Westcourt Medical Centre - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
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Review titled Do the Dr’s exist at Westcourt?
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 13 March 2024
This surgery simply does not care anymore. Asked to speak to someone as had abnormal bleeding, told to go to chemist as there might be a cream for that, when pressed told the list said it was not something they would deal with until I tried the chemist ? . Received a letter to book an appointment with nurse then told no sorry we only go a month ahead we will add you to the waiting list, received a text they will no longer prescribe certain medication basically buy your own to ave NHS resources. I could go on, I have been with this practice since it opened and I am so disheartened with the decline in service. You can not see a GP even a routine appointment is 3 months wait. There is no care anymore from this surgery they don’t care if you’re ill, just go to the chemist, ring 111 or A and E. That’s all you hear or even better put in an e-consult then we don’t even have to talk to you! Not every old person has access to e-consult. Sorry for the long review but I can not express enough how disengaged this surgery is with patients anymore, they don’t want to see you, they don’t want to talk to you and don’t hold your breath getting an appointment. I will be changing surgeries after 2 months of hell and surprise I still not spoke to a Dr …..
Visited March 2024
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 13 March 2024
Dear Anonymous, I am sorry to hear this is how you are feeling about the surgery and that you feel the surgery does not care anymore. This is not true and our staff work very hard to assist all our patients so am saddened to read this. I am sure you are aware, demand is exceeding the capacity for all general practice surgeries. To ensure we continue to practice safely, we listened to our patient concerns, reviewed many systems across the south coast, consulted with our clinicians and Patient Participation Group and changed how to access our appointment system in January 2024. We have had many positive responses and are managing to ensure we are practicing safely for both our patients and staff. Our clinicians and staff are working to their full capacity and work very hard. Your claim to waiting 3 months for a GP routine appointment is historic and one of the reasons we reviewed our appointment system and implemented a new one. Our e-consult service is another positive service for patients to access the service and also signposts to the most appropriate services for the symptoms given. It also gives a lot of detail to the clinician reviewing the document from the information given by the patient. Whilst, in contact with you via this review, our new appointment process is for all patient contact requiring clinical advice, to be assessed by a signposting toolkit which is maintained by one of our GP Partners. This may direct patients to other services who are more appropriate to help with the symptoms given such as a pharmacy, remote GP telephone services, physio, mental health advisors, NHS111 or A&E. When our clinicians are at capacity, patients are directed to other services to assist them. As you mention that the surgery is disengaged with its patients, maybe you would like to join our Patient Participation Group to help with giving ideas on how the practice can best operate from a patient’s perspective. This information can be obtained from reception if you are unable to access our website. As you have not given your name, I am unable to look into this for you and respond on a personal basis to the content of your review. I would be happy to do this if you could contact the surgery and speak with our Patient Services Team Lead, Clair Hook, who will start the process on your behalf, so that we can address them and make improvements where necessary. We understand that it can be frustrating when trying to access medical care, but please know that we are doing our best to provide excellent care to all our patients. Your health and well-being are our top priorities, and we want to make sure that you receive the care and attention you deserve whether that is via our service or that of other services available to assist us. Thank you for your understanding. Kind regards Ann Flint Practice Manager
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Review titled Excellant practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 March 2024
I phoned the surgery ,when the phone lines opened and 8am.i was 11th in the queue,requested the ring back service,had a call back half and hour later,explained why I was phoning ,I was triaged and advised that I would receive a call back sometime through the day . At 10 45 I received a call from one of their doctors,who listened intently to my issues and asked very appropriate questions to try and discover how they could help me. The doctor then decided it would be advisable to visit the surgery, so I went down within the hour . Again the doctor was very caring,very attentive and very thorough. I just want to say how wonderful all the staff concerned,from the initial phone call,the receptionist,triage,and of course the doctor . I came away feeling that they had completely cared for me ,and did all they could do on the day . I joined this practice only last week completely dissatisfied with my previous place and I am so very pleased I did . Please westcourt keep up the excellant caring work ,thank you all .
