Reviews
The receptionist is really rude and unhelpful. I have no mobile phone so she told me to buy one. She needs customer service/care training urgently.
Most difficult person to deal with. She needs to remember she is the first person people come into contact with either face to face or by telephone. She does not give a good impression at all.
This is the oldest practice in Swansea, and in years gone by attracted very good doctors genuinely offering a warm and totally professional care to their patients.
It's so sad to see what it has become today, and the terrible ratings it now gets from patients.
To me totally honest the receptionists and clerical staff are always very friendly and polite and try to see to patients needs the best they can, but are overburdened ; it's my true reflection that when you do finally see or speak to a doctor, few show any interpersonal skills that are the bedrock of being a good GP. Forever looking at the screen, sometimes not even making eye contact the patient, and not engaging properly with patients worries. They often try to offload patients to the nurse or at times even clerical staff to cut down in work they should be doing!
Years ago when you saw Dr Horseman , Cummings, Steele,and not forgetting Dr Nowak, you were always greeted with a smile, and even if you only saw them for a few minutes, always felt they were interested in you, keeping eye contact on the patient; it made the patient feel as if for just a few minutes they had the attention of a medical professional.
I hope they can return to being a great practice; but my God it will some work.
Unless you attend open surgery in the morning, which they are now restricting to 25, you can't get an appointment for weeks. I was told, last week, to ring back this morning for an appointment with a specific doctor - I rang dead on 8.30 only to be told all the appointments were gone and no afternoon appointments until 8th may - 2 weeks!
The staff are very unfriendly and unhelpful.
Attending open surgery you have to be triaged by a nurse, and on one occassion, in extreme pain, I was told by the triage nurse to make an appointment because it was an ongoing condition, even though it was exacerbated and I left the surgery crying in pain and had to pay to see a chiropractor.
The waiting area is in very bad state of decor and there's paint peeling on the walls around the windows because of damp! The toilets smell.
Resources
Short link to review St Helen's Medical Centre: http://iwgc.net/eccr3