Goldsworth Medical Practice

Great experience this week - easy and quick to get a blood test appointment, safe, friendly and efficient inside York House, and the Doctor called me back the next day with results. Fabulous service, thank you

It took a few hours but I managed to register my mother as a temporary resident at the practice. She is clinically extremely vulnerable and unable to walk without pain. Now, a few weeks later, when she is in urgent need of GP attention to avoid her condition deteriorating and needing hospitalisation, I am so far unable to access care. I am calling on her behalf as she does not have internet access or a mobile phone. First I phoned the practice to make sure I could request an appointment for a temporary resident via the website and to be sure they knew she would need visiting at her home. After holding for 30 mins and listening to the same message about using the website about 20 times, I spoke to a receptionist who told me they are the 'NHS and very busy' - she thought she was to busy to hear my problem. I persevered. She initially denied that she could see my mother's file on her records and then admitted she was 'inactivated'. She told me to use the website. An online website appointment request was subsequently rejected because she is 'inactive'. After 48 attempts, on and off, during the day, finally the phone number was not engaged and I got to speak to a receptionist. She said she did not know how to work the computer and could not reactivate the file. She told me to call back in the morning. So, I am calling back in the morning. I have been on hold for 1h and 32 minutes!! My mother has skin sores where the exudate is seeping through her clothes and she has a urine infection. She urgently needs a district nurse and antibiotics and the family would sincerely like to avoid her immune system being overwhelmed by these currently minor infections, spreading to her blood, resulting in hospitalisation, which is a real risk as her cancer treatment supresses her immune system. In the meantime, I have tired to re-register her. I have received a message asking for a photo to be emailed to the practice, which should include a picture of her face, her passport ID and a proof of address. There are no details of what will be accepted as proof of address and as she is in an elderly care setting she has no utility bills etc. We are also reliant on staff members at her setting to take the photo and email this to me so I can email it to the practice. I have spent around 5 hours to far and have not yet managed to secure an appointment - wish me luck (and my mother, who is getting sicker by the hour)!

Found the staff to be very helpful and professional Saturday flu vaccines great idea,but will be glad when things can get back to normality

How is it that it takes well over a month to get an appointment to see a doctor. When I arrived on time I found out they are running 41 minutes late. I'm less than happy.