Visited March 2024
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 25 March 2024
Dear Anonymous, Thank you for your lovely kind comments on the service you received recently and since implementation of our new appointment system. Your compliment has been shared with all the team at Westcourt and it is very much appreciated to receive such wonderful feedback. Kind regards Westcourt Medical Centre
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Review titled Emergency medication request
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Bernie Baker - Posted on 13 April 2024
I would like to put on record my sincere thanks for the peace of mind afforded to me by your speedy resolution to my problem regarding the bank holiday stopping me from ordering sufficient medication for my holiday. Thank you.
Visited March 2024
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 16 April 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review for the practice. I am so glad to hear you had a positive experience with the surgery and hope you enjoyed your holiday. Kind regards Westcourt Medical Centre
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Review titled Efficient and friendly
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by JANE KOSZUTA - Posted on 12 April 2024
I am most grateful that the nurse carrying out my annual blood test took the initiative of booking an ECG for me given my medical background. Thanks to this, my GP referred me to the cardiology department at the hospital and I will now be having appropriate treatment.
Visited February 2024
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 16 April 2024
Dear Ms Koszuta, Thank you for your kind words and positive feedback. We're delighted to hear about your positive experience with our team which has been shared with them. Kind regards Westcourt Medical Centre
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Review titled Pathetic
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 February 2024
What should have been a quick visit to a gp ened up being a 5 hour wait at a and e. I went to the pharmacy first who advised I needed to see a doctor when ringing was told by message on machine that the days quota for assistance had been reached and to call 111. Who then after doing an assessment said I needed to go to a and e.how do you get to see/speak to a doctor at the surgery
Visited February 2024
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 19 February 2024
Dear Anonymous, We are sorry to hear of your experience contacting the surgery and would like to look into this further. As you have not included your name, could we please ask that you contact Clair Hook, Patient Services Team Lead, who will be only to happy to look into this for you and give a more personal response. As there is so much demand for general practice services, we have to limit the demand we can deal with safely for our patients and clinicians. Therefore, once we have reached capacity, we revert to signposting patients to other external services that can offer assistance. We are pleased that our colleagues at NHS111 were able to assist and direct you to the correct service. Regards Westcourt Medical Centre
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Review titled Disappointed by 'The System', again.
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Stephen - Posted on 09 February 2024
Time and again Westcourt fails in the same two areas and there's been no improvement since my last review in 2021; if anything it's now worse. Those two areas are: 1. Cancellation of appointments, sometimes without notice. 2. Extremely poor communication Recently, I visited the surgery to make an appointment to follow up on the one planned for the following day, only to find that the following day's appointment had been cancelled and rescheduled for a few days later and no one had told me! I explained that the new appointment assumed my availability but, in fact, clashed with a work commitment. Reception rescheduled and 'sent' me an SMS to confirm... The SMS never arrived, and then the appointment was cancelled anyway! This is about the sixth or seventh, perhaps more, appointment that has been cancelled and no attempt made to contact me to reschedule. Were I to constantly cancel appointments I suspect that I would be removed from the register as there have been posters in reception making that very threat. And so to point #2. Communication. The lack of follow-up smacks of arrogance and a 'don't care' attitude towards the minion patients. I have even written to the surgery to explain this. In the latest fiasco, I have a weekly self-injection prescribed; however, the pharmacies are unable to obtain the medication. I contacted the surgery and explained. Reception messaged a clinician to get back to me... That was a week ago and still no contact. Please understand that I'm not criticising the staff because, in the main, everyone I have met at the surgery has been really nice and professional; however, 'The System' is appalling. In a recent case, I contacted the surgery about a possible inherited condition that I'd recently learned my mother had. I was very clear about the condition and the reason I was asking (I have three sons and three grandsons and wondered if I needed to advise them to get tested). My request was disregarded by the GP until I called in again; whereupon I got a very terse response from a GP to say that I did not have the gene and my family were unlikely to have it. It was almost as if I was wasting their time... Proactive communication from the surgery seems to be limited to reminders for Flu and COVID jabs, not healthcare as a whole. Whether this is unique to Westcourt, I don't know, but as a patient, it is far from reassuring. The 'System' at Westcourt seems to ignore the fact that the surgery is there to provide a service to the community, not the other way around. Suffice it to say that this does nothing for my mental health and sense of self-worth, and I question whether I am even relevant to the surgery... perhaps I don't warrant healthcare from the powers that be at Westcourt? Maybe they only want healthy patients that don't inconvenience 'The System'? It's worth noting that my last review on this site, in 2021, never received a response either!
