Crouch Oak Family Practice 2020-07-28 Person 4 5 0

I have been a patient here for over 25 years and have nothing but praise for the staff, from doctors to nurses and reception staff. I know some people have criticisms about getting an appointment but in my experience the triage system works well - the receptionist asks how urgent the problem is and will make sure the appropriate member of staff deals with the query. Any urgent problem receives immediate attention, perhaps a face to face appointment. I have no experience of a face to face appointment during the pandemic and lockdown, during which I have been shielding. However I am very impressed with the new option of sending an online enquiry form to the practice, for example, to ask advice about a medication or, in my case, a painful rash. Although my query was not urgent, within an hour a GP rang me to discuss and asked me to send a photo of the rash. Within minutes she was able to diagnose and prescribe a suitable treatment. By using the online service, I felt I was allowing phone lines to be kept free for urgent enquiries or for those patients who had no internet access. A few days ago my hospice nurse decided to increase some pain relief. She said she would let my GP know. On Monday, just 3 days later, a pharmacist rang to make sure I had enough of the medication, in view of the increased dose. I was very impressed! In fact I had no idea a pharmacist was attached to the practice. She was able to help me with adjusting another prescribed drug. As someone with a serious chronic medical condition I feel reassured to be a patient at the Crouch Oak Family Practice.