Dr Andrew Sawczenko

In search of a new paediatrician for my 3mo old son, I saw positive reviews about Dr Andrew Sawczenko and visited him this month for a general control and some questions about feeding/sleeping schedule. In all fairness, it very easy to book an appointment with him and he responded to my emails promptly. However, even though I assume he has great level of knowledge based on previous parent reviews, I personally do not recommend him due to his overall attitude. The most frustrating thing was I didn’t find his social skills particularly helpful and think his comments were inappropriate at times. For instance, he said my house would be 25C and very warm for the baby given my nationality, which isn’t the case at all and I wasn’t sure where this was coming from. At some point, he asked if I were relatives with my husband (I’d guess this was again based on his judgement about our nationalIty). When I said what he meant as I was shocked, he asked if we were cousins or something similar. This was a very weird question to receive as I have seen other paediatricians and none asked this type of question. Another example is on my baby’s body shape as he said he did have short legs possibly taking it from my side, narrower head taking from my husband and has small chin which shall grow in time etc. What’s the point of making such comments? I wouldn’t visit a paediatrician to get some prejudging views on these areas so I recommend him to speak on these only if there is a valid reason or concern.. Another thing that frustrated me was his guidance on starting solids with my baby at 4months going against the NHS advice. My son is exclusively breastfed, healthy and gaining weight so I wasn’t sure why he insisted on this subject. In summary, I don’t recommend him..

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Trust

Listening

We visited this doctor this week at The Portland hospital. Dr Sawczenko was most attentive and kind to my niece who was very nervous about her visit. He listened patiently to both my niece and my sister in law. He explained the diagnosis and not only the diagnosis however the reasoning behind it to give us a full understanding of the condition and why. He also gave further information on vaccines and really went over and beyond his role. I can personally say from the physical examination to the discussion Dr Sawczenko was fantastic with the child. He made jokes, gave simplified answers and also re assured the child regarding the nature of her condition. I would highly recommend Dr Sawczenko to other families and parents. As a self funding patient he was also very honest about fees and actually advised that some tests we requested were not necessary and that we should save our money. An overall genuine and fantastic doctor. We are most grateful for his time and expertise.

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Trust

Listening

I found Dr Andrew Sawczenko from an online search and read the positive reviews about him. It was very easy to book an appointment with him and he responded to emails promptly. During the appointment he listened to all my concerns and spent a lot of time examining my son and I felt he even went beyond my initial concern and undertook further examinations which was very assuring. The appointment lasted a considerable time and felt thorough and definitely not rushed. Dr Sawczenko showed a lot of interest and asked several questions to get to know my son/ his habits/ circumstances better. After the appointment he sent his report to me the next day and provided further advice. I would definitely visit Dr Sawczenko again if I had any concerns regarding my son’s health, and would recommend him.

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Trust

Listening

Dr. Sawczenko was absolutely wonderful with our daughter, who was diagnosed with HyperMobility under his care. He has an instinctive connection to children’s psyche and easily draws out exactly what a child is feeling and experiencing. He has the empathy parents very much need and the expertise of a remarkable paediatrician. Dr Sawczenko is totally patient centred, kind, and made us feel like we were his only clients for the day! His early diagnosis ( before MRI and bloods) was spot on. He detailed the diagnosis in such a way that we never panicked or stressed about any outcome. Most important of all, our daughter felt relaxed in his care and this in turn allowed her to voice the real impact the chronic pain in her ankle, was causing her.

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Trust

Listening