GP at hand - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
-
Review titled Random Diagnoses and Poor Integration with NHS as whole
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 12 April 2024
Its hard to see the same GP twice since they have 1000s (yet still no appointments less than 2 weeks away) and feels more like a conveyer belt, so end up getting wildly different opinions on what to do. Time gets wasted as the app tries to force you too see non-doctors for nearly everything, so you wait for that appointment, then it turns out you need medication so you have to see an actual doctor for a prescription so you have to wait another 2 weeks. Then when ever dealing with other forms of NHS such as a hospital or a referral communications between the two seem to always get lost. Causing delays to all treatment, rescheduling of follow up appointments as medication has not been prescribed yet. Having to make phone calls to act as a middle man so both sides get the information/form/email and you can actually get the medication you need prescribed. Also does not appear to get you to speak to a GP any faster even though its supposed to be a more efficient mechanism, rarely can you see a GP without a 2 week wait. If you call up for help, the people on phone really just following a script and can't do anything. Its all just a mess. Contact us form takes you out of the app. No complaints option in app and can't seem to complain directly too them as the password and username on their site doesn't seem to work for NHS patients.
Visited April 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Can no longer recommend
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Jordan - Posted on 11 April 2024
GP at Hand used to be a revolutionary service. Being able to see a GP "24/7" and "within minutes' - as quoted by their own website was amazing and is what drew me in and got me to move to them as my GP. Unfortunately, as time has gone on their promises no longer hold up, and the wait times are frankly - ridiculous. I understand that the NHS is facing more pressure than it ever has, but when trying to get a GP appointment recently, it was a 9 day wait for an appointment with a GP, which is absurd. What is the point of having 24/7 access "within minutes" advertisement when you're 9/10 days out always for appointments. Secondly, the handling of Repeat Prescriptions is sometimes a joke. I emailed in as always to get my repeat, but was declined and received a text that I needed to book with a Prescribing Pharmacist for a medication review before they could issue my medication - normal not a problem at all. However, when I tried to book an appointment for my review, would you believe it was a 6 day wait before I could get in with them. Which would practically cause me to run out of repeat medication. I think GP at hand has become dangerously oversubscribed and can no longer live up to their promises or their advertised wait times. The service is no longer revolutionary and unfortunately, only seems to be going down from here. I'll have to seriously reconsider whether I remain at the practice.
Visited April 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Used to be great, now absolutely awful
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Chloe - Posted on 24 April 2024
I loved this service when I first signed up, you could get appointments at the drop of a hat and quickly fix problems over the phone with a GP who could easily prescribe medication. Now, however, I have had ongoing issues for a while that I simply deal with, because it's so hard to get an appointment. You have to wait weeks on end at a time, and there's absolutely no way to speak to someone in an emergency. I have thus had to call 111 at times when it's completely unnecessary, but there's been no other way of me speaking to a doctor to get quick treatment without waiting up to a month at a time. You can no longer speak to a GP either, so it's not a full medical service, you input your problem (most of which require a GP) and wait 2/3 weeks to get through to a nurse practitioner or prescribing pharmacist, who then refers you to a doctor - so again, you wait even longer to speak to a doctor. It's a terrible service and I would highly recommend just registering with a local GP where you can at the very least, speak to someone in urgent scenarios.
Visited April 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Too slow to get an appointment
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Lydia - Posted on 24 April 2024
I am trying to get an appointment because I’ve had the flu for 3 weeks and need Something but I can’t get an appointment for 2 weeks which is way too long to miss work.
Visited April 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Gone down since eMed
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 March 2024
I've been trying to book a blood test for last month, as requested by a nurse and it's impossible. Either no appointments available or just a couple at only one clinic. I finally found a suitable day, time and clinic appointment was cancelled the day before. It's a common pattern now. Lack of appointments and last minute cancellations. Babylon used to be great. eMed has ruined the service. Yet again I'll be looking for a new GP. Do not join this place. Now run by a bunch of incompetents!
Visited March 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Poor service, unreliable, totally gone downhill
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 17 February 2024
To echo much of other people’s sentiments this was previously a great service to have as your GP. Now you wait weeks for an appointment and find it cancelled with no notice with no follow up arranged. Very poor service that does not meet even basic healthcare needs. It should be a minimum that you get another appointment offer with at least one option shortly after any cancellation.
