Pontardawe Health Centre

If people were not ill and needed to see a GP I would say that this new system is an absolute JOKE.
I phoned the Health centre a few weeks ago to make an appointment to see a GP. I was told by the receptionist that I was only ALLOWED to phone before 11am if I wanted to see a GP. Due to the high volume of calls it actually took me 4 days to get through!!
Today takes the biscuit. I got through this morning at 8.30 to make an appointment for the GP to make a house call for my bedridden husband. I was told that I would be called back. I waited almost 6 hours before the doctor phoned me. He asked what the problem was and I was told that he didn't think it was a serious condition so he was going to ask a nurse to call. The nurse called an hour later and said that in her opinion it was not serious. She took a photo on her phone to show her boss. My husband also needed his ears checked. The doctor knew this. The nurse said that she is not qualified to check ears and would mention this to the GP. She has just phoned me back to say that the doctor looked at the photo and is prescribing a steroid based cream. She said when I asked about his ears that the GP hadn't mentioned them. I am now none the wiser about what's happening.
I went to complain to the practice manager who had gone home sick so I saw the deputy. When I asked about my husbands ears I was told that the Doctor would phone me the next day. When I asked if I could speak to him I was told that he WAS OUT DOING HOUSE CALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IF GP'S ARE NO LONGER SEEING PATIENTS THEN THEY CERTAINLY DON'T DESERVE THEIR £100K SALARY !!!!!!!
The reason that I am giving this review a 1 star is because It won't let me send it without one.

The one receptionist who’s name I couldn’t get is horrible. She belittles customers on a phone call or in person and isn’t helpful at all, customer service at this health centre is SHOCKING. I don’t think the system where no one is registered to a specific GP works, it only works for the average who call very few times a year. For people with extensive medical history I have often been told by doctors ‘well I can’t look at all of your notes before speaking to you’. I think the doctors aren’t very helpful and have DISGRACEFUL communication skills, they feel threatened when someone asks a question they haven’t answered when people are only asking in their best interests. Also I have experienced when doctors try very little to understand a person, which sometimes is all we want. Overall I think they need some serious communication training or being replaced by doctors who actually want to help people.

I have been suffering with awful tonsillitis all weekend, but i have to wait till monday when they open to try get some antibiotics. I cant get anyone on the phone till 10am were i am rushed off with the promise of a call back from the doctor soon. 4 and a half hours later still no call, so i call back just to be met with the same “your on the list youll get a call back soon”. At 5:45 (15mins before they close) i call again. apparently i got sent questions on ask my gp. i would like to make absolutely clear no one had mentioned ask my gp and i was told clearly i would get a call back. finally she askes me the questions on the phone which are clearly time wasters as all of the information had already been given over the phone. all this while making it very clear to them that i have an a level exam in the morning. and failing because of this would mean a year worth of work down the drain.

Shocking experience!!!!! New ginger girl with tips is extremely rude and lazy ! No assistance whatsoever! She keeps repeating -not my problem and not my job is it?
Absolutely disgusting attitude and customer service! This clinic was really bad anyway but now it's just shockingly bad ! Always loosing prescriptions and super unreliable!
This place needs a new management and staff!
Shame on you lot !!!!!!!!
Avoid if possible good people!!!!!

Cannot register for online services as do not have a mobile phone. A video selfie to register? Can only make same day appointments? The system is broke.

Recently moved to the area and switched to this surgery.

Switching was easy and done within a week. Granted that they do take some time to answer the phone, but when you consider they have 15k+ patients, it's understandable.

The care they have given me has been great and I will be stocking with them - trusting them to look after me when i need them :) Keep it up team, you're doing great!

I literally have nothing good to say about this place. Refused to help me and give me an asthma rescue pack when my asthma was flaring up forcing me to go to hospital in the middle of a pandemic where guess what? They have me a rescue pack. Unhelpful, rude, incompetent, just a few words to describe this surgery. I hope anyone who uses this surgery doesn't need any actual help because you won't get it here.

Having had bad experiences in past years here, I've updated my review as new doctors and the introduction of AskmyGP has made interacting with the practice much easier and efficient. Dr Wong is particularly good and it is so much easier not waiting in a queue and knowing you can get advice back via email for clarifying certain things which is much more timely and cost effective. I guess the only issue is staffing means the service isn't always open but I am much more pleased with the service received from the GPs now and think they are doing a great job.