could be, but were unable to answer any question about what was happening and when, and surely that would be a good thing for them to have (patients are their CUSTOMERS, but I feel we are of secondary importance) - we weren't informed when the prescription was eventually ready, as we were repeatedly told would happen, we had to chase it ourselves Anyone who saw how badly our son went downhill because of the length of time taken would sympathise with why I've given this surgery 1 star. At this rate the UK will end up with private healthcare like they have in the USA
Apr 12th, 2023

Told to turn up 5 minutes before my appointment time, went in 10 minutes late.
Mar 31st, 2023

Excellent
Mar 24th, 2023

If I could give 0 stars I would. I have just moved to this area and am currently still registered with my old surgery in Wiltshire. During the move I became really unwell. The surgery refused to take me on as a temporary patient and told me that my old surgery could just asseas me over the phone and send antibiotics to a pharmacy near me. This is obviously totally ridiculous. Seeing as I have symptomsof a cheat infection I would need to be physically seen to determine if antibiotics are really necessary. The surgery also said that my old surgery is legally responsible to provide care which is total rubbish. In fact, the NHS website states that if you are somewhere other than your usual residence you can still access a GP as a temporary patient. I will certainly not be registering at this surgery as I would not trust them with my care after this. I ended up having to drive 30 mins to Woking to see a nurse in a walk on centre where I was prescribed antibiotics after she listened to my chest. She also confirmed to me that it is always necessary to see someone face to face for this kind of issue. This was probably one of the worst experiences I have had with a GP surgery and I tried to make a complaint on their website but of course you cannot do this unless you are a registered patient. How clever of them!
Apr 8th, 2023