East Cliff Practice
Montefiore Medical Centre, Dumpton Park Drive, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8AD Also known as: Mildmay, Addington, Montefiore
529
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Reviews
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Appointment
East Cliff Practice
2019-05-04
Person
2
5
0
Written by a patient
Written by a patient 4th May 2019
Impossible to get through on the phone before 10.30 am despite the new telephone system. I am lucky as I live near enough to walk down to surgery. Not sure what patients are to do if relying on telephoning.
Very stressful and depressing.
10th May 2019
Response from East Cliff Practice
Thank you for leaving your comments. We were sorry to learn of your difficulties contacting the surgery. If you are happy to provide your contact details we will happily look into the times you have experienced difficulties because although things are challenging we certainly wouldn’t expect you to be experiencing continual difficulties 2 ½ hours after the phone lines open. We are in regular contact with our telephone provider discussing ways to improve telephone access and will continue to do so. Difficulties in contacting and booking appointments with GP practices is not exclusive to East Cliff Practice and you may have seen the recent article in the local news (https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/gp-shortage-among-worst-in-country-197511/) and the recent television report (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-48195347/gp-surgeries-in-crisis-you-can-t-get-an-appointment) which discuss the current situation which GP practices face.
East Cliff Practice
2019-03-08
Person
4
5
0
Written by a patient
Written by a patient 8th March 2019
I truly feel I have the best doctor Dr Mash and want to tell everyone who moans about the practise and doctors to step back and take into account what the practise deals with on a daily basis. I have many chronic problems which are managed together between my Dr Mash & myself. I have been having recurring chest infection since Christmas and have been treated by Dr Mash and Dr Woodward, Dr Woodward actually came to my home twice, unfortunately after 4 courses of antibiotics, which the microbiologist said to give me and 3 courses of steriods Dr Mash said to go to the hospital immediately and was diagnosed with pneumonia and was an inpatient for 10 days. With regards to booking appointments I agree there is a big problem, before the new system was installed I could try upto 150+ times to get through but was constantly engaged, which although annoying didn't cost anything but my time, however the new system is actually costing quite a lot because as soon as you here "welcome to ......" the cost starts and it wasn't until I received my phone bill I found out how much, one call lasted approximately 30 minutes and I was charged £4.50+! That's disgraceful, I'm lucky in that I have unlimited calls on my mobile which is the method I use since seeing that bill, but what about the elderly who don't have mobiles it will be costing them a fortune! When I do get through I like the telephone consultation appointments because I don't always feel up to leaving the house and when my chest is bad the first thing I have to do is a sputum sample, talking this through on the phone saves both our time and we discuss the findings again on the phone BUT if Dr Mash isn't happy she makes a face to face appointment for me. Dr Mash's appointments never run to time but there is good reason, she listens to her patients, she isn't just looking at the computer screen with the prescription pad in her hand, people moan about waiting but I'm happy waiting because I know she cares for her patients. So after wittering on my purpose for this post is "patients please bear in mind your doctor is running late because they need to spend an extra few minutes with a vulnerable patient" and to the surgery "please inform your patients that calling you can be very expensive! Thank you
14th March 2019
Response from East Cliff Practice
Thank you for your comments which have been shared with the doctors. We are sorry for the continued problems with the telephone system. Our telephone number continues to be a local rate number and the practice does not receive any revenue from it so call charges to patients go entirely to your telephone provider. The difficulty we had when we introduced the new telephone system is that many patients told us they were frustrated with the constant engaged tone and actually preferred to know they were at least in a queue which unfortunately now costs depending on the connection charges. We have increased the number of call handlers to try and manage demand but unfortunately Thanet is currently the 4th most under doctored area in the country and despite our best efforts to recruit more doctors this is placing huge demand on the existing practices across Thanet. East Cliff Practice
East Cliff Practice
2019-03-01
Person
2
5
0
Written by a patient
Written by a patient 1st March 2019
