The Armada Family Practice

Written by a patient

I have had an ongoing back problem for several years. Fortunately Dr M Hegarty has helped me a lot with coping with it. She has excellent people skills by listening carefully and providing advise dealing with my problem. I now have a more positive attitude about life.

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Written by a patient

The system is terrible for working parents. You need to be at the surgery for 7.45 to attend the open clinic at 8.30. When you work or have babies/toddlers this is extremely hard and not enough consideration is taken into account for this. You can no longer get a same day appt (unless you attend the open clinic) which is very impractical. You can book appts for 48 hours in advance (if you phone at 8.30) so is great if you think you might be ill in a couple of days time!!! The reception staff seem very annoyed at all times, however, the Doctors are understanding and very helpful.

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Written by a patient

Surgery has been good, but has deteriorated with every change of system over the last few years, to be fair I think this is common to all GP's and is more political than NHS based. I never get to see my own doctor, making appointments on-line is a good plan, but there is seldom anything less than a month away, then they send you letters to come and see a doctor to tell you what you have known and are actively being treated for for 6 months +, wasting doctors and patients time due to bad admin. For me I don't care which doctor I see, what gender they are or anything else, and I still can't get an appointment when I am ill, anyone with strict requirements has no hope unless it's a very long term illness.

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Written by a patient

It is quite often very difficult to make an appoint to see a GP via the reception, when you have already seen one of the GPs and they have asked you to come back at a later date. The practice has a policy of only releasing appointments two days in advance, which can be awkward when you are working full time. I have experienced asking a doctor when I am visiting to make me a return appointment, when they have requested to see me again and they can do it there and then for weeks I advance, but this cannot be done at reception, why is this. When I have been sent a letter from a doctor requesting me to go and see them I get the same problem and yet they are the ones asking to see me not me asking to see them, when I try to book an appointment through reception.

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Written by a patient

I had to take my 9 month old son to the doctors today and was not impressed with the service received. The Armada Surgery has recently changed the appointment process. You can now drop in from 8:30-11:00 and get seen by a GP. This isn't strictly true as there was only one on-call GP available today, so it was mainly nurse practitioners. We were told there was approximately a half hour wait but we were kept waiting nearly two hours, by which time my baby was tired and narky. I really do not think this system works. The waiting room was really warm and who knows what other germs you're picking up being kept waiting that long! It's really difficult to get to see a GP at this practice. I think a more sensible approach is needed. People with ongoing needs should obviously get to see the same doctor where practicable for continuity of care. However, there still needs to be sufficient appointments for everyone else. There should be appointments set aside for emergencies and retired/non working individuals should not receive early and/or late appointments so that those who work also get an opportunity to see a GP. While the receptionists were polite and friendly, they need to give realistic waiting times. This surgery needs to rethink it's appointment policy as everyone in the waiting room was unhappy. One gentleman even joked that you had to die to get an appointment as he'd been told the earliest he could be seen was three weeks away!

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Cleanliness

Staff

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