Share review of Billingshurst Surgery

Billingshurst Surgery 2023-07-24 Person 2 5 0

The nurse who performed my annual review was very pleasant. She quickly assessed that I had a reasonable brain, capable of understanding basic human physiology and treated me efficiently and with respect. I have no problem with her at all. The difficulty came when I tried to book a face to face appointment with my doctor, something he had agreed may be beneficial when last I spoke to him in October. I was told I should arrange an “e-consultation”, something I wanted to avoid as I prefer a more personal approach. When I tried to book at reception there were no appointments available. After expressing my surprise, the receptionist told me that my doctor was on annual leave (and goodness knows, he certainly deserves it!) I accepted that this was, of course, not a problem and asked whether I could make an appointment for after his return. Apparently this was not possible and I was told to try again to make an “e-consultation” appointment in a week’s time. This is all fair enough, but does leave one feeling somewhat insignificant, which was a pity after my very positive experience with the nurse. Upon my return home, I decided to investigate the possibility of making the aforementioned “e-consultation”. To say that the experience was labyrinthine would be an understatement! How on Earth in someone who is not computer-literate supposed to book an appointment?! I suppose I will have to try again and call into the surgery after my doctor’s vacation in the hope of achieving my goal and arranging a consultation. I fail to understand also, why some test results are published for me to access immediately they are available whilst other are concealed until August 16th at 13.17!

Make booking a face-to-face appointment easier. I have the greatest respect for the GPs and nurses at the practice and they have always treated me with the utmost care and consideration, but the apparent difficulty in accessing their services has put me off trying for an appointment in the past.