I find it very hard to get an appointment .plus calling at 8 am is very stress full after 230 call you get to speak to the staff to be told no appointment for that day .but when you do have a appointment . I feel the GP don't want to hear what you need to say your rush , .I feel let down with the way they don't care it change from a family doctor where doctor care now you feel they don't care . I have some long term illness .plus bone issues .told to go away to see if it get better if not ring to get appointment that a laugh .very let down once you would be sent for an Xray to see was going on . very sad now I wont go just have to put up with it due to the stress of trying to get an appointment
14th March 2019
Response from East Cliff Practice
Thank you for your comments. We were sorry to hear of your recent experiences. We would like to assure you that all of the doctors and staff at the Practice do all that we can to ensure patients get the best care possible despite increasingly challenging circumstances. Doctors will always consider whether scans or other diagnostic tests are going to be helpful given the problems a patient presents with and a doctor will always refer a patient when they believe an x-ray is clinically appropriate. If your symptoms persist we would urge you to once again make contact and book an appointment to see your doctor. East Cliff Practice
East Cliff Practice
2019-02-19
Person
4
5
0
Written by a patient
Written by a patient 19th February 2019
I feel very fortunate to be a patient with East Cliff. While at times, there might be a wait for an appointment, most issues are not emergencies and therefore can wait a bit for an appointment! If I do have an emergency, well, that's what A&E is for.
My doctor Dr Woodward is an excellent GP who is a smart, empathetic, and honest. I always leave knowing my concerns have been listened to, noted, and that action is being taken to solve whatever issue I might have. I have had less-positive experiences with doctors in the past, so I really value that I can completely trust that Dr Woodward has my best interest in mind.
The only issue is that sometimes appointments run late, but I do not mind this so much because when I see the doctor, I know I am given the time I need and not rushed out of the office to meet a time-quota. The wait is a small price to pay.
The receptionists have always been lovely when I've been in, and are always happy to go out of their way to get me a cup of water if I need it.
The practice nurses are also lovely, and are very gentle when drawing blood, which I'm grateful for as I'm terrified of needles and have tiny, hidden veins. All in all, couldn't really be much happier with East Cliff.
21st February 2019
Response from East Cliff Practice
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review which will be shared with Dr Woodward and the wider practice staff. Doctors will always do their best to keep to time but GPs are increasingly seeing more complex patients with multiple health conditions which are more time consuming to work through and unfortunately means that they do run late. If we were to offer longer appointments it would inevitably mean we offered less appointments overall which would be even more unpopular with patients. We are very appreciative that patients understand this.
East Cliff Practice
2019-02-14
Person
1
5
0
Written by a carer
Written by a carer 14th February 2019
So as usual I've had an appointment at the centre and it's turned into another drama, taken my 10 year old in because she found a lump, at first all went well was booked into see someone for an ultrasound on her shoulder the nurse was friendly and polite and good with my child and then told we would be referred for another appointment with the dermatology department, 2 weeks later I get a letter saying they can see ive been referred but not booked an appointment so ring the booking team I eventually get through to be told I nee a password so ring the surgery again 73 times in an hour just trying to get said password then a week later manage to get back in touch with the booking team to be told that all I've done is activate a booking reference and yet some one else is going to ring me back at some point so nearly a month down the line and still no appointment and you wonder why people thunk it should all be privatised.
14th March 2019
Response from East Cliff Practice
Thank you for your comments. I believe you subsequently spoke with the Assistant Practice Manager and this matter has been resolved for you. Regrettably there have been numerous problems with the online booking process in the past which is why many GP practices have preferred to send written referrals straight through to the hospital instead of using the online booking system. However practices now have mandatory targets around using the system and unfortunately there are still problems with booking appointments. One of the benefits to patients is that it will give patients greater choice including receiving NHS Care in private hospitals.
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Short link to review East Cliff Practice: http://iwgc.net/eb8uu