Cator Medical Centre - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
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Review titled Excellent service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Lynda Turner - Posted on 20 February 2024
Minor surgery to remove a lump. Everything was perfect. An efficient, compassionate and very satisfactory experience with very competent staff.
Visited November 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 03 April 2024
Dear Lynda, thank you ever so much for taking the time to leave your kind comments which we were delighted to receive! It is good to know that the minor surgery you had was to your satisfaction and that the high standard of care we strive to achieve met your expectations. I trust you are recovering well and that everything is ok regarding your healthcare needs. With thanks and kind regards, Geoff Cook (Patient Liaison Officer)
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Review titled Forget an Emergency Appointment to See a Doctor Ever Again.
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 31 October 2023
Filled out the form @ 7:50am as You can't phone the surgery anymore. The pain was too much by 11am for me to wait for them call me back. So went Urgent Care instead. There were 25/30 people in front of me with at least 80/90 % of the people in their with colds and flu symptoms, all had used Anima Online Booking and couldn't get an appointment to see anyone. Its an Absolute Joke now to see a GP urgently. People will die and lose their lives because of this Incompetent Online system! Was finally called at 2pm in the afternoon from someone sounding they were from an Overseas call centre. When I challenged them on where they were phoning me from (I thought it would be someone in the Beckenham Beacon) that would not tell me and not confirm or deny where they were calling from. I have lost all faith and trust in this Practice with this Online Nightmare and say if you are not feeling well go A&E or Urgent care to see a doctor because by the time you get phoned back by this Online Service (which is supposed to be so much better) you will probably been in even more pain or worse Dead. The Worse Service I have ever experienced since the online move on the 5th October.
Visited October 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 21 December 2023
Many thanks for your feedback. We are sorry that you are not happy with the service provided by Elm House Surgery. We are sure you will understand that embedding a new system like this will take a while to get any teething issues ironed out for both staff and patients. We believe that once the system has settled in patients will have access to a quicker and more efficient way of keeping in touch with their GP, particularly in times of urgency. With regards the opening times for the Anima system, prior to Anima going live at the beginning of October, appointment bookings used to open online and on the phone at 8am and the appointments were usually all gone by 10am. You can create an Anima request from 8am to 4pm and the clinician triagers work until 6.30pm to action all the requests. Sometimes, if the cap of 250 requests in a day is reached it may be closed earlier. Capping requests also protects our triagers from being over-tasked especially on days when we do not have a full complement of staff. On days when we do not have a full complement of staff we do our utmost best to triage as many patient requests as possible. When we have reached capacity we are contract-bound by NHS England to refer patients to Urgent Care, to NHS 111 or to A&E if requests cannot wait until the following day. Patients who are unable to use Anima (e.g. because they cannot use the Internet) can still ring the surgery. A member of staff will assist them submit their Anima request either over the phone or in person. We will take your comments to our quarterly complaints meeting, in order that we can make changes or form learning points, so we hope that you are reassured that we are doing everything we can to improve the new triage system. Yours sincerely, Geoff Cook
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Review titled Great treatment
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 10 August 2023
This is my mums surgery and whilst I agree the appointment system does need to be revised and the attitude of some of the reception staff could definitely be improved, there are some staff who go out of their way to help. Recently I had to call up and spoke to a lady on reception who was brilliant and most helpful. Additionally, we saw a fantastic doctor (unfortunately I am unable to name him in this review - he was in room 28 surname starts with B ends in Y). He is a fantastic asset to the team - he actually cares about his patients whilst explaining things in full and ensuring the patient fully understands everything. All in all I would recommend this surgery as my mum has received great treatment here.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 21 December 2023
Dear Cator patient, thank you ever so much for your kind words. We are really pleased that you have experienced great treatment and service at the surgery. We constantly strive to improve our level of service to our patients and so I will feed back to our Reception Manager about your comments regarding some of her team. Kind regards, Geoff Patient Liaison Officer
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Review titled Disappointed
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Lisa Spencer - Posted on 01 June 2023
Unfortunately, as I work full time, I am unable to call the surgery at 8am in the hope of getting through and securing a same day appointment. So do it the old fashioned way. I called at 1pm, waited in a queue for 20 minutes. Requested an appointment to be told that the first face to face appointment available was the 1st week of July, alternatively I could have a phone appointment the last week of June! Luckily I rarely need to visit the doctors but surely 5 weeks wait for a face to face appointment is extreme! I know I’m getting on in years now but where has the service, help and support gone? Gone are the days when I could ring, or walk in and book an appointment for that same week. Everyone is steered towards on line consultations. The calling at 8am is madness for those of us that work, are either travelling at this time or can’t sit at home redialling the number. To constantly hit the redial button to hear a continuously engaged tone, when finally you get through, over an hour later, all appointments for that day are gone, try again tomorrow. I am a strong supporter of the NHS and everything they do but something needs to be done about quicker access to our medical profession. Please Cator, can you sort a system out that helps those of us that work and can’t play the appointment lottery or wait 5 weeks. Thank you.
