Address: Southgates Medical and Surgical Centre, 41 Goodwins Road, King's Lynn, PE30 5QXTelephone: 01553819477Website: www.southgates.org.uk
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112 responses from the local community
Impossible t make a routine appointment
1
Submitted by Anonymous6th February 2023
The oractice does not accept walk in enquiries. Cannot get through on telephone and also work in NHS on 12.5 hr shifts so unable to call easily. No facility on website to book an appointment in advance.
The surgery responded quickly to a request due to a chest infection I had started to experience with history of asthma and reduction in peak flow . Dr Hotchkiss phoned back within 30 minutes of completion of request for help and was able to advise and prescribe a regime for me.
Great service and quick response to me with a rapid reduction in my peak flow. I phoned receptionist too as I put in wrong date of birth and said the Dr would get back to me soon and he did.
I called in as I was passing The Wootton’s Surgery, and asked the receptionist if I could make an appointment for a triage appointment with the Asthma Specialist. She kindly arranged this by fitting me in within 10 minutes on the same day, due to a cancellation. The asthma specialist was so thorough and he literally took all tests needed to help with my asthma and also checked other medical queries and took my bloods, due to me missing my previous blood test due to having covid a few weeks ago. The next day I was contacted by my surgery at Southgates, informing me of my results and treatment was put in place. The NHS have taken a lot of criticism recently but these NHS surgeries and their staff have been very professional, thoughtful and thorough In supporting their patients. Thank you
The online system failed and gave me the wrong medication...I had ran out of medication on Friday, I collected my prescription and didn't notice until Saturday morning that I had been given the wrong medication!
I rang the dispensary on Monday who informed me I needed to complete another request, which would take 3 days! I then spoke to the receptionist who said " I cant put you on a call back as this is not a medical emergency so the triage would not make it priority"-she informed me I needed to complete an online request - the same one that gave me the wrong medication!!!
I asked for a doctor to contact me to issue me with a new prescription as this would be faster as I had already had 2 days of no medication, she refused. She said the doctor would not call me for this reason- I asked her if she was telling me a doctor would leave me without daily medication? she said I was putting words in her mouth!!
sadly the receptionist has in my eyes let myself and the surgery down...I know the doctors care as they always provide first class care however you have to get past the nightmare of technology and receptionists- Where has the care gone!
I was sent a text message by a receptionist, IE someone who is not medically qualified or trained and accessing my records, telling me in order to get a repeat of the medication I was already on I had to book an appointment. Cue me trying to book an appointment as requested is near on impossible as Southgates website doesn't allow you book online contrary to NHS England rules nor do they allow you to book an appointment by phone. But I cant get my medication because the surgery want me to book an appointment, but I cant book an appointment because the surgery doesn't allow it. thus the incompetence carries on.
I have never had a bad experience at this surgery. Staff are always polite & knowledgeable (if the don't know the answer they transfer me to a member of staff who does!) Basically they go out of the way to make us welcome.
My wife was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer in December 2021, and was given 6 - 18 months life expectancy. She was apparently given 168 steroid tablets to control the swelling of the tumours (3 Tumours on left hand side of her brain) after having 4 seizures and being hospitalised. After coming home she needed a prescription. After 2 weeks she ran out of steroids, so she tried to order a repeat. She was told no, because she was given 168 2 weeks prior and should last 4 weeks. After trying to explain she did NOT get 168 tablets, and after a long conversation on the phone to someone, they finally realised it was NOT steroids but mistakenly prescribed 168 gabapentin (NOT A STEROID). So following day someone was meant to call her to sort this mistake out. She got 1 phone call early in the morning. My wife couldn't get to the phone in time so the call was missed with no number to call back on. The person who rang my wife new how important the steroids are for her, and DID NOT call her back (DISGRACEFUL). We went to the surgery Southgates and Wooton surgery Kings Lynn. Wife had an appointment at 3pm that day for a nurse appointment. In the meantime I was stood at the prescriptions counter asking why know one has called her to organise her prescriptions. I was furious with how they treated her but was not abusive. But because I tell it how it is, that was classed as abusive. The closest thing to abuse i did was tell them if you cant do your job correctly, give it up, because you have peoples lives in your hands. Consequently I have been taken off their books. I was going to leave the surgery anyway because of their incompetence. They are dangerous. I think its unfair that they made a HUGE error that could have brought on more seizures. Because of their incompetence I get a record of abuse (Very unfair and this will be taken further)! Disgusting!!!
They make you a appointment then cancel it 5 minutes later you ate treated like there doing you a favour when the try to fix mistakes they made. They are not intrested in the paitent as a whole they just go for the easiest fastest opption to get you out the door. There is no point complaining to the surgery as they have a them and us attuide toward the paitent
I put a letter with a 3-4 page attachment through the letter box 2 months ago. The GP did, after my following up 3 weeks later, call me. She said she could do nothing with my letter and needed one with further details. I re read the attachment and all the details she asked for are there. Either she was not given the attachment or she did not read it.
I explained this to the on line team today only to be told that putting a letter through the letterbox did not guarantee getting an appointment!! Missed the point completely.
I will now book an appointment(but you can`t do it out of hours!!). This sort of sloppy admin is wasting GP`s time, not to mention dragging out my agony. I did suggest that they call me to clarify things....but that did not happen.
Requested appointment to have an abscess looked at while I was there for another matter. The answer was basically 'not our problem, go to a dentist' even though I said I was in pain. No advice, no support, the internet is more helpful. Can only get an appointment via online. Web site gives you the feeling of deliberately making it hard to find where to make an appointment. It's as if they want to discourage you from making an appointment.