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Listening
 
Written by a private patient at One Hatfield Hospital
20th January 2022


Patronising manner

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Listening
 
Written by a private patient at One Hatfield Hospital
18th September 2021


Dr Kedia was fantastic today. I could not fault him. I came to see him as I did not agree with the response I received on the telephone from my GP, following a visit to the emergency 111 doctor a week before. He listened, took a full medical history & then did an examination. He has a very calming manner which put me at ease especially as I was feeling so unwell & in pain. He also recommended a chest X-ray which I had immediately.

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Trust
Listening
 
Written by a patient at Colney Medical Centre
9th March 2017


No Text Message Appointment Reminders The surgery has my mobile number however I have never received any appointment reminders. I know however that other mature patients do receive appointment reminders. Of course appointments are recorded in my calendar but considering the notice on the wall that 98 people didn't attend appointments were missed last month, would it not be common sense to roll this out to each and every patient and if too expensive then e-mail would be warmly welcome? I am not suggesting that there are not patients who don't miss appointments and it is a waste of time and resources but there needs to be a better reminder system in place for everyone, not just for elderly patients. Also in regards to people forgetting to have a regular blood test when due perhaps it would also be efficient to implement some e-mail reminders service? My Dentist Dr Gatrad has no problem reminding patients who haven't attended their due or overdue regular check up by letter, so why is this not the same with the Verulamium Medical Group? Prevention should be the strategy, patients are responsible for their own health but practices need to be much more efficient and have a better system in place to help with patient care. It must be noted that I have not missed an appointment however without a proper system in place for an aging population and a rise in dementia or parkinson's disease it easy to see why this occurs at this surgery when there is no fully integrated reminder system. No Copy of Blood Tests Results Given With smart technology you can expect to have access to your blood test results all the time along with relevant advice. Unfortunately with this surgery the patient is not given a copy of their NHS blood test results and I myself have had to ask twice for the blood test results which I wrote down on piece of paper during the same appointment. How are patients meant to take responsibility for their health if information about their health is not shared, even when having a face to face appointment about the same topic? Why do patients have to ask for this health information, should it not be given securely and honestly as a part of an efficient health care system? Honesty Policy of Relations with Drugs Companies I would like to see all GPs at this surgery disclose their links to pharmaceutical companies. All GP surgeries and Doctors need to do this. I look forward to seeing the GPs on the website and I will be looking for their names in the nearby future. Narrowing of Choice Thyroid patients are not being given a choice of medication, they only have synthetic thyroxine available on the NHS when it is known that dessicant is more effective as are bio-identical hormones to HRT, Q10 to statins etc. I also discovered much to myself disbelief that this surgery doesn't test for T3 levels, it is widely known that some patients do not correctly convert T4 to T3, so there must be a lot of patients walking around from this surgery and many others, still feeling a lack of energy over many years. The surgery doesn't disclose this information on their website you find out through reading health care books and neither do they share this information open and honestly. I found a reluctance to disclose this information face to face and had to ask twice during the same appointment. I was very disappointed with this recent discovery. Again a disclosure of conflicts of interest would be welcome. No Family Medical History If we are to prevent many preventable diseases why does this surgery not request for details of family medical history? I have never ever been asked to fill in any details about my family medical history, why isn't this standard? There are no forms available on the website. This practice is several years behind other surgeries. Please add family medical history forms on your website. Thank you. No Nutritional Advice It is always good to ask the GP if any foods can help support the thyroid. I suggested if eating seaweed would help but the GP said that won't help. I was left feeling disappointed because patients need nutritional advice not to be given more and more medication or any increase in dosage, if we are to prevent many diseases. Rather than just suggesting an increase in dosage of medication would it be in the GPs best interests to support the medication condition with the correct foods? I understand that GPs don't have much time, but I had a underactive thyroid problem before the limited appointment time change and nothing has improved. Incorrect Diagnosis and Disability Someone I know had been visiting the GP overall several years. She had arthiritis but then her hands had became numb, the GP's at this surgery kept telling her that she has arthritis and wouldn't refer her to see a specialist. After several years, she saw a specialist who confirmed her original thoughts, that she had carpal tunnel syndrome. Unfortunately the surgeries failure to refer her in a timely manner many years ago meant that the surgery was unsuccessful and the feeling in her hands has not returned. If they had taken it seriously at the time it would have prevented the carpal tunnel syndrome from progressing. GP practices should be fined for misdiagnosis. It gives me no trust on more serious life threatening diseases like cancer, if they cannot correctly diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome because they are more concerned about their budget. Actively Seek Feedback The surgery does not seek active feedback from patients and neither does it actively monitor reviews on google maps. It does have a suggestions box in the surgery but it is not exactly in a discrete location when placed directly in front of reception! After every appointment the practice should email each patient with a survey and then the receptionist should review it and post it on the website. Preventative Measures Be aware that NHS doesn't have a comprehensive blood test. Therefore how can it prevent many diseases like for example osteoporosis, if for example it does not test for vitamin D3 deficiencies? Believe it or not this test is not available on the NHS. The current system gives patients expensive hip operations and knee surgery but it doesn't prevent it from occurring in the first place and it doesn't test for it. It is absurd and the NHS wonders why it has no money? One a more serious note many terminal diseases like leukaemia can be found much earlier with abnormal white blood cells, but of course the NHS doesn't test for that. The same goes for cancer. NHS blood tests are extremely limited and I would not rely on the NHS for my healthcare at all or this practice. This is not about NHS v Private, it is about LIFE! Surgery Is Not Forward Thinking This surgery doesn't offer advice on private smart blood test results even though one of my indicators suggests early signs of atherosclerosis, which could lead to a stroke or heart disease. I didn't receive one piece of advice. I also recall that many years prior to the blood test I visited the surgery to explain that I can feel my veins pumping at certain points on my body but again I received not one piece of advice, it was a waste of time! Neither did it suggest referral to a heart health programme or a dietician, you are on your own!!! There is no proactive prevention model.

Recommend
Trust
Listening
 
 

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  • General Practice