Craiglockhart Surgery

I have been a patient of this practice for over 30 years, and its treatment of patients is now so appalling that I assume it must be in some sort of crisis situation. Patients are required to phone at 8am for a telephone call-back appointment, and all of my attempts have been at precisely 8am. After listening to the recorded message, another automated message then tells me that I am 28th or 35th in the queue for receptionist to speak to me. By the time receptionist becomes available, it can often be mid-morning, and the message is inevitably that there are no routine telephone appointments now available for this day - ‘try again tomorrow’. This can go on for days. Some of the receptionists have advised me to try logging on at midnight to try to book a phone appointment for the next day. But often the online response at midnight is that there are no appointments available. This can go on for weeks, and I imagine that many people just give up trying to speak to a doctor. It feels like a really worrying and unsafe situation when there is a concern about a potentially serious health issue. Receptionists tell me cheerily that this is a telephone practice - face-to-face appointments are certainly not the norm. When a telephone appointment is available, the most common response appears to be a suggestion that the patient should make an appointment with a nurse for bloods to be taken, and that a prescription may be issued, depending on results. It is several years since I managed to see a GP on a face-to-face basis, and my rarely-achieved phone appointments tend to be with GPs who have never met me. By contrast my partner is a patient of the wonderful Colinton Medical Practice just along the road in Colinton Village, and he is ALWAYS seen by a GP on the day he phones for an appointment. The GPs there know him well, and treat him on the basis of this knowledge and his face-to face presentation, as opposed to described symptoms from a stranger on a phonecall, NHS records, and subsequent blood results. GPs at Colinton Medical Practice do not hurry their patients, and discuss and agree treatment options and plans with them I’d really so much welcome an explanation for the dreadfully poor and deteriorating treatment of patients seeking attention from GPs at Craiglockhart Medical Group I have obviously tried to move from this apparently failing medical practice to another more successful and ‘safe’ local practice, where it’s viable to see GPs, and does not feel so difficult to access even a phone appointment. Any local practice would seem preferable. But sadly - in common with lots of other Craiglockhart Medical Group patients - I have found that it’s impossible to escape unless I move to a new address in a catchment area for a better medical practice.

I phoned today to ask about an embarrassing medical condition which has been going on for some months during which I have managed one gp appointment. Was told it was busy but I’d be phoned before 6pm. At 5pm, got a phone call from a non doctor telling me they were too busy to talk to me today and just to phone at 8am tomorrow. These phone calls typically have you on hold for over an hour with no guarantee of an appointment. This is a terrible service, and I speak as a retired doctor. Am at my wits end

I have been with this surgery since birth, back in the day when it was in Craiglockhart. The service post-covid has been nothing short of AWFUL. I feel so let down. We've had so many horrible incidents, trying to get appointments. Can someone please tell me whose idea it was to have sick people calling at 8am on the dot. The same time as juggling getting ready for work/school/breakfast/toddlers/commutes etc. They don't even have the decency to put you into a holding system where you are queued on a first come first serve basis. You are endlessly hit with the engaged tone and end up having to physically redial hundreds of times before speaking to someone. Your triage appointment is then made for the same day, and not by appointment so you could get a call to discuss your health concerns, on the bus, at your desk, in class and feel pressured to take it. However, we do. Because the effort of getting to actually speak to a doctor another time, is almost too much to bear. When the doctor calls you back, they assess your need for a face-to-face appointment. It's at this point, I've never NOT been gaslit at this surgery with doctors huffing that I can't pinpoint whats wrong with myself (umm hello, I'm not the doctor!). Or more recently to my daughter who called for herself for the first time ever with excruciating throat pain, was told that "not all sore throats are tonsillitis", when she explained that it was as sore as her past ongoing issues with ENT, she was then asked "well, would you class it as an emergency?". I then called back on her behalf and was patronised horribly by the a member of the admin team, who said she had made an appointment for the next day. We arrived and were seen my a really nice locum doctor, who confirmed that she had in fact got a perforated ear drum!! It's no wonder she was in so much pain. Honestly feel so let down by this surgery. The process of getting seen is one of the worst I've heard of and attitude of the staff is just so uncaring. There have been many more instances of much of the same prior to this, so much so that I tend to battle through some health concerns I have about myself because I can't cope with the anxiety of trying to get seen. It's hard enough for me, I can't imagine how it would be for the elderly or for people who need some extra support trying to get appointments. For the sake of your health, please avoid. I've heard great things about some other local practices.

Phoned to get an appointment sometime during the week was told to set my alarm clock and phone back at 8am the next day. Had to phone 200 times to get through. Doctor told me he would only treat one symptom as it wasn't fair to other patients!!! Am I prepared to phone 200 times again when I need a doctor and how can I afford the phone bill? What other patients should I consider in order to 'justify' my appointment? This surgery is a call centre but even call staff should not patronise and be told to consider others instead of your own health!!! I will be making my feelings known to the management and am considering further steps as this undue stress is making my symptoms worse.

After major surgery and radiotherapy, followed by letters from oncology to surgery, I have had not one approach from surgery to check that I am coping. This is remarkedly uncaring and I have expected better. . Even one phone call would have been appreciated by me and my family.

Horrible service and unhelpful. After two moths that I have moved from this place and have done the inscription in this GP, today 26/6/2019, I have called to an appointment, after few hours (10 am), some doctor call me to offer me an appointment to (10.20 am), because she didn’t have any hours available, I explained her that was impossible to me because I was far away from there. I asked her if there was any day for next week at any time on Wednesday or Thursday and she offered me Tuesday early in the morning. Seeing that she don’t want to help me, I hung up the phone. I recommend to everybody don’t waste time, call it and wait to someone call you back.

As a family, we have needed a GP four times in the last year or so. Every time, the matter has been dealt with properly and professionally the same day, and I have always had a telephone call in the time window asked for (when needed due to my other commitments). On 3 occasions, we were given a same day face-to-face appointment with the GP at a convenient time and the other time the issue was well managed over the phone. So, no waiting for ages in a packed waiting room like before the system changed. Reception staff have always been polite and helpful on the phone, but less so face-to-face. The staff were lovely with my daughter when she needed to have blood taken. We have used the online prescription request form once, and that worked perfectly. Keep up the good work!

I attended an appointment with chest pains were I was sent to hospital for some tests. Doctor advised me to make a review appointment to see them the following week. At the hospital doctor told me that I had not had heart attack but I have two thing on my heart and I should made a appointment to see cargology department, would sent letter to my GP within three days. Contacted surgery three days later told by rude receptionist we do not give out results until after 11am (sure there is a god reason for this rule). Called back after 11am to be told by the rude receptions eveythinking fine. I explain what had been said to me at hospital and could I have an review appointment with the doctor, told he only works part-time asked for an other one they only work part time. ( don't think they have any full time doctors in this surgery). Told I would have to call back in the morning at 8am . Called the following morning to arrange call back appointment was in the bathroom when doctor call! Phoned back to say I had missed the call was told I would just have to go onto afternoon appointment. advised receptionist I am only available between 12.30-1.30 as I am in class after that"" I can't promise that". Missed calls on my phone 2.10 and 2.30

I don't know whether the doctors or the practice manager read these reviews, but I hope so, because something needs to change with the appointments system. At the very least there should be an open meeting for the staff to explain to us patients why they chose this method of telephone consultation and what the alternatives are. The receptionists and the doctors must feel pretty frustrated because they know it is not the best service. There are lots of GPs, and the ones I have dealt with have been very good, but none of them seem to work full time. Are their salaries so good that they can afford to work part time? Is their schedule so punishing that they can't handle a full week of work? I realise how relentless the pressure must be on GPs to get through so much work with so little time. I hope too that they realise how difficult it is for us patients to have to confront an appointment system where we feel that we are "in the way."

I am completely fed up having to fight to get my young son s medication he is given from the sick kids. Every time I hand in a prescription it takes weeks and weeks and numerous phone calls to get it! They always tell me they have not received it, despite the fact the sick kids now give me a prescription also to hand in which is always done immediately I’m now 4 weeks down the line from the last Sick kids appointment and I’m still waiting for medication despite numerous phone calls and visits. I have had to call his consultant directly this morning again, to get his medication. This place is a joke and I will now most definitely be moving to a far more reliable surgery.