The Armada Family Practice

Written by a patient

My experience is that information on how to make an appt can change with very short notice and you can phone expecting a certain outcome only to find that you have to do something different from what you expect. Also the time allotted per appt is often not enough to cover all your needs and then you have to wait several weeks to continue a conversation with the same clinician.

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Written by a patient

Only a limited number of appointments are available each day so if you do not get through on the phone by just after 8.30am (which is almost impossible) they are gone and you are told to ring the next day and go through the same process again. The clinic has now introduced a pilot scheme whereby you CANNOT make an appointment by phone but must come to the open clinic each morning and wait your turn! Inevitably quite sick people could sit waiting for some considerable time while spreading their germs to everyone around them! In my opinion more phone lines/personnel should be available to take calls each morning. If there were an emergency at that time of day it would be impossible to contact the clinic. As more people move into the area the appointment problem can only get worse. Some while ago the clinic introduced an online system to enable patients to make appointments and order repeat prescriptions. On paper a good idea but normally the appointments available are about three weeks in advance! To be fair through the repeat prescription option works very well and is efficient and has helped me considerably.

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Written by a patient

Doctors and nurses and really nice, understanding and patient. The doctor my daughter sees on a regular basis due to on going problem she has had for over twenty years is amazing. She is so sympathetic, understanding and patient. If my daughter is unable to get an appointment within a few days her GP will do a phone consultation and decide what to do next. We are so grateful to her. Receptionists on the whole are friendly and very helpful. I understand that they are very busy and need to see to people as quickly as possible but there are occasions when either elderly or people with difficulties understanding things need a little more time. Perhaps when the receptionists are busy then they could call on someone who could come and DISCRETELY deal with the patient/s then they wouldn't be holding up the que.

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Written by a patient

You can never get an appointment with the GP of your choice as they are either weeks ahead or not available to book and this is really important to a patient, especially if you have built a rapport, they know your history and/or it's an ongoing concern. Certain receptionists are lovely, but there are others who are not and can be quite abrupt and unhelpful. I rang one day and came away without the help or appointment. Rang back and spoke to someone else who was really helpful and I got an appointment booked. It is great that you can be seen the same day, but you may have to see a nurse practitioner as opposed to a GP and when I asked for a female doctor, I was told this couldn't be guaranteed, which caused me more worry.

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Written by a patient

It is difficult to get an appointment by phone because of the lengthy message at the beginning of the call. After the message, if the phone is engaged and we try again we have to listen to the message again and again each time we call. Perhaps if each patient were to be sent a copy of the message it would save frustration at each call. I tried four times to get through and the phones were engaged and by the time I did get through all appointments were gone. So frustrating! But apart from that, the service, friendliness and care that is received at this practice is excellent from Doctors, nurses and receptionists alike.

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