Swanley Medical Practice - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
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Review titled Soul destroying
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 27 February 2024
Nowhere to turn to get help. Told appointments can only be made on the day but after going back four days each time told no appointments but there’s no one even sitting in there waiting to see a GP! How does this even make sense. On their website it says you can book in advance but the receptionists say no you can’t. Also it says see the same doctor for ongoing issues, again told not possible. Some pages on the website are almost 9 years out of date 2015-17 dementia dates?? Hextable surgery they took over have sign up saying ‘closed’ no staff or ‘in meetings’ . Patients phoning or queuing at Cedars told repeatedly to go to urgent care or A & E . Also being told to use the e-consult if you “want an appointment” not ideal for people with disabilities, particularly sight, and very condescending to those who have not got a smart phone or unable to use one. Unfortunately none of us can hope for better as the same practice now runs all the local surgeries . So what hope have any of us got now . These surgeries need to be put under special measures until they can provide the service they are there for.
Visited February 2024
Review titled Swanley Medical Practice
Replied on 01 March 2024
Dear Patient, We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the service you received from the practice. Your feedback is important and helps us to improve how we deliver services for our patients. If you would like us to look into your concerns please contact us via complaints.cedarssurgery@nhs.net in the first instance. Many thanks, Swanley Medical Practice
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Review titled Abusive/Incompetent staff, No appointments
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 07 February 2024
Have attempted to book appointment yet again. Once again they refuse to provide one for anything other than an urgent issue They demand I book via econsult. They have been told I can't do this, and yet they seem to think that's not an issue? Effectively they are now refusing to book any kind of appointment unless it is an emergency situation. Even worse, the fact you have to go through the phone being put down, and a 50 minute wait to be told this is even more insulting. It's unacceptable, and must result in urgent policy change. I cannot see any way this doesn't escalate indefinitely, as a large portion on patients cannot access core GP services because of this.
Visited February 2024
Review titled Swanley Medical Practice
Replied on 01 March 2024
Dear Patient, We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the service you received from the practice. Your feedback is important and helps us to improve how we deliver services for our patients. If you would like us to look into your concerns please contact us via complaints.cedarssurgery@nhs.net in the first instance. Many thanks, Swanley Medical Practice
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Review titled Surgery simply does not pick up the phone
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 07 December 2022
I have had recurring experience of the surgery simply choosing not to pick up the phone. On more than one occasion, I have waited for a very long time after reaching number one in the call queue. It appears from other reviews that this is a common problem. Furthermore, when you get through, the triaging by reception has been problematic as reception tries to send you to a nurse even though a doctor has suggested coming to see a doctor for the next appointment, because of the nature of the review required. The doctors are great, but working through reception is less than satisfactory.
Visited December 2022
Review titled Swanley Medical Practice
Replied on 13 February 2023
Dear Patient I am very sorry that you have had a less than satisfactory experience with the Practice . We are currently extremely busy and the Reception staff are having to manage the telephones as well as the large number of people coming into the Surgery. They are trained to triage patients and book them with the most appropriate clinician, whether this is a Nurse Practitioner (who can prescribe & refer) or a Physician Associate or a GP. If the phone lines are very busy you can use eConsult to contact us to request a non-urgent appointment, this is available on our website - www.cedarssurgeryswanley.co.uk. If you would like to discuss this further please contact the Surgery and ask to speak to the Practice Manager.
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Review titled Felt very cared for
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 03 November 2022
I was in excruciating pain and called for an urgent appointment. Within 3 hours I'd seen a doctor face to face, my prescription was at a pharmacy within six hours of my first call, I was booked for blood tests within 48 hours, I got blood test results texted to me within 24 hours and a follow up appointment made to discuss results within a week if my first contact witha doctor. I felt extremely well cared for and was dealt with with compassion and care by great staff right through from receptionists to nurses and doctors. A great experience when I was feeling very poorly.
Visited October 2022
Review titled Swanley Medical Practice
Replied on 09 February 2023
Thank you very much for your review and we are very happy that you had a positive experience with the Surgery. I hope that your issue have been resolved.
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Review titled Act on letters
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 01 November 2022
If you get a letter from another NHS service asking you to do something - please do it. In all the time I have been with this surgery - 15 years - I have always had to chase letters. For example, from a consultant asking for a referral to be made, or for drugs to be prescribed. The latest experience was this September. Letters just get ignored and filed. I'm with it enough to chase you up, ask you to dig out the letter and do what is requested. Then follow up again if you don't. What happens to the more vulnerable patients? You are letting people down badly, and all you need to do is read and use some common sense.
Visited September 2022
Review titled Swanley Medical Practice
Replied on 02 November 2022
Dear Patient I am sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience regarding letters coming into the Surgery. We have a process to follow when we receive hospital letters, particularly those asking for us to prescribe medication and this can sometimes lead to a delay in response times. Please rest assured that all letters that come to the Surgery are checked by clinical staff and the requested actions highlighted. Occasionally requests are missed and I apologise for this. If you would like to discuss this further, please email: thecedars.surgery@nhs.net and I will contact you. Julia Taylor Practice Manager
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Review titled Pick up your phone!!!
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 June 2022
I received a letter in the post to book a screening test, but have been unable to get through on the phone. I called at 3:30PM today (20/06/22), with 4 others ahead of me. After a while, the phone starting ringing (I got to the top of the queue, yay, I thought!). The phone was ringing for over 30mins with no one picking up, in the end I hung up at just after 4PM - when is the closing time? No idea what to do. How do we get the service we deserve in Swanley? I would desperately like to move surgery, but the alternatives are just as bad going by the reviews.
Visited June 2022
Review titled Swanley Medical Practice
Replied on 21 June 2022
Dear Patient I am very sorry to hear of the difficulty you have had trying to telephone the surgery. Unfortunately, we currently have a number of Reception staff off sick and we are training two new starters which is resulting in longer waiting times on the phone and at the desk. I understand how frustrating it is to be asked to book an appointment and not be able to get through. If you have access to the internet you can use eConsult to request a non-urgent appointment and we will book it for you and send you the details. Our email address is also on our website should you wish to contact us that way. Once again, please accept my apologies for the inconvenience caused; should you wish to discuss this further please email us with a phone number and we will contact you. Kind regards Julia Taylor Practice Manager