The Portmill Surgery
114 Queen Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9THContact details and opening times
Patient ratings and reviews
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Reviews
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Review titled Seeing a GP
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 13 July 2023
I called portmill to see if I could see a GP. I have to make a request online.If they think I need an appointment they will let me see someone. I have so many problems I don't know where to start. So it looks like I'm getting no help at all. Not helpful
Visited July 2023
Review titled The Portmill Surgery
Replied on 18 July 2023
Dear patient, I am very sorry to hear about your experience of trying to book an appointment at Portmill Surgery. All GP surgeries are being asked by the NHS to offer phone, in person and digital access to all patients, which is what we offer here at Portmill Surgery. We do not insist that patients contact us in any particular way, but in the way that suits them best and is most appropriate. We tailor our appointments, as best we can, to demand and between the 3 main types of appointment, face to face, phone and e-consultations. Once all the phone and face to face appointments have gone for the day, it may be that there is some availability left for e-consultations and that may have been why the receptionist recommended it. E-consultations are great for almost all non-urgent issues or queries, but they do not deal well with multiple issue queries. This is usually not a problem as it is unlikely the GP will consult on multiple issues in one consultation. We have a safe limit on all appointment types each day which we do not exceed, which means you may not get an appointment on the day you request. Please feel free to contact the surgery if you wish to discuss your personal experience with us. Kind regards, Portmill Surgery
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Review titled Impossible to contact GPs
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 14 May 2023
I tried to make an appointment at 8am, 2pm and 8am the following day but was told there were no slots. I explained my symptoms to the receptionist and asked how I could urgently see a doctor and was told to see a pharmacist as no doctors were available for the next 2 weeks. I did an eConsult instead and was booked for an emergency ultrasound 4 days later. I then missed my GPs (unscheduled) call to urgently discuss the ultrasound results and called back only to be told it would be 10 days before a doctor was free to talk to me. The next day the hospital called to discuss my hysteroscopy and biopsy (booked in 4 days time) and were astounded I hadn't been able to talk to my GP. When you talk to a nurse or GP they are great but the receptionists are rude and aggressive. They triage for no reason, and with no knowledge, and never seem to have appointments either online or on the phone. I have no idea how to get appointments at this surgery. Nothing is considered serious enough to warrant an appointment.
Visited May 2023
Review titled The Portmill Surgery
Replied on 17 May 2023
Dear patient I am very sorry to hear about your experience of trying to book an appointment at Portmill Surgery. I would like to look into your case in more detail and should be grateful if you could send a "Contact Us" form via our website, addressed to me, so that I can review your records. In general, demand is very high and sometimes we do not have as much capacity as we would like. I am glad that you were able to use eConsult, which can have a valuable role in triage. Our reception team do their best to accommodate patient needs and it is a very challenging role. I am sorry that you have found them to be rude and aggressive, which is out of keeping with most of our recent patient feedback. We do have a phone system which allows us to listen back to calls so again, if you could contact me directly, I can review the calls and speak to the relevant staff about any concerns regarding their manner. Kind regards Dr Tara Belcher Managing Partner