Visited February 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Once great, now useless
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 13 February 2024
I used to tell everyone I knew to sign up with Babylon. It used to be convenient, quick and responsive. Well, that's no longer the case, and the NHS needs to cut their ties with this "service". I used to be able to get 10min appointments (video/phone) within a matter of hours, which was incredible. Now, it's two weeks. My debilitating migraine cannot wait two weeks, nor is it 999-worthy. So what do I do? Get a new GP, and hope the NHS cancels their contract with eMed or Babylon or GP at Hand, or whatever this terrible service is now called.
Visited February 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled e-Med is much worse
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Ayonike A - Posted on 12 February 2024
I'd been registered with GP at Hand for about two years and the service was mixed but generally ok. Since it became e-Med the service has seriously deteriorated and is now truly not fit for purpose. It has become almost impossible to arrange consultation with a GP or any other medical person for that matter. Available appointments are usually 10 days or more away, how is that helping anyone with a medical issue? There are no options for urgent medical issues that do not meet the threshold for calling 999. Babylon GP had been a good idea but now under e-Med, it is no longer fit for purpose, I truly hope that the government reviews their contract and ends it because it is now a waste of taxpayers' money. I'd been off work with debilitating migraine and as the symptoms did not improve, I tried to make an appointment to see a GP. The only option that came up was to see a nurse in 10 days's time. This is no longer a GP service, just an excuse to make money, because there is negligible patient care from this service. Anyone who suffers migraines knows the pain and other symptoms can make you feel suicidal at times, but this service wants me to wait 10 days to see a nurse, who will then advise me to see a GP to prescribe treatment; so another 10 days' wait. The rate of cancellation of appointments has also skyrocketed under e-Med, there is absolutely nothing to recommend about this service now and it's time for it to just go. I'll have to call 111 for my current migraine flare up as I can't bear another 10 days of the symptoms.
Visited February 2024
Review titled GP at hand
Replied on 13 February 2024
Dear Ayonike A Thank you for your feedback. We believe it is important to always offer patients the choice of both urgent on-the-day appointments and routine booked appointments. That's why, unlike many other practices, we always offer routine appointments for booking on our app 24/7. In addition to this, we add large numbers of urgent appointments every day between 8am and 6.30pm. If you are trying to book an urgent appointment outside these times, you should check back during opening hours. You can also contact our support team by phone or chat if you need to be seen urgently and they will arrange for your problem to be triaged by a clinician. Many thanks GP at Hand
-
Review titled Gone to the dogs
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 05 February 2024
I joined Babylon about six years ago and they were incredible. The ability to have appointments online and attend a clinic close to my work was a real selling point. I used to be able to get appointments within 24 hours if urgent, and a couple of days for regular appointments. The staff are great, I have only had one bad experience with medical staff in the six years of being a patient and their clinics are really modern and great to use. The reason for my 1 star is that since it was taken over by eMed appointment availability has become dire. It’s minimum 10 days to get an appointment and no emergency appointments are available for urgent need. I’ve got asthma, now have a chest infection and don’t have the luxury of waiting 10 days to see a doctor. This is a not infrequent occurrence for me and I need to be able to access care quickly when I get these infections. I tried calling the helpline but was told no appointments were available before 15 Feb (10 days from time of writing), the same as on the app. I’m now having to reconsider if I can remain with this service as all they could offer is “call 111”. It is ridiculous to send me to this service, wasting a resource I shouldn’t need if my doctor would do its job, for which it is paid to do. I’ve now been sat in University College Hospital London for two hours as by the time I got a call back from 111 it was out of hours and I needed to be seen in person to get a prescription. If this is what Private Equity and American medical group involvement in the National Health Service looks like, I do not support it.
Visited February 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.
-
Review titled Used to be good, now terrible
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 28 February 2024
I moved to GP at Hand from my local GP during the pandemic, having previously used the Babylon private service. At first it was good, with virtual appointments relatively easy to get at short notice, and face-to-face appointments not too difficult to book when required. However the service has rapidly decreased over the past couple of years. There is now a much longer wait to get a virtual appointment (even longer if you want to speak to a GP), follow-ups are poor, and it is very difficult to get a face-to-face appointment when needed. More than once I have had appointments where I wanted to discuss more than one issue and the clinician I was speaking to told me they could only deal with one of the issues and I’d have to rebook another appointment to deal with the other issue (resulting in an even longer wait). They also no longer offer IUD fitting/removal. I made a formal complaint about a specific aspect of my care in August and chased in September and they have not even bothered to respond. I am now moving back to a local GP.
Visited February 2024
GP at hand has not yet replied.