South Street Medical Centre

I’ve been with this doctors for around 10+ years and I don’t know whether they’re still recovering from covid or what but the last few times I’ve had to deal with them it’s been AWFUL. Firstly there’s trying to get through, you can call between the hours of 8&9 but it’s a miracle if you actually get through and then when are able to finally get on the line the phone just rings and rings and rings. My daughter was born with a cleft palate and is suppose to have hearing tests every 6 months, I was advised by the cleft team that this was something done through the GP, booked an appointment to arrange this when I spoke to the GP he was particularly unhelpful and came across as quite rude to be quite frank and said that this should have been something done through the health visitor (I didn’t get my 1 year health visit, I’m a first time parent and had no idea that there was supposed to be a 1 year health visit) and when I explained I moved house (I’ve moved outside of the borough I do plan on moving GPs but I’m receiving services atm that require me to stay) he was clearly irritated and told me to contact the local HV. I was suppose to have a conversation with my mental health but that didn’t get discussed and I was upset by the phone call and I didn’t feel comfortable discussing my mental health with this dr after this phone call. I have since tried to rearrange the call regarding my mental health, arrange another phone appointment which nothing came of, I didn’t receive a call on the day or time. It took me over an hour and I get through to someone today I explained it for my daughter under 2 at which point the receptionist said there were no appointments left I said I’ve been trying to call literally all morning and phone just kept ringing and ringing and ringing she point me on hold then offered a phone appointment, I suspect my daughter has eczema but due to not having the one year health visit I just want to make sure that the rash is an eczema flare up, not sure how the doctor is going to do this without looking at her in person and I would have thought given that she wasn’t seen by the health visitor she would have been a priority to see in person but clearly not. It’s a shame because the majority of my time with south street medical centre was an above average GP surgery but recently there seems to be a massive slip in standards and I have to the forefront of the problem seems to be the reception staff. I would say if you’re looking for GP and you’ve been recommended another one, go with that one… I will be changing GPs ASAP.

Even 0 is too much for this joke of a practice. I ve been toyed for weeks for 1 single simple appointment. No message with the appointment place, took a whole day off only to find out that my appointment is not in Queen Elisabeth hospital but in the gp surgery( I never had that there). Booked again through the NHS APP, requested specific day, the only one i could make it, only to be told that my appintment is on a diff day! Truth to be spoken:WE ARE ALL PAYING WITH OUR TAXES FOR A SERVICE WE NEVER GET

Although I must say individual doctors are very nice and helpful, this *practise* is not great. Initially I had to wait 5 days for someone to get back to me when their auto-reply said it would take 2 hours. Then the doctor didn’t record my prescription so I wasted two trips to the pharmacy and had to rebook an appointment. Then I had to phone again when the new (now remote) appointment call - with a different doctor - didn’t happen. I have no idea how they manage to treat anyone!

Try to call for the line since 8am, and auto message is say to call from 8am to book the appointment. Up until now, can't speak to anyone. Even you stay on the line to wait to speak to someone, you wouldn't the line just cut off at the end of the message.

All GPs are over subscribed these days, but have found this practice to be one of the best - do not personally find it that hard to get an appointment (phone at least).

This place should get a score of zero. The phone goes straight to an answering machine and the wait is always over an hour just to speak to someone. The automated message you listen to doesn’t even say whether they are open, or if you have an emergency to call 999. The staff only accepts appointments between 8-9am and there is no triage service. They don’t even ask what your issue is—just like a robot you are told to call back- it is so negligent. Nor do they ask if you need an appointment for the future, what kind of doctor does not allow you to book an appointment for a future date? If you manage to get an appointment, do not expect any service. You may get blood work done but there will be no review of it. You will not get guidance on any of the issues you present with. This place is a waste of time with rude, incompetent staff in a building that looks like it could fall down any minute. Save yourself time and energy and go somewhere—ANYWHERE— else than dealing with this stupidity.

Had a really good experience here. The GP was really knowledgeable and I got an in person appointment quickly after having a phone appointment. The receptionists are friendly. I've never managed to get through on the phone, but they get back quickly when I leave an online message.

We have been registered at this surgery for over 5 years and only ever had one bad experience which involved immunisations for my newborn. I believe this incident was isolated and when I raised a formal complaint, it was handled professionally. Like all NHS services and GP practices, it is extremely busy. The staff turnover is relatively high but is probably quite normal for the sector/industry. However, all GP’s we have seen have been competent and compassionate. I have a toddler and a newborn with medical problems, and we have always been seen promptly. I agree that it is often difficult to get through to a receptionist as the surgery is very busy. However, once you do manage to get through, the reception team are very helpful and efficient with dealing with your enquiry. The surgery has recently launched a new website and hopefully this will help to alleviate some of the administrative burden from receptionists. Thank you South Street Medical team for all you do.