Address: Market Street, East Harling, Norwich, NR16 2ADTelephone: 01953717204Website: www.eh-khsurgery.co.uk
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273 responses from the local community
Possible stroke case.
1
Submitted by Anonymous28th February 2024
0n 25/02/2024 I was admitted to West Suffolk Hospital and diagnosed with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Upon release I returned home with the needed medication but on showering on 28/02/2024 I noticed that I had what looked like a "black eye". Fearing the worst (stroke) my wife drove me from Garboldisham to East Harling Surgery to urgently get the opinion of a doctor, speed being the main thing when suspecting a stroke. My wife explained the facts to the receptionist who said it would not be possible for me to see the one doctor on duty, practice nurse or paramedic. The same went for the sister surgery at Kenninghall. Bearing in mind that a stroke should be given priority because of the time factor this could have meant me being driven to Bury st Edmund hospital A & E dpt. We decided to visit the chemist in East Harling who was able to give us sound advice following her inspecting my black eye. I am absolutely disgusted at having been turned away without being seen by a qualified member of the East Harling medical team and feel that this complaint should be investigated forthwith.
My husband went for a problem that he waited 3 weeks for, actually saw a doctor who said while he is there he will give him a diabetes test, which came up border line, he gave him a print out of a help service. My husband rang it and the place doesn't exist anymore. Why don't the practice know this, there never is any follow up so its back to Google. This practice is nothing but a mess, I have had horrendous problems with it, it's my opinion that the partners are too busy with there private customers and this is a sideline. Doctors leave because they don't want to be associated with ineptitude, what's going to happen when st least 200 more people sign on from the now estate!!!
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff19th February 2024
They can recruit staff but the turnover is rapid and its got worse and worse. Lots of good nurse practitioners have come and gone. All the GPs seem to be locums, the managing partners are elsewhere. The locums are good but they don't know the patients. Last time I was there I had to make sure they read my notes because they don't know what my conditions are. 0/5 for trying to get an appointment, 5/5 once you're there.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff19th February 2024
5 weeks ago I had a blood test. I rang up for the results and got told the results were severely abnormal by the receptionist. I asked them if they were saying I had cancer. The receptionist replied "looks like it". It was then 24 hours before I saw a doctor, during that time I thought I had cancer. When I saw the doctor I learned I didn't have cancer, just an iron deficiency. The nurse practitioners are brilliant though, there just aren't enough staff, especially in peak hours.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff19th February 2024
There's a problem with staff retention. No one stays. Everyone's lovely, but no one stays. It's a long wait for appointments and you never see the same doctor again. There must be something wrong. Once you get in the service is good but it can be 3 or 4 weeks wait. Sometimes there's no doctors available for prescriptions etc.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff19th February 2024
I moved here 13 years ago and the surgery was lovely, the service was decent. Its gone down hill. It's impossible to get an appointment. I've never been able to get an emergency or same day appointment. I contacted them in November for an appointment and the soonest they could see me was 4 weeks later, 3 days before that they cancelled the appointment because there were no doctors. I contacted them on the 26th November and finally saw someone on the 3rd January. It was a doctor I'd never seen before which is standard. The nurses are lovely but there aren't enough doctors.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff19th February 2024
Two weeks before Christmas I had a massive allergic reaction and I'd run out of steroids. I tried to get an appointment but they were all gone. I walked down to the surgery so they could see how unwell I was. I just needed a prescription for more steroids. The pharmacist tried to get a prescription but there wasn't any GP there to sign it.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff16th February 2024
I saw a GP with my husband who I suspected was getting dementia. He didn't take long talking to us and dismissed the problem. For the second appointment I tried to call the surgery but couldn't get one. I called 111 and they managed to get an appointment for me. This time the GP was friendlier but still didn't diagnose the dementia.
I only got help after the police were called by my husband when he was confused about who I was. Now I do have support from Gateway and lots of other things but until then I wasn't believed. It would be good to feel like somebody cares, you don't know any of the doctors.
I have to say the receptionists are lovely - friendly and helpful.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff16th February 2024
It's so sad, you just don't see the doctors anymore. It didn't used to be like this. There's no one-to-one care now, I have no confidence in the surgery. They can't cope with the small, simple things so you worry about what would happen in a crisis.
Patients are regularly diverted to the walk-in centre, we're well-known over there. They almost roll their eyes when they hear we're from East Harling and anyway it's not always possible for people to get to Norwich.
I wanted antibiotics for a chest infection and was told by the receptionist and nurse to call 111 as I wouldn't be able to get an appointment. Last week I had to get a second lot of antibiotics so I called 111 again and this time was sent to Thetford so they could listen to my chest to make sure nothing more serious was going on.
Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff16th February 2024
I had an issue with my eye and was told they don't deal with eyes. Who made the decision not to see people with eye problems? I was given a number for a clinic which the receptionist didn't know where it was. I wanted to know if it was outside the village as, of course, it was unsafe to drive because of my eyes. The pharmacist said I needed to see a GP and to call 111 if I couldn't.
I called 111 who were able to book me in at the surgery and I was given antibiotics for conjunctivitis. However my optician returned my call later on and told me it wasn't antibacterial!
I hate to complain as it was such a good service years ago but I can't understand why they won't treat eye problems, especially I was seen after 111 intervention.
People can't drive when they're having trouble seeing, and they might not be able to drive anyway. It was very strange that they couldn't even tell me where the clinic was they were referring me too.