Eastfield House Surgery

The doctor asked to see me four weeks after an initial consultation. I therefore tried to book an appointment a month ahead. I was told that “appointments are embargoed and will only be released a fortnight ahead”. “Please call back next Wednesday”. When I called back the following Wednesday I was told that there were no more appointments available. Please call tomorrow to book an appointment for the next available day in a fortnight. I calculated that I have been on hold for over two hours in recent days trying to obtain an appointment that the doctor asked me to arrange. The system is terrible. It is basically a lottery as to whether you will get through to be able to book an appointment a fortnight hence. If you can’t get through you will need to try again the following day because reception can’t allocate “embargoed” appointments. The experience is worsening my condition. My GP, and others at Eastfield House work part time. I did get through to get an emergency call originally. The doctor at the time interrupted my explanation with “look, I have 20 calls to make, I suggest you speak to your own GP tomorrow”. This, given my circumstance was terribly unhelpful. Later, a helpful receptionist helped me with a number of issues, but it can not be right that to get certificates and prescriptions that one must explain sensitive issues to reception staff. I later had to call back to get a certificate that had not been issued as expected. Often, reception staff acknowledge the awful service, saying “...but that is how the doctors want to work”. It’s clear that there is a problem at Eastfield House. Appointments are very difficult to obtain. GPs are apt to be brusque and appear to have little respect for patients. All in all, a pretty awful experience all round.

I will only call the surgery if I am experiencing considerable discomfort, and even then only when I am pushed by my family, as I have usually been putting up with the discomfort for days or sometimes weeks. However, this year there has unfortunately been 3 occasions that I have required an appointment. The first one I was unable to get an appointment (even though I could not talk without significant pain ) and on the 2nd and 3rd occasions I was informed it would be 4 weeks before I could get an appointment. Service in previous years has been very good, it's only this year that I have experienced problems with the surgery.
Original Comment Report...

i and my family have been patients at this surgery for a very long time,we feel the surgery has gone downhill in the last few years.they allways maintain there patients come first which is so untrue.to get a appointment in a reasonable time is inpossible,you are either kept waiting on the phone for a long time and when you do get threw you are given a list of options,which are not very helpfull.also the receptionist can be either rude or very abrupt with you when you question them or the system,there reply is if you don.t like the system to find another surgery,thats caring for yourpatints?they never inform you that you are due a flu jab or a covid/booster jab which is disgusting and shows again they don.t care.then there is a issue when you put a complaint into the surgery,they either don.t care or do not take the complaint seriously and take months to respond and then make exscuses about everthing shame on you,there is a arrogrance the way this surgery conducts itself if i could i would give a zero mark out of 5.