Northcote Surgery 2024-01-23 Person 2 5 0

I am writing this review because I feel it is important for people to hear my experience at this surgery before they trust the doctors there with their health. I chose this surgery because it was close to my flat, seemed well-kept and the only bad reviews were vague enough that I thought they might be the kind of disproportionate responses to minor inconveniences that some people have. I used to play contact sports but had never experienced a concussion and so did not know the symptoms and was uneducated about the consequences of mismanagement. I sought out care and assessment from this practice and the doctor ignored my concerns about head injuries and insisted my symptoms were due to a post viral condition. When I returned after my symptoms came back after another incident the same doctor assured me it was “a coincidence” and I’d been overexerting myself despite me reiterating my concern about head injuries. It took me several months to recover from this and believing my doctor I went back to contact sports. I subsequently received another such injury and immediately made an appointment. I had a different doctor this time and she conceded that I’d had a “minor concussion” but when I asked if I needed to be concerned about long term effects from this and my previous incidents she told me that concussions couldn’t cause long term effects and that I could return to full contact as soon as my symptoms resolved. Again, naively, I believed my doctor. Unfortunately I received another seemingly mild injury which has persisted for almost a year and continues as I write this. When I returned to the surgery to seek referrals for help, the third doctor almost scolded me saying “now I see you’ve come here before worried about brain damage as well.” These injuries have severely affected my career as a researcher, my relationships and quality of life. I have now done my own research and spent quite a lot of time and money trying to recover. What I learned, and my doctors should have clearly understood and warned me of is that there is no such thing as a minor concussion. Head injuries need to be treated and can have dramatic and long lasting effects, especially if multiple are received. If the doctors at this surgery had bothered to listen to my concerns or even just do a quick google search to check that they were giving me up to date information I would never be in this situation. I have since changed surgeries where they have been far more helpful and willing to help me with referrals and treatment. I would urge you to be cautious when choosing your surgery, I never thought that I would receive such terrible advice from not one but three qualified medical professionals. I cannot recommend this surgery to anyone and I hope that my review helps people avoid the same outcome.

Provided up to date care, referrals when out of their expertise and listened to my concerns.