Victoria Road Surgery

I phoned and waited a long time to be answered,very bad sunburn blisters on chest which are spreading and arms causing intense burning and itching for at least 3 days,no sleep and not getting better,receptionist ask for all the details of my symptoms and then abruptly said no sorry we are at full capacity we are all red can't see you.A waste of their time and mine.

Trying to book appointment for a pain in my left leg. No appointments available. Just offered physio but was not available at the moment. How ? Do they know i need physio when I haven't been accessed by a doctor.. I am caring for my husband who has just been discharged from hospital. I have been with this practice my whole life and find booking a simple appointment now almost impossible.

I’ve been very poorly with chest infection. Been on Antibiotics and Steroids for Two weeks the Steroids sent my sugar levels very high, but done the job with my Infection. I was in constant contact with The Diabetic Nurse Amber she was so helpful and Attentive cannot thank her enough she talked me through the Rapid Nova pen and between us brought my levels down. I was at the point of going into Hospital so I would like to say a very BIG THANK YOU. Pauline Ratcliff….

As someone who was shielded, I have been awaiting my Covid booster invitation for the past two months. As requested on the surgery website, I did not contact the surgery, but waited for them to contact me. Eventually I called, as nobody in my family had received an invitation for our booster and we were all overdue. It took a long time to get through - with many attempts before even reaching the queue, and then a long wait in the queue, only to be told there were no local appointments. I was told to ring again the next day, which I did (another long wait) and still no appointments. I rang again the following week (another long wait to get through) and still no appointments but this time I was sent a link to book my own. I was sent a link for other family members too - a process which took about 15 minutes of the receptionist's time. I check every day - still no appointments. I am a carer and would need to find a way to travel an hour each way on public transport to get to my nearest vaccination centres offered by the NHS, which is not possible at the moment - so until I get a local appointment, I remain without a booster. My daughter also remains without a booster. I feel like the surgery does not care about me, my health or the impact of Covid on me and my family. Every time I asked the receptionist why I hadn't been contacted, they said they don't know. I feel sorry for the receptionists as they are clearly doing the best they can. Aside from the lack of care for my family's health, this failure to implement an effective system of contacting patients is such a waste of time and human resources. How many other people have spent time calling the surgery when we could have simply received a text link as before? How many receptionist hours are spent trying to check the system or send links? I tried to make a complaint directly, but I either have to do that in person (with a pandemic?) by phone (another hour to get through without even knowing if the right person will be there?) or via a Word document that cannot even be completed digitally, and would presumably have to be sent by post. There is an NHS England link - which doesn't work. This has generated so much anxiety for me, which is why I am writing this review. I would add that the rollout of the first two vaccinations was very good, so I am at a loss to understand what it is so poor this time.

Receptionists are rude and impatient. Very disappointing and disheartening experience.

When I have ever tried calling this surgery to book a blood test or get a result or book an appointment there is always a long queue to speak to a receptionist. Being left on hold for over half an hour and then no one actually answers the phone!! Not great!

I've used Victoria road surgery since I was a kid, so this must be some 30+ years. My overall experience has been "ok", but recently it has been better. There are some completely stone cold doctors at this practice, but also some very warm, funny and understanding ones (Dr McCreanor is a great doctor, who I feel very at ease with). I get it, the NHS is stressful and GP's are pressed for time for each appointment, but if you can't show even an ounce of compassion and shrug your shoulders at me when I mention that I have an ear infection, it's really off putting. The appointment system as mentioned by others, really isn't great. The online appointment system for instance has no slots available 90% of the time, or when some DO show, they're over a month away and always with the stone cold doctors I mentioned earlier, so I end up not booking. Another issue I find is that if I ask for an appointment for a weeks time for results of a test, one receptionist will say no, you have to come in on the day, before 8am to see someone, whereas another will book it right then and there, without issue.

I joined Victoria Road surgery because the Durrington site is convenient and has good disabled parking. I called today to book a flu jab and was told they could only offer me ONE date at Durrington, which happens to coincide with a holiday, so I could not attend on this date. I was told that no other dates were available for my age group, so I could either attend at Victoria Road or go a pharmacy. It is absolutely ridiculous that only one date could be made available for Durrington patients when booking this early. And to be told to go to a pharmacy makes me wonder what services a GP surgery is able to provide. Victoria Road Surgery seems to be run for the convenience of the staff rather than to provide a service to patients. If I arrive at Victoria Road and find the disabled parking occupied, I will have no choice but to cancel my appointment at short notice, which will inconvenience everyone. I am extremely disappointed by this poor quality of service.

Today I called at the surgery to collect my repeat prescription the receptionist said the doctor had signed it but couldn’t find it after informing her I was at work for today all all day the next day with no tablets left she did nothing at all except shrugged complete disinterest I now have to try and return to get this prescription it would appear the only way is to have it done with a pharmacist so 3 days without blood pressure tablets if I pass out or throw a wobbly perhaps someone will listen

The best way to make an appointment is online via the Patient Access app.