Meridian Surgery

Written by a patient

You cannot get through to this surgery on the phone. I have been trying for days. Disgraceful.

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Written by a patient

I tried to phone but unfortunately gave up Even in these unsure times there must be an easier way to contact surgery The phone recommended going on line which I did and online it tells me to phone I have not a good tech skills but this I found very frustrating Please help and advise

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Written by a patient

My wife and I moved to Meridian from Rowe Avenue due to the length of time it took to get through on the phone, put in a massive queue and nine times out of ten gave up. In the beginning Meridian was much better about three to four minutes at the busiest times. Now Meridian have merged with Rowe Avenue their appointment system is just as bad, when you call the first thing you hear is a massive monolog about the fact that the two surgeries have merged (who cares), next you are told you are in a Queue and will be answered shortly well I was in the queue for 45 minutes on Friday and just gave up, today Monday I tried again and was in the queue for an hour this lack of service is both annoying and distressing, A Doctor sent me a text changing my medication with no instructions on how to do it I am really disappointed with the service I have received so far, my wife needs an appointment right now but can not get through on the phone either. Whilst I accept that things have changed with Covid 19 I don't think that excuses the lack of service.

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Written by a patient

Both my partner and I have been patience at the surgery for 4 years. For the last 3 years the service has been great. Recently the service has become appalling. I will give two examples as evidence. I telephoned the surgery and asked for an additional blood test to be added to the one the doctor requested (there is arthritis in my family and I have had this blood test in the past). The receptionist informed me that I would need to speak to a Doctor for them to authorise. That was fine, I called the next day to book a telephone appointment with the Doctor. The receptionist informed me that she could not book an appointment with the Doctor just for a blood test, she would add this to my blood test. When I went for the blood test there was no other test requested. I was then informed I would need to come back in a month to repeat the test. I completed the online form, and I received an email or text that it had been added. When I arrived for my next test the nurse told me that this other test was not listed. I informed her that I had read it myself online, and then she found it. The nurse took blood (3 times and twice with a syringe) and all the blood test are unusable. Recently every-time I come for blood test, the nurse does not seem to know what blood test they are taking. My partner phoned and spoke to a Doctor about an injection for his carpel tunnel, the Doctor informed him another Doctor who performed the injection will phone him. Over a week later no phone call. So we go online and complete the form, only to read a week later (with no communication) customer contacted. He then phone after 6 attempts sometimes waiting 45 mins, and got a cancellation appointment. The Doctor that he was seen by then quizzed him why he wanted the injection (which he previously had 4 years ago and is extremely painful) and why does he think has carpel tunnel syndrome. Both of us struggled to make contact, then when we did there was no action taken. As I mentioned at the beginning this surgery was fantastic, what we have both experienced recently is very disappointing.

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Written by a patient

I have been a patient registered at Meridian surgery since 1986. I am a retired senior nurse and have seen the services provided by the surgery growing from the porta cabin to its current site. I have seen doctors coming and going and up until recently the services provided have been good with the emphasis on prevention and services have been available. Making appointment was always possible at the time of need and it was always possible to get through on the phone and received by caring and pleasant reception staff. For the past two years it has been very difficult to get an appointment over the phone. Phone line was constantly busy and when I have been in the surgery I have witnessed reception staff chatting amongst colleagues and ignoring the calls. Not surprisingly we could not get through . The NHS that we have should be service at the point of need but if we cannot get through to speak to someone it makes the service no matter how good or excellent it may be a big joke. Looking at the other comments and the Meridian surgery response to these comments, it is clear that the doctors and partners are fully aware of the concerns but still no action taken to address these concerns. The suggestion the we should book an appointment on line is not taking into consideration that older people and disabled young adults do not have that facility to book an appointment on line. Given that appointments are limited makes it a joke to have a service that leaves those at risks at greater risk . Since the departure of Dr White it has been practically impossible to see the same doctor. There is no continuity of service and every visit to the surgery has been with a different doctor or a locus or a student G.P working unsupervised. The A&E advise all patients to go through their G.P first . The G.P can and does only see urgent cases only and will deal with only one problem at each appointment. The government says that the health service is open for normal business, do not wait as problems may become more complex and make an appointment with your G.Ps as soon as possible but at the Meridian surgery this is practically impossible. It is worrying that the surgery has asked the patients for their opinion about the proposed merger but I feel that this was only a paper exercise and our opinion did not really matter as the merger has gone ahead despite the poor service being offered prior to the pandemic. Surely the Meridian surgery partners should know how difficult it was for patients and if it was stressful for the staff then why didn’t the partners refuse to even consider a merger? The only benefit of a merger is to my knowledge more money for the doctors ! The service when you get it is good but access is practically impossible, the reception staff need further training about customer care in my view. The excuses of being stressed given by the Meridian surgery is not acceptable and if we were to be rude to the staff concerned we would be reported as difficult patients and run the risk of being removed from the register. The senior partners have a duty to investigate all complaints and deal with them instead of sweeping these concerns under the carpet. We have seen recently examples in the health service where complaints have been ignored by health service managers. Please do not wait to find out that the lack of action by the Meridian surgery partners have resulted in unnecessary deaths amongst the Vulnerable adults or those in need of services from the health service at the point of need and not when it is convenient . If Meridian surgery was unable to cope with their workload and subjecting patients to unnecessary risks ,then clearly it was irresponsible for any one person or persons to agree to a merger that adds to the staff stress but more importantly make the services provided out of reach to anyone who needs it. The services can be excellent but if you cannnot access them at the time of need, then patients lives are being put at risk pushing everyone to an emergency situation which can surely be prevented .As a Health Care Professional I am conscious of the fact that criticising a service is not always received well but I urge the Meridian surgery partners to look at the service from the point of view of a patient and see if they would like to receive the services that they are provided either for themselves or their families. If it is not good enough for you it cannot be good enough for your patients. I urge the doctors to review the services urgently please. Thank you for listening.

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