Beaufort Road Surgery
Beaufort Road Surgery, 21 Beaufort Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH6 5AJ1 review
Reviews
I was with this surgery for around 15 years, from a young age up and into adulthood. I had Dr Thurston as my GP as a child, and later I had Dr Timothy Mitchell. Thurston was great, though I should have known what this surgery's unofficial policies were like when she once told me "You can't really be depressed, because depressed people can't express their feelings like you". Well, it turns out I was, and continued to be, for many years. The support in that moment would have meant a world of difference.
However my decision to leave this surgery and go elsewhere after so many years is due to what I felt was repeated dismissiveness from the otherwise very talented Dr Mitchell. I complained that I was having immense trouble sleeping due to MEM-form tinnitus, not your typical ringing in the ear (Mitchell once responded with "I have ringing in the ears too", MEM tinnitus is not even close to that), and I asked Mitchell whether he could prescribe me a sleep aid or some sort of relaxant to stop the muscle in my ear twitching incessantly. He said no, repeatedly, that they simply don't prescribe those things to people my age (mid 20s!). I could have lived with that had he tried to offer me any other alternative, knowing I was in a state of desperation, but he simply shrugged and implied I would have to put up with it until my next ENT specialist appointment in one year's time! For curiosity's sake, I had one last appointment with Dr Davis, who was extremely direct and to the point and with no questions asked prescribed me a very strong antidepressant sedative. Odd that one doctor would insist time and again that I was too young for any sort of sleep aid or muscle relaxant but another at the same surgery would prescribe me a very potent antidepressant without batting an eye. I liked Dr Davis' approach but a good middle of the road would be ideal.
Ultimately, although this surgery has taken good care of my parents, I simply felt dismissed and treated like my issues were not issues - in fact told to just deal with them - despite telling doctors like Mitchell that I was desperate and lacking sleep for months. Let me pose you this question: I have intense MEM tinnitus which wakes me up, keeps me awake, and I cannot sleep or listen to music or watch TV, what happens to me in those 12 months that I was told to just put up with it? Certainly, nothing good.
Resources
Short link to review Beaufort Road Surgery: http://iwgc.net/ejhwq