Visited June 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 20 July 2023
Dear Lisa, thank you for taking the time to leave your review and for your feedback comments. I'm sorry that you are disappointed with the service you received from us regarding the booking of appointments by telephone. It might be helpful if I explain that at the time when you made your comments, we were trying to improve our service in order to best meet clinical needs by introducing a book on the day only appointments system. This was a temporary measure while we addressed a real crisis in staffing levels which meant we needed to optimise whatever appointments we could offer to their full potential. We were also experiencing a lot of patients not fulfilling their appointments when booking ahead which meant we had a high number of wasted appointments. Since then, we have listened to our patients and our staff and, upon reflection, we have decided to revert to having some forward booking appointments for each GP. We have also decided to send out warning letters to patients who do not attend their pre-booked appointment. It should be noted that these appointments will still go very quickly and we continue to seek a better system to meet the demand. In addition to these changes, we are reviewing the whole booking process to enable us to make the necessary changes to improve it so that all patients have an opportunity to book the type of appointment that best suits them. I hope this goes some way to restore your confidence in this surgery and that you have been reassured by this reply that we do value your feedback and have genuinely taken on board your comments. Kind regards, Geoff Cook, Patient Liaison Officer Cator Medical Centre
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Review titled Inefficient shambles
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 12 June 2023
Having moved from a highly effectively run GP surgery, I am shocked about the shambles of a system for booking appointments. Appointments available in advance are over a month away, the e-consult system is never available, and the only other means of getting an appointment is by phoning on the day at 8 o'clock for a same day appointment. I clearly was blessed with my previous surgery as this is ridiculous. My appointment is for an administrative appointment which at my previous surgery would have been done efficiently and effectively online within a day! Don't register with this surgery if you have another option.
Visited June 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 19 July 2023
Dear Patient, Thank you for taking the time to leave your review and for the comments you have made. I am sorry you experienced such difficulties in booking an appointment and that we seem to have fallen below the high standard we aim to achieve and which didn't meet your expectations on this occasion. If you would like to email me your details (full name, date of birth, NHS number and address) I will investigate what happened when you tried to book an appointment and then contact you to discuss how we can resolve this issue. Our email address is on our website. It might be helpful if I explain that at the time when you made your comments, we were trying to improve our service in order to best meet clinical needs by introducing a book on the day only appointments system. This was a temporary measure while we addressed a real crisis in staffing levels which meant we needed to optimise whatever appointments we could offer to their full potential. We were also experiencing a lot of patients not fulfilling their appointments when booking ahead which meant we had a high number of wasted appointments. Since then, we have listened to our patients and our staff and, upon reflection, we have decided to revert to having some forward booking appointments for each GP. We have also decided to send out warning letters to patients who do not attend their pre-booked appointment. It should be noted that these appointments will still go very quickly and we continue to seek a better system to meet the demand. In addition to these changes, we are reviewing the whole booking process to enable us to make the necessary improvement changes so that all patients have a better opportunity to book the type of appointment that best suits them. I hope this goes some way to restore your confidence in this surgery and that you have been reassured by this reply. We do value your feedback and have genuinely taken on board your comments. Kind regards, Geoff Cook, Patient Liaison Officer Cator Medical Centre
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Review titled Not possible to make any appointment whatsoever
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anna - Posted on 05 April 2023
Hello, I have newly registered with this surgery only to find out that they can only book appointments on the day if you call or come at 8 am. I am a shift worker and this schedule is impossible for me. I am unable to book any appointment for 3 weeks. Please can a normal booking schedule be introduced when you can book appointments in advance.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 19 July 2023
Dear Anna, Thank you for your comments about the difficulty you experienced making an appointment at the surgery and I am sorry you weren't able to book one for when you preferred. At the time when you made your comments, we were trying to improve our service in order to best meet clinical needs by introducing a book on the day only appointments system. This was a temporary measure while we addressed a real crisis in staffing levels which meant we needed to optimise whatever appointments we could offer to their full potential. We were also experiencing a lot of patients not fulfilling their appointments when booking ahead which meant we had a high number of wasted appointments. However, we have been listening to our staff and importantly to our patient’s comments and taking into consideration all viewpoints, we have decided to revert to having some forward booking appointments for each GP. We have also decided to send out warning letters to patients who do not attend their pre-booked appointment. It should be noted that these appointments will still go very quickly and we continue to seek a better system to meet the demand. As part of the booking system review we are currently exploring possibilities to improve our service to all our patients and we hope, in the not too distant future be able to make some helpful implementations. We are really grateful for the comments we receive from our patients as we strive to provide a high level of care to all our patients and so I wish to take this opportunity to thank you very much for your views. Kind regards, Geoff Cook, Patient Liaison Officer Cator Medical Centre
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Review titled Confusion
Rated 1 star out of 5
by CAROLE - Posted on 02 May 2023
I have asked repeatedly for mri results. Also phoned hospital. Told doc had results. Surgery still says hasn't got them. Twice gp has been given a note to chase them up. Nothing has been done. It's been 5 weeks since tests. Yet I'm still waiting. This seriously is a bad practice
Visited April 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 14 July 2023
Dear Carole, Thank you for your feedback comments. Please accept my apologies for the delays you have encountered in trying to obtain your MRI results. If you haven't already done so, please can you email me your personal details (full name, date of birth and NHS number) so that I can contact you to look into this matter and to try to resolve it for you. With thanks and kind regards, Geoff Cook Patient Liaison Officer Cator medical Centre
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Review titled Poor appointment system
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 April 2023
Had a Saturday appt at Beckenham Beacon Cator Centre but needed to cancel on the day. There was no way of cancelling or speaking to an operator on a Saturday, couldn’t reschedule. Was trying to do the right thing but with no staff available on a Saturday it was impossible. Why offer Sat appts if you don’t have staff at the Cator Centre to man the calls??? Time wasting for doctors if they can’t be informed of cancellations!!!
