Kensington Street Health Centre

Complaints ignored and receptionist was dismissive

I have submitted complaints that have not received a response. A member of the reception staff has been unhelpful and dismissive in their manner of speaking to patients. I have been turned away on two occasions and subsequently required emergency hospital care for cardiac concerns. After 37 years with this practice, I have recently been informed that I am unable to access GP appointments due to my work commitments, which I find frustrating given my contributions to the healthcare system.

Long phone waits and unavailable referral patches

This practice has been frustrating to deal with. When attempting to access referral services, I consistently encountered messages indicating they were not currently accepting requests. Over recent weeks, I made multiple calls simply to confirm an appointment as instructed, only to be left on hold for extended periods. It seems the reception team could benefit from additional staffing to manage call volumes more effectively. During in-person visits, the reception staff appeared disengaged and unwelcoming, which detracted from the overall experience. I found the service disappointing overall.

Phone service needs significant improvement

The telephone service provided fell short of expected standards and would benefit from additional staff training.

Long phone wait, form never arrived

I was disappointed by the lengthy wait time when I attempted to reach the practice by phone. I was informed that procedures had been updated and that a form would be sent to me via text message, though I never received it. This experience has left me feeling that I need to consider changing my healthcare provider. I found the situation quite frustrating and would appreciate if the management team could review this matter and respond to me. The overall experience has been concerning.

Easy to book appointments if you ring early

Outstanding care and support provided consistently. Appointments are straightforward to obtain by calling at the designated morning time and joining the queue system. The entire team performs admirably.

Reception phone booking process caused frustration

I gave 1 star because I cannot post 0 stars; otherwise, I would give a much lower rating if that were possible. This practice is extremely disappointing. The administrative staff seem to overstep their role, and their approach lacks practical understanding. When you contact the surgery because you're unwell, the response feels unhelpful—suggesting you attend in person at an early hour simply to schedule an appointment. This creates a frustrating situation where attending in person defeats the purpose of calling ahead when you're ill. There are also significant inconsistencies with appointment management. You receive appointment details via text, but when you call to confirm, you're given different instructions about arrival times. These contradictions create confusion and frustration. The experience with test results has been particularly problematic. I experienced lengthy delays in receiving results on multiple occasions, and was eventually asked to repeat testing. This suggests results may have been misplaced, yet no clear explanation or acknowledgment was provided. Overall, my experience has been deeply unsatisfactory. The service feels disorganised and uncaring, leaving me feeling let down. I would struggle to recommend this practice to others seeking medical support.

Struggled to get through on the phone

Quite let down by the experience.

Impossible to book appointments by phone

Frustrating experience! The appointment system needs improvement. I've been attempting to secure appointments for several weeks, and the consistent instruction is to call at 8 in the morning. I'm unable to reach the practice at that time, and when I finally connected at 11 o'clock, I was told no appointments were available and instructed to call again at 8 the following day. Regarding future bookings, I received conflicting responses from different staff members—one was unhelpful and dismissive, while another staff member was cooperative and successfully arranged a future appointment. The inconsistency in service and difficulty accessing appointments has been disappointing overall.

Couldn't get through on the phone line

I had a very disappointing experience at this GP practice. When my young child required urgent attention, I felt the surgery did not make adequate efforts to arrange an appointment, which I perceived as a lack of commitment to patient care. I made multiple attempts to reach the practice by phone without success, which led us to attend the emergency department instead. I observed that staff members seemed disengaged and unprofessional, and I felt the overall service fell short of expectations. Given my contributions through National Insurance and taxes, I believe the standard of care provided was inadequate. I feel this practice is not meeting the standards expected of NHS services, and I believe the NHS should review its operations to prevent other patients from having similar experiences. I consider their approach to healthcare to be unsatisfactory, and I believe they are not serving the community well. This is not the level of care I feel patients should receive.

Phone lines constantly busy and unresponsive

I have attempted to contact the practice on numerous occasions without receiving a response. This lack of accessibility has left me feeling that my health concerns are not being prioritized.

Impossible to book an appointment here

I would recommend looking elsewhere for your healthcare needs. Securing an appointment at this practice proved to be extremely difficult. Zero stars.

Impossible to book an appointment by phone

Absolutely frustrating!! Calls go unanswered and booking an appointment is a real struggle. What's the issue???? Patients need medical attention and require appointments but the process is extremely difficult. The practice really needs to improve its systems and processes because the team doesn't seem engaged and can be dismissive when patients reach out. Really let down by the whole experience!!!

Couldn't get through on the phone

Called repeatedly without success, and eventually had to take time away from work to visit in person for something that could have been resolved quickly over the telephone. The practice appears to be experiencing significant operational difficulties, and there are concerns about the impact this may have on patient care. It is hoped that appropriate oversight bodies will address these issues.

Reception staff seemed overwhelmed and stressed

This practice appears to have significant organisational challenges that affect both staff and patient experiences. There seems to be a disconnect between the policies implemented and the support provided by management when needed. The practice appears to have expanded its patient list without adequately scaling resources to manage the increased demand. Overall, the experience left me feeling that the practice was not meeting the standards expected of a healthcare provider, and I was relieved to move on to alternative care.

Medication delays left me without support

The service has been disappointing. I have been managing a serious mental health condition and ordered my medication several days ago, but it has not yet arrived. I ran out of my medication earlier in the week and contacted the practice for assistance, but felt I