Hersham Surgery

The Admin staff are helpful as they can be. It is extremely hard to get an appointment with certain staff. I rang to get an appointment with the diabetic nurse and a B12 for my mother but was told that she only works three days a week and she only can see her between 1 and 1:40pm which is impossible as that is when my mum has carers coming in to prepare her lunch and it is impossible to rearrange the carers times for my elderly mother. I then asked if she could come in the morning but they said no that was the only time slot they could offer. Then I asked if they could come to her home to see her, no because she isn't housebound. It doesn't seem to matter that she is partially sighted and had limited mobility now. Do nurses only work part time now, why aren't there any appointments available in the afternoon after 4pm when I am home from work to bring her. Especially as I already take so much tome off work for all her other appointments.

It is ok to get an appointment but you might not get a doctor. I spoke to a health professional today who got irritated when I went into too much detail. I don't think he has a degree in psychiatric medicine and isnt qualified to deal with the issue I needed to speak about. Please let me talk to a doctor next time and maybe eventually someone will listen instead of telling me that it is my responsibility to have made the referral to another service instead of him doing it himself weeks ago. Maybe I didn't have time to make the referral myself I work full time, have a father with Alzheimer's, been caring for my brother who has had a knee replacement but he would not let me talk and explain what had happened, I needed to put the situation in context as I been allowed to do before regarding my mother, with certain compassionate doctors who unfortunately only work on certain days. Today I got someone who was impatient and who brought me to tears of frustration due to the fact that I have been asking for help for years.

Dreadful surgery. The online forms are not available after from 10am. Capacity full. To book a routine appointment you need to ring on the day they might be released. AVOID at all costs.

Impossible to phone in and speak to reception. Held in a very long queue every time I have called. Approximately 20minutes each time. This is totally unacceptable and will directly compromise patient care. Will certainly lead to poor patient care, near-misses and serious complaints. Please can the practice manager sort this issue out immediately. There are simply no excuses of having the bottleneck ...at the phone call stage. These patients should be triaged as soon as possible and then made to wait if required. It’s appalling. The surgery has an incredible set of GP’s. It is a shame that the blame will lie with them if this admin issue is not urgently addressed. Please can you respond to this and let me know this message has been received and what measures are to be put in place. Thank you

I joined this practice 8 months ago and have twice had to complain about incorrect prescriptions, being refused diabetic medicine because someone at the practice couldn't count, had to call in January as no flu vaccination had been offered despite my being diabetic and then when I booked it myself and turned up I was advised I didn't have an appointment and then asI was leaving advised they had found it. Absolutely appalling service, there is no excuse and despite my already complaining to the practice manager the service continued to be exceptionally poor. Fortunately I have moved to another practice who from day 1 have been excellent. In my 60+ years this is the only time I have ever had to change doctors due to poor service.

It was actually impossible to speak to a doctor

Saw GP who recommended an ECG and blood tests. On going to reception to make a new appointment the nurse Tracey Phillips (?) said she had a had a cancellation so to come straight in. All the tests were done inside 30 mins and an appointment made to see the GP 24 hours later by which time all the blood test results had come back. An amazingly fast and efficient service. My wife who was accompanying me also got a flu jab at the same time.

It can sometimes be difficult to get an appointment with the doctor of my choice but if I do so 3 or 4 weeks in advance (for repeat prescription of depression medication) I am always able to get the date and time convenient to me. The doctor I see is very understanding and, I feel, really cares about how I am. Although I understand and perfectly accept that the is a limit to the time of my consultation I never feel rushed. The receptionists are very nice. Always polite and patient even during busy times at the surgery; always ready with a smile or chuckle. I like the self check-in system and it works well. I cannot think of any areas to suggest "improvement" and am grateful for the attention I receive.

Friendly and efficient. Have been coming to this surgery for 44 years.