Visited April 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 20 July 2023
Dear Patient, Thank you for your feedback comments. I am sorry you weren't able to cancel your appointment on the Saturday in question. Saturday appointments held here at Cator Medical Centre are made via the Bromley PCN (Primary Care Network). Once an appointment has been booked the PCN confirm the booking by sending a mobile phone text with a link embedded in the message so if patients need to cancel the appointment they can do so automatically without needing to ring anyone. If you could email me with your details (full name, date of birth, address and NHS number), I will check your records to see if a text was sent to you or not. Our email address is: SELicb.CatorReception@nhs.net Kind regards, Geoff Cook, Patient Liaison Officer Cator Medical Officer
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Review titled Poor appointment management
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 14 April 2023
Had some blood tests done recently, results were sent to me by text (that you cannot reply to) and was asked to call and make a routine telephone appointment. Called to do this and was told that no advance appointments could be booked for either Telephone or in person and made no difference if urgent or routine. I was told to call at 8am to book a routine telephone appointment. This is absolutely unhelpful to all as the lines are extremely busy and sometimes am not able to call at that time due to travelling to work or being at work. This system needs to change drastically as there will be people who will never be able to make an appointment. The system for advance booking needs to be reinstated - routine appointments for the future whether by telephone or in person should be made by anyone calling at anytime not just at 8am. I understand if you want an urgent same day appointment to call at 8am, but you still have a poor chance to get one that day anyway if you can ever get through, but those like me that was told by the GP to call and book a routine appointment should be able to do that and book something for somewhere within the next 3 weeks or so. The GP obviously was not aware of this issue as they did not mention it. Please please please reinstate the system whereby a patient can call at any time for a routine appointment - either telephone or in person and save the 8am time slot for those that need more urgent help. If you do not then you run the risk of patients suffering harm due to this incompetant system. You are also sending more people to A&E as they cannot get help from you. Perhaps this is a way of reducing your patient list ?? However I would like to say then when I have seen a member of the team either a GP or a Nurse (Whose appointments you can book in advance apparently) I have had excellent treatment. It is just a shame that their good work is being undermined by the appalling appointment management.
Visited March 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 14 July 2023
Dear Patient, thank you for your feedback comments. We are sorry that you have experienced difficulties with our appointment system and therefore have passed your comments on to our management team who are currently reviewing how we manage appointments so that we can improve the patient experience. To put your mind at rest, we can assure you we continue to accept new patients to the practice and, although it may seem like it, we can confirm that we are not using our present booking system to reduce our patient list. It is good to know that the care you receive from our clinicians has been a positive one as we appreciate positive feedback as well as constructive feedback to help us provide the high level of care we strive to achieve.
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Review titled No appointments
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Lori Saunders - Posted on 03 April 2023
So apparently you can no longer book a routine appointment, tried calling, no answer for an hour and then no appointments. Tried the website no appointment. It's ridiculous that you cannot book an appointment in advance or on the day really. This used to be a wonderful doctors but this is now the worst practice in the borough
Visited March 2023
Review titled Cator Medical Centre
Replied on 14 July 2023
Dear Lori, thank you for your feedback about trying to book an appointment at the surgery. I am really sorry that you have experienced difficulties in negotiating our current system of booking appointments. In light of your comments, and those made by other patients who have experienced similar difficulties, we are currently conducting an urgent review of the overall appointment booking system so that we can improve the patient experience for everyone. We hope that the new system will re-instate your confidence in the practice and that it will enable us to provide the high level of service we am to provide all our patients. Please be assured that your comments will be considered in our review to help us improve the new current booking system. With many thanks and kind regards, Geoff Cook Patient Liaison Officer, Cator Medical Centre