Visited January 2024
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 19 February 2024
Dear Sir, Thank you for your review and I am sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the service that you have received from Westcourt Medical Centre. As you have not left your surname, we are unable to look into this further for you and contact you directly, but would request that you contact Clair Hook, Patient Services Team Lead, so that we may investigate the content in your review and respond accordingly via the official complaints process. With regards Westcourt Medical Centre
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Review titled Professional yet personable
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by N Hinton - Posted on 14 December 2023
The nurse who did my HRT review was just a lovely human, a credit to her profession and the practise. Took time to be personable and its appreciated. Thank you.
Visited November 2023
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 15 December 2023
Dear Ms Hinton, Thank you so much for your lovely feedback and I will ensure this is passed onto the nurse concerned. In these difficult times, it is much appreciated to receive compliments. Happy Christmas. Westcourt Medical Centre
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Review titled Great practice with great use made of technology
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 17 October 2023
Following two severe episodes of a balance issue I contacted the surgery and spoke to a very helpful lady who told me about the econsult service. As I did not necessarily need a face to face appointment this service suited my needs. After completing and submitting the online questionnaire I did not have long to wait for a reply. I received confirmation of my contact and received two further texts with detailed replies and information and advised that my prescription would be sent to my designated pharmacy for urgent collection. I was fortunate that my illness could be managed so speedily and I did not need to use up a valuable doctors appointment. With the pressures faced by doctors it is great that there are good alternatives to the physical appointment that can result in a very satisfactory outcome.
Visited October 2023
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 18 October 2023
Dear Anonymous, Thank you for your lovely response to the service provided by Westcourt. I have shared your feedback with the whole team at Westcourt and we hope you are doing well. Kind regards Ann Flint Practice Manager
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Review titled A reassuring experience
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 27 September 2023
Huge dissatisfaction initially at the ten week wait to see a doctor, forcing me to pay privately for X-rays and treatment. However I decided to keep the appointment and was so glad I did. The doctor spent time with me, explained everything including the effects of the prescribed medication. He also enquired about my health generally and after telling him of a growing concern, he checked my records and having found previous results, he named a possible condition which he decided needed further investigation, a condition which no-one had explained to me before. He outlined the next steps and I told him I felt reassured and confident I was in good hands. I wish I could name him!
Visited September 2023
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 28 September 2023
Dear Anonymous, Thank you for your feedback on the service at Westcourt and I am pleased our doctor was able to assist and reassure. The surgery is currently looking at new ways of working to ensure safe practice and reduce wait times. We hope to be able to communicate this to our patients shortly. Like many other Practices in the UK, we are struggling to meet the current level of demand for our services, but we will continue to do our best each day to deliver as many appointments as it is safe to do so. Kind regards, Ann Flint, Practice Manager.
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Review titled Long delay for an appointment
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Brian Martin - Posted on 08 August 2023
It is with much regret, that after being with the practice for many years, I have to write a bad report as follows: On the 2nd August 2023, my wife had a blood test. A few days later we received a text to say that our GP would like to discuss the results. A phone call was made to reception, and an appointment was given for the 18th October. That's 10.5 weeks later. What is going on Westcourt? I await your comment.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Westcourt Medical Centre
Replied on 10 August 2023
Dear Mr Martin, I am sorry to hear of your experience. Please can you contact the Patient Services Team Lead to discuss so we can investigate further. Like many other Practices in the UK, we are struggling to meet the current level of demand for our services. We will continue to do our best each day to deliver as many appointments as it is safe to do so. Ultimately, we do not have unlimited resources and are currently working to maximum capacity. Kind regards, Ann Flint, Practice Manager.