Newbyres Medical Group

The stress of gearing up to face the inevitable battle and inevitable failure to get an appointment often feels more damaging than the condition you are hoping to get treated. Receptionists deny there is a problem getting an appointment. Also stressful is getting fobbed off onto the nurse practitioner who does not have the depth or breadth of training of a GP. Psychologically as well as physically, this is rarely a healing place.

I recently moved from Edinburgh to this area and registered with this practice. My new patient assessment with the practice nurse was not a pleasant experience, her being very angry and short with me because I was still giving details to the receptionist a couple of minutes into my appointed time and she needed to get home. I was treated with disdain and made to feel a I was a total inconvenience to her. It was no wonder my blood pressure reading was abnormally high during this encounter. However, subsequent to this, my experience with the reception staff and the doctor has been excellent and much better than my previous practice in Edinburgh. They have been very responsive and attentive with telephone and personal appointments arranged on two occasions on the same day as requested. I will put my initial experience behind me and assume this nurse was just having a bad day.

Totally unsatisfactory. The only way to get an appointment is to bully and lie and say it is very urgent. I have been waiting 5 months for a supposedly urgent hospital appointment. I was promised specifically by the G. P. about 2 weeks ago that it would be chased up . However I was told today by the border guards ( ie reception ) that it had not been chased up and that it would not be chased up and that it was my responsibilty to chase it up !!!

Once you get an appointment the care given by this practice is excellent. Getting an appointment is next to impossible, the phones are always engaged or not answered. Have tried over 50 times to get a phone answered in the past. Gorebridge has quadrupled in size over the last 10 years, but the number of GP'S has reduced. Why has there not been another surgery built to accommodate the ever increasing population of what was once a pleasant little town!!

The doctors at this surgery are excellent if you can get an appointment. Appointments with a particular doctor is practically impossible which obviously does not help with ongoing conditions. This is not the surgery or doctors fault - gorebridge has trebled in size in recent years - unfortunately doctors have’t

You have to phone in the morning for a appointment thats if you can ever get them on the phone i tried 75 times in one day and when i did get them there was no appointment left its an absolute joke of a surgery

People forget its the goverment who have done this to the nhs and not the staff or doctors at this centre.

NEW BYRES MEDICAL GROUP APPOINTMENTS Unfortunately far too many people have recently been falling ill without planning and without notice. They then expect to see a Doctor within a few days! This is not satisfactory. Patients are expected to plan their illness well ahead and book appointments. (We are now accepting bookings for flu in December.) Another problem is that when booking emergency appointments many people do not seem to know if it is an emergency or not ! It’s not our job to decide what is wrong with you. (though the receptionist may offer to help , some of them are completely competent in MsWord and Excel ) ) A few older patients may well remember when you could become ill in the morning , walk into the surgery in the evening and get attention. Well, need we remind you that this is not 1953. Things have moved on.

Reception staff are rude abrupt and non helpful, last time i tried to get an appointment i had to wait 4 weeks, shocking. Register elsewhere if thats an option for you.

I have never experienced such awful service! Physically impossible to get an appointment when I asked to pre book as I don't have the flexibility to walk in and wait I got told no because the doctors rota hadn't been issued yet! Reception staff are so incredibky rude it's hard to believe they are actually employed!