Saffron Health Partnership
Biggleswade Health Centre, Saffron Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 8DJContact details and opening times
Patient ratings and reviews
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Reviews
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Review titled Impossible to get an appointment
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Andrew Bishop - Posted on 12 April 2025
I have tried to contact this GP surgery for an appointment. The telephone is constantly engaged, The online ordering portal requires you to contact your GP (which you can not) the NHS site says book through your local GP (see above) and emails requesting an appointment say they are full today and not accepting future bookings. How do you get to see your GP. No wonder A&E are rammed.
Visited April 2025
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled NHS is not supporting GP's well with IT!
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Frank Fattori - Posted on 30 April 2025
I received SMS saying I'm due for medication review next month, ok, no problem. I already booked blood test at Bedford Northwing on the 9th. If GP emailed me the blood test form, it would be helpful. Otherwise I collect from GP office as already SMS confirmed. The SMS said please respond, via the link, but no link provided! Also another SMS asked for blood pressure data & said "attached questionnaire" but I didn't see it anywhere. Again, why not just email me that please. Yes, I have BP machine & will take data. I see that my GP have access to email system, but big disappointment when I reply to "biggleswade dot healthcentre at nhs dot net", it tells me it's not monitored! & I can't reply to an SMS. The interface is poor & cumbersome. "System Online" or Airmid UK app, say "messages not enabled"! Why not? It's almost like the SMS system is being managed by a dumb robot not a sophisticated AI. Please note, I'm not angry at any human reading this. Just pointing out that I think it should be better & easier.. have a great day! :-) apparently I have 1969 characters remaining..... Shall I carry on? Oh and i am not even allowed to write a word in C A P I T A L S to add emphasis to the rubbish system we are forced to use even in an NHS review!
Visited April 2025
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Blood tests
by Anonymous - Posted on 06 March 2025
Why is there nowhere local to have a simple blood test that takes approx 1 min? Maybe a hub in Biggs/Sandy/Shefford to make it easier for the working person? Or my elderly mum who doesn’t drive? I asked twice for time off work yesterday to drive and collect the blood form - I couldn’t park anywhere - while seeing others park where they shouldn’t. I couldn’t wait any longer. I went today - waited 10 mins in car park for a space. Inside there was. Queue of over 10 people with 1 person on reception. I waited over 30 mins, so much later back to work than I told them I would be. I’ve now got to pluck up the courage to ask for over 2 hours off to go to Bedford and back, where again I have to fight for a space and pay to park! This simple blood test will int be end have cost me over 3.5 hours unpaid off work! People can’t afford this - we will end up not being seen for early stages of a worry until it is perhaps too late for us. After failing twice yesterday, I called the surgery to ask them to email me for the blood form so I can print it. That can’t be done! We are being pushed online from all organisations, yet if I could have my form emailed I would saved myself 1.5 hours of pay already - and not been taking up car parking space at surgery that patients who are lucky enough to have an appointment will be needing. No wonder A&E is overwhelmed - we get to the stage where we are so unwell. What a sad state of affairs.
Visited March 2025
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Unable to make appointment for rsv vaccine.
Rated 1 star out of 5
by R Bartram - Posted on 20 February 2025
I note that Saffron Health Partnership in Sandy is accepting new patients as per this nhs website but by there own admission are unable to deal with there present number of patients.!? I have received two nhs respiratory rsv vaccine notification messages ( September 2024 and February 2025) and have spoken to the receptionist on both occasions and tried on line appointments, both advise me that there are no appointments available up to 3rd April 2025 and beyond that date information is not available until nearer the time. !! This surgery has been unable to handle the number of patients since the covid epedemic and has shown no signs of improvement but despite this appalling situation, according to the NHS website they are still taking on new patients. When asked whats the point of the nhs sending out these requests to advise people to make Doctor appointments, when clearly none are available, I was advised "they shouldn't" !!?? Clearly this is yet another waste of money, time and peoples lives.
Visited February 2025
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Incorrect Information
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 11 October 2024
I receive a letter from NHS England Vaccination Team, which tells me to contact your GP surgery to get a flu vaccination. So I telephone the Surgery (Saffron Health Partnership) and they tell me that they do not provide vaccinations. And that I need to find a pharmacy that provides the service. I will leave Saffron Health Partnership and the NHS England Vaccination Team to sort out between them, which was responsible for the advice sent to me being wrong.
Visited October 2024
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Shameful Caring System
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 03 August 2024
There is a constant similar complaint here, long waiting on the phone (if you lucky to get through), rude receptionists and chances of seeing a GP not great. And the online appt booking system, never ever seen an open window slot yet. I have been in the reception area twice recently, not to see a GP but medically related staff. I observed and heard a elderly lady in a mobility scooter speaking to a receptionist about getting a appointment to see a GP, the lady was explaining her phone calls were not getting through, the receptionist kept repeating to her you have to keep trying or use the online system, the lady was clearly distressed and did not understand what she meant. I care not what anyone says in trying to make excuses for a bad service, but 1. that receptionist was damned rude to that lady in the manner she spoke to her, 2. it was clear to me that she did not understand what online meant and that receptionist would have known that so why did she not help her, inexcusable 3. The elderly lady then ended up saying ''sorry'' to the receptionist and turned her scooter around and left. Sorry, really! the wrong person said that. That receptionist apart from her rudeness and inability to communicate with vulnerable people, should have been booking her a appointment online, that system should be made available for those who clearly do not understand or have no access to IT / mobile phone use. It is a combination of poor service and absolutely a very rude receptionist. Had I had been there for a GP appointment, I would have went up to that rude receptionist and asked her to put that lady in my appointment place instead. Last 18 months, in that building 5 times, max 3 people waiting when I been in there. It seems nowadays if you say it as it is, you are deemed as being aggressive, rude or whatever. No the rude person in this case was the receptionist, who to was passive aggressive to a elderly lady. I say to anyone in any job were care, safeguarding the vulnerable and providing a service to the public and doing what you should be doing, going above and beyond to provide a service, If the job to stressful for you, leave, you're in the wrong job.
Visited July 2024
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Worst surgery
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 July 2024
I have been trying to get an appointment with a doctor for my mum for 4 weeks. It’s just impossible, continuously stuck on the phone with “more than 20 people ahead of you in the queue” when you eventually get to speak to a receptionist they are unhelpful and just plain rude and all the appointments have gone. How this practice is allowed to treat and speak to people the way they do is awful. When you genuinely need help there is nowhere to turn.
Visited July 2024
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Uncaring, unhelpful - awful
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 04 March 2024
Have had several recent interactions with the surgery in last few months, suffer the horrible wait times on the phones, 40 minutes to an hour plus, every time. Receptionists are rude, they either flatly refuse to help or incredibly patronising, talk over you and do not listen. The new Klinik system is limited on symptoms so cant get appointments that way, cant make them over the phone or face to face. Seeing a gp is rare to never, a nurse if you're lucky. 5 minutes in and out, totally disinterested and do not listen to what they are told - can see the notes on the system only a fraction of what was said is noted. Follow up is a joke, try to get a message to the person you saw..not a chance in hell, you are irrelevant. Very isolating, awful for your mental health. Town is over populated but that is a surgery problem not a patient problem. Employ more people.
Visited March 2024
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled New booking system
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 04 March 2024
The new booking system is rubbish! It means you cannot get same day appointments not even for kids! Plus you need to spend a good 5/10min filling your details and the system is very slow as well. Couldn't book the same day appointment and didn’t get any response from the appointment request team. Now they are telling me to call 111, but to be honest I thought GP was meant to be for non urgent matter but you could still be seen on the day and not waste 111 time with non urgent care!
Visited March 2024
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.
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Review titled Doing everything twice
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 07 March 2024
I was in the waiting room today and witnessed a queue almost to the door being dealt with by 1 receptionist. So half the queue were annoyed before they even spoke to anyone. Talk about give yourselves a problem! Patients (mainly elderly) were told they couldn’t book an appointment without using the Klinik system, but if they had trouble using it, ring the surgery and a receptionist would help them! So the patient goes home, to ring the surgery to get someone to help them, when they were standing in front of a receptionist earlier!!!!! So the system clearly doesn’t work, or help and doubles the receptionists work. The telephone was invented for communication, so answer it and book appointments, and we learnt to speak to communicate, so book an appointment when the patient is right in front of you! I appreciate something needs to change but the growing numbers of patients accessing the system is not the patients fault, however, the lack of enough staff and a coherent system has become one of their problems, and this can only be remedied by the surgery.
Visited March 2024
Saffron Health Partnership has not yet replied.