Is anyone else having as much of a problem getting an appointment at Bradley Stoke Surgery as me? Just rang for 20 mins – engaged whole time – to be told they’re fully booked for the day. Receptionist tells me they have a queue coming out of the door.
It’s always the same every time I call now – if you get an appointment they’re at hugely awkward times (especially if you work) or not with your own doctor. Now, this is the first time I’ve been told they’re totally out of appointments for a particular day. What is going on?? How can they be out of appointments by 8.50am?
Is the surgery in Little Stoke any better? I’m getting quite frustrated with that place at the moment.
Yes, I’ve had this issue many times over the last few years I’m afraid. I’ve had to go 5 days without a 2nd course of anti-biotics myself, despite having my mobile on continual re-dial 43 times one Wednesday morning and still not getting through!!! Also the same problem getting appointments for my children, one of whom ended up at A&E, with a raging temp and violent vomiting due to a double ear infection that needed anti-biotics. The online service is useful but again not always much better with some appointments being a 2 or 3 day wait, let alone if you want to see your own dr.
As the out of hrs drs service is now based the other side of Bristol in Knowle and none of the walk in centres are local either, something needs to be done as a matter of priority. They are great Drs when you can actually get to see them but the surgery clearly needs more phone lines, more drs and/or longer opening hours especially when the practice still seems to be taking on more new patients unlike some other local surgeries. We all know the NHS is under strain and I have friends who work for the NHS but the overall service and strain due to budget cuts and reorganisations within PCT’s etc.., especially in Midwifery, seems to be getting alot worse, despite NI, Income tax and local taxation increasing year on year.
I’m being told by receptionists at the BS Surgery that I can’t book appointments over the phone to see my Dr and need to come directly to the Surgery to do this…. When questioned why, I was told this is the way they operate… not good and very confused!!
To be fair I go to the little stoke one and when the lines open at 8:30 they are constantly engaged for like 30 minutes. If I want an appointment for that day I just have to have my mobile and house phone on constant redial just so I can get through. Although they may get very busy in the morning; I’ve never had a problem booking an appointment to see a GP the same day.
I also go to the Little Stoke Surgery now known as The Concorde Surgery and have to say it has got alot better with regard to getting appointments. The only problem is you never see the same Doctor!!!
I go to the Little Stoke Surgery, and get very annoyed. You ring and ring and ring, and the line is engaged and then when you finally get through they say that you need to ring earlier if you need an appointment that day. AAArrrrgghghhh!!
The Concord Surgery has an online booking system for appointments, makes it much easier!!!
Never had a problem-but I don’t visit every time I get a runny nose! On line booking great and has improved things.
As a former resident of Bradley Stoke, I moved away in January 2004 , I see nothing has changed. My wife and often had to turn up a 8am to queue before opening time in order to get seen as making an appointment was nigh on impossible.
I am really disgusted with the behaviour of the reception staff at Bradley Stoke surgery. In retrospect I should avoided them all togather when on the day I was registering with them after moving to bradley stoke the receptionist insisted for me to produce a proof of address other than the tenancy agreement like a bill and refused to register me untl produced one. I had to get her to call her manager and explain to the manager that you don’t get bill straight after moving to a place. My later experiences with them have been no better the staff is rude, you have go there to book an appointment. Once on Friday evening I had run out of pain killers for arthritus and went to collect the prescription that was requested on a thursday morning, the staff refused to provide me a prescription stating that it takes 48 hour to process a prescritprtion and it my own fault for eaving it that late. Needless to say I would have suffered terrible arthritus pain had it not been for the kindness of the staff at the tesco pharmacy who lent me the medication.
I really hope that whole lot of them get arthritus and get treated the same way as they treated me.
Getting an appointment has become increasingly difficult. On two occasions recently I have eventually got through on the phone just before 9:00 to be told there are no appointments left. On the third day, despite being on redial since 8:30, I did not get through until 9:10, when, surprisingly, there were no appointments left again! After much complaining to the receptionist she reluctantly agreed to ask the doctor to phone me, who then asked me to attend the surgery as he felt I needed to be seen. His advice? “You should have come in earlier!” It’s all well and good having an enormous and expensive extension built, but in reality, the practice needs more staff, more phone lines and significantly more appointment slots!
I e-mailed the surgery for a repeat prescription one Tuesday evening in the belief the e-mail would be dealt with on Wednesday morning. On my way home from work on Friday afternoon I called in for the prescription only to be told it was not ready. I was told I had to wait 48 hours. Even if the email was not dealt with until lunchtime on Wednesday, that would still have allowed the staff over 52 hours to process it. When I pointed this out to the receptionist I was told it actually means at the end of surgery 48 hours after putting in the request. I was unable to return at the end of surgery so had to wait until Monday leaving me without medication for the weekend. If the practice is not able to offer a reliable service, they should not advertise it. I will be joining the early morning queue and taking up an appointment slot when my medication next runs out and so depriving someone else of necessary time with the doctor due to an incompetent set up.
Even more frustrating is that you have to use the same number for booking appointments to cancel one!!
A couple of weeks ago, I called upBradley Stoke Surgery to get an appointment and was given one for the next day at 8.50am (still not worked out how I managed that!). As luck would have it I was then not able to get to the surgery – so knowing about the sign they always display about lost appointments due to people not turning up and not bothering to cancel – I started calliung from 8.30am to try and cancel so someone coud get my appoin,ment. Yep – you,ve guessed it I couldn’t get through so my appointment was wasted.
When I did finally get through I explained what had happened and asked if there was a more efficient way to cancel appointments – the answer was no – but I was told that I would be marked as “having tried to cancel”….so I am now wondering if I am on a black list!!
Seriously though this is a silly system if it means that appointments are needlessly lost.