South Reading Surgery

The reception staff at SRS are appalling. One of them evven appears to be unable to understand basic questions, even when phrased slowly and in simple terms. As a group (or 'team') they are (or at least try to be) domineering and don't try to help the patient, it seems they only want to make their job easier so they can get back to chatting with their friends (observed on several occasions). If you are unfortunate enough to be contacted by one of them they will provide no information, just a demand to make an appointment 'immediately' or 'as soon as possible' - resulting in a certain level of worry which the vast majority of the time is entirely unnecessary. If anything needs 'checking' you will be placed on hold (at least that is what they say) and have a very high chance of being cut off. I am beginning to understand how cattle feel. This is partly to do with the system, however, if they do not have any information they should not be so blunt or make everything sound so urgent. It horrifies me that this approach and attitude can be tolerated in a supposedly 'caring' NHS. Stop penny-pinching and employ professionals.

Negatives - Certain doctors are domineering and apparently deaf to most of what they are told (locums usually) . Certain reception staff are nosy (eavesdropping , hearing half a conversation and making inaccurate assumptions), judgemental and unwilling to listen to an explanation that refutes their inaccurate assumptions - they should not be doing any of this!!! Appointments are incredibly difficult to get, even if you turn up before 8am for an 'on the day' appointment. Certain processes are disjointed and disconnected. Positives - one or two doctors are very good, they listen, process and help. Nursing staff are excellent.

The reception staff are incredibly rude and unhelpful. It is very difficult to arrange a booking and it seems like even the smallest question to reception - such as "can I please have a form to view my details online" is met with sighs and disbelief that you would dare ask a question. I would go elsewhere if I could. I have been considering seeking private GP services due to the poor service here.

Been on hold for 32 minutes caller number 2 in the quee at 2.30 in the afternoon. Ended up putting phone down. Rang back the next day at 4pm and the phone just rang and rang but no answer.

My recent experience today (21/3/18) of trying to call the surgery by phone has taken well over an hour and I still have no answer let alone an appointment. I visited SRS to find it closed??? Totally unacceptable

Reception staff extremely rude and flipping toward young mother and her baby, as well as older lady that came in. After being on hold for 53mins the reception staff who answered were rude and told us it's the same for all. Clearly they are putting the phone on silent and just letting it ring and sit on answer phone.

It is impossible to get an appointment at the surgery and the phone calls are not helpful. I have had 4 phone call consultations over the last year and one ended up with a face to face consultation straight away, 2 were wrong diagnosis of my now 16 month old son. In one I was told by a pharmacist to go to the doctors for a rash my son had and then was told over the phone it was chickenpox. I am still not sure what was wrong with him but it wasn't chickenpox as had cleared up within 3 days with none of the chickenpox scabs or signs. The second I was told my son had an upper respiratory virally infection yet when I went to the doctors for a routine appointment for myself and he was with me the doctor was so concerned with his breathing she took a look and said it was a severe chest infection and prescribed antibiotics. I have just had a phone call consultation from a locum today and he didn't even let me finish my sentence before interrupting to tell me I had a virus and to make it clear to me he felt I was wasting his time despite the fact that a doctor I saw at an our of hours surgery last week told me that I may need more antibiotics than she prescribed for my chest infection and my symptoms hadn't changed. Overall I want to look for another surgery but am scared that they are going to be as bad as this one. I have met 2 good doctors, one left and one is on extended leave, if that doesn't speak volumes I don't know what does.

It's 3pm and I've just spent an hour with the phone ringing and ringing saying how important my call is to you but I give up! I have an appointment which I need to cancel but I guess I'll just not turn up instead which means you'll have even fewer appointments to offer other patients. Normally we have to ring at 8am over and over and over until we get something other than the engaged tone. This often involves using my mobile, my wife's mobile and the house phone concurrently to maximize the changes of getting through in the hope that the rest of the world hasn't got through already and taken all the available slots for the day - it's a lottery system.

Whoever put the new phone system in place in view needs sacking I have tried for over an hour today to try and get through to the surgery nobody is answering the phone I think this is absolutely appalling that you cannot get through to your doctor. Patients are paying national insurance for a service that isn't being provided. As much as I think the GPS are very good the front of desk service has declined and the practice manager needs to take action on this. If you are putting in a central telephone system then employ the staff to answer the phone this is patients lives you are playing with and they wonder why people go straight to A & E to be seen.

I changed to south reading so unorganised a real shambles they do not seem to care the doctors do but nurses are told by doctors then say they can't see you been left in pain by this looking for a doctors who listen and understand the patients needs they need to sort this lot out