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Balmoral Surgery - Ratings and reviews

Reviews

Displaying 1 to 10 of 16

  1. Review titled Impossible to see a Dr

    Rated 1 star out of 5

    by Anonymous - Posted on 05 March 2024

    I am writing this review in a very frustrated state. I am trying to book my first face to face dr's appt since registering with the practice 3 years ago. I phave called 2 days running 8am on the spot and still no appt, just an offer of an e-consult or try again tomorrow. Today i rang 65 times before i got into the queue to be told not appts left. I do not need to go to A&E but i do need to speak with a dr, i dont insist on a same day appt, but just an appt sometime in the next week ideally, this is not available. Patients are not the priority here, poor systems and a lack of available face to face time with gps are. I am considering trying to find an alternative practice. This is so upsetting and frustrating, and uttlery anxiety provoking.

    Visited March 2024

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    Balmoral Surgery has not yet replied.


  2. Review titled Phoned for an appointment told next month for one !

    Rated 1 star out of 5

    by Anonymous - Posted on 15 February 2024

    Phoned this morning for an appointment- but told the next appointment they could provide would be the next month ! What good is that when you are in pain ?

    Visited February 2024

    Report as unsuitable

    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 20 February 2024

    We are sorry that you have had difficulty obtaining an appointment and that you are in pain. We offer a variety of appointment types, some you can book in advance and some that are released on the day. We are not an emergency service and there is a limit to the number of appointments that we can safely offer each day. If all of our appointments have gone, patients can submit an eConsult, ring 111 or if they are in extreme pain phone 999 or attend A&E. We would always like to see all of patients as soon as possible, however sadly demand always outweighs capacity. In addition to this, it is extremely difficult to recruit and retain GPs at the current time. We hope that you able to see a clinician soon and that the pain improves.

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  3. Review titled Very helpful practice

    Rated 5 stars out of 5

    by Kate Birrell - Posted on 08 January 2024

    Problems were efficiently and considerately dealt with, with both politeness and kindness which inspires confidence.

    Visited January 2024

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    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 15 January 2024

    Thank you very much for your feedback, we are pleased that your encounter with the practice was positive.

    Report as unsuitable


  4. Review titled Great practice

    Rated 5 stars out of 5

    by Mrs Hinkins - Posted on 13 January 2024

    I attended the surgery recently and was greeted with warmth and kindness from the receptionist. The receptionist helped me amend my details on their system and the process proved to be simple. The GP I met with was kind, understanding and made me feel at ease. The next steps were made clear and I went away from the surgery feeling heard and positive.

    Visited January 2024

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    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 15 January 2024

    Thank you very much for your feedback. We are very pleased that you felt heard and had a positive experience. We will ensure that your feedback is shared with the practice team.

    Report as unsuitable


  5. Review titled Complete lack of communication

    Rated 1 star out of 5

    by Susan Piddock - Posted on 19 December 2023

    Today my mum who is just out of hospital recieved a text message with results of her MRI scan. Since when has it been acceptable to just text results across with no follow up information of what she needs to do. She was rushed into hospital on the 3oth December following what I class as a complete faliure of this surgery after getting palmed off on numerous occasions. All they did was perscibe pain killers and request an MRI scan saying she had artheritus. Had they done a blood test they would have found out the issue weeks before. Had she not been taken into hospital when she was the situation could be so much worse and I would not have had to have a conversation with the consultant asking if I wanted mum to be resusitated should she go into cardiac arrest. The surgery has completely mismanaged her diabetic care resulting in her being B12 and iron defeciant. She was discharged from hospital on the 4th December and has no follow up from her doctors at all. Routine care from this surgery is non exsitant. You can call in the morning if its an emergency but by a few minutes after 8am all appointments have gone. I am also a patient at this surgery and have not had my thyroid levels or HRT checked in well over a year. I will be requesting an appointment to discuss this and my mums ongoing care plan.

    Visited December 2023

    Report as unsuitable

    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 15 January 2024

    Dear Susan, We are sorry that you are unhappy with your mother's recent care. We have responded directly to your mother regarding this complaint and our letter included a copy of our complaints leaflet, which details what you should do, should your mother remain dissatisfied with our response. Kind regards, Rebecca Seaman Practice Manager

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  6. Review titled Rude reception staff

    Rated 1 star out of 5

    by Anonymous - Posted on 13 December 2023

    I have contacted reception a number of times in the past 2 weeks and I generally find the reception staff quite rude. This is not the first time that I have experienced this at this surgery there is one particular reception staff who you know if you have to speak to her that she going to be abrupt/rude to you. When you can get an appointment with the Dr then I can not speak more highly of them but trying to get an appointment is difficult. I have stopped bothering to even contact the surgery due to the attitude of one particular reception staff and the fact that I ring from the time they open and can never get an appointment so now I go to the walk in center in deal to see a Dr. I have now been told by the walk in center that I have to see a Dr at my surgery and that I need to do an online request but Balmoral are not accepting these. You use to be able to get same day appointments but this clearly is no longer available.

    Visited December 2023

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    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 14 December 2023

    We are sorry that you have not found our reception team friendly on your recent encounters with the practice. General Practice is under huge strain at the moment, and sadly demand outweighs capacity every day of the week. We do try our best to offer as many appointments as we can, but these are not enough. We accept eConsults (online requests) between 8am-10am Monday to Friday and this can be accessed via our practice website. We are very lucky to be supported by an Urgent Treatment Centre at Deal Hospital, but appreciate that sometimes you need to see a GP at your registered practice. We would encourage you to complete an eConsult during the times listed above. As you have posted anonymously, we cannot liaise with you regarding this complaint, but if you do wish you discuss this further, we would encourage you to contact the Practice Manager to discuss this. Once again we apologise that your recent encounters with the practice have not been a positive experience.

    Report as unsuitable


  7. Review titled Exhausted mother

    Rated 1 star out of 5

    by Anonymous - Posted on 02 November 2023

    Today I tried to organise a repeat prescription for my 15 year old daughter. This is impossible! My two, only two options are call the surgery at 8 am and wait on the phone for 30 minutes, but this is not possible as I am at work ( a school) and cannot make a private call and option 2: Email consult, but only between the hours of 8am-10am. Again I am at work and unable to access my personal email. Asked and asked how else I can oprganise to be able to get my daughters medication and they said no other way they are my only options......what do I do? So now I am having to go to the local hospital to see a doctor to hope that they will write the prescription. I know this is not the receptionist's fault. I did ask to speak to somebody who could help me, but was told there was no further help available. How are people who work supposed to get the help they need from their doctors surgery when all aoptions open to them excluded them. I have been with this surgery for more than 15 years and am absolutely appalled how I am not able to access medical help for my child. Now having to go to an already overstretched hospital for real emergencies, where this should have been a very simple problem to solve. Very very disappointed.

    Visited November 2023

    Report as unsuitable

    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 17 November 2023

    We are very sorry that you have had such trouble obtaining a repeat prescription for your daughter. I am sorry that you have been told that there is only two options to do this, as this is not indeed the case. If it is a medication that the doctor has marked as a repeat order, you could order your daughter's prescription via online access, please contact the surgery and ask to speak to Nikki as she can arrange this for you. Alternatively some of the local chemists will also request medication on behalf of patients. Once again, we apologise that you have had difficulty getting a repeat prescription, we hope that in future this is a simple process for you.

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  8. Review titled Great service

    Rated 5 stars out of 5

    by Roy David - Posted on 09 August 2023

    I was very pleased with the attentive and caring attitude of the doctor I saw. She offered advice on the way forward with several of my ailments and I was very satisfied with the outcome of our consultation.

    Visited August 2023

    Report as unsuitable

    Balmoral Surgery has not yet replied.


  9. Review titled Inaccurate posted opening times

    Rated 4 stars out of 5

    by Bernard McEwen - Posted on 19 July 2023

    NHS Website and notice on surgery door says the practice is open on Wednesdays: 0830 to 1830. Not so today - several people in the car park finding it closed

    Visited July 2023

    Report as unsuitable

    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 20 July 2023

    Good morning, We are sorry that you visited the practice on an afternoon that we are closed. We close once a month for protected learning time. There is a sign on our door which explains this and has a list of all of the upcoming dates that we will be closed. We also put this information on our website, in our newsletter and on our TV presentation in the waiting room. However, we appreciate that still despite our best efforts, not everyone will have seen this information. We do not chose the dates that we are closed, and they vary between a Wednesday and a Thursday afternoon. Once we are aware of the dates, we do try out best to publicise these dates as best we can. Once again, we are sorry that you were not able to visit the practice yesterday, and we hope that you have now been able to access the practice.

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  10. Review titled Very unhelpful

    Rated 1 star out of 5

    by Anonymous - Posted on 12 June 2023

    I have found a lump under my arm! I emailed the balmoral surgery to see if I could get an appointment, I got an automated reply saying to ring the surgery. When I rang I was told no appointments were available, to ring 111 or go to laocal hospital. This is my registered GP and it it’s not the first time this has happened. I’m worried.

    Visited June 2023

    Report as unsuitable

    Review titled Balmoral Surgery

    Replied on 13 June 2023

    Dear Patient We are so sorry to read that your experience of booking an appointment during this worrying time for you wasn’t satisfactory. As you have submitted this review anonymously we cannot respond to you directly. Please can we ask that you contact the Practice and ask to speak to one of the management team. We will then call you back so that we can better understand what happened, to learn and improve things where possible and how we can help you to get the appointment you need. In general, as noted on our website, we are experiencing an unprecedented level of vacancies in our clinical team as a result of the national crisis in recruitment of healthcare professionals. We have recently successfully recruited a new salaried GP who will start with us in August so this is a positive step in trying to ensure we can provide more appointments for our patients. We look forward to hearing from you directly in due course. Balmoral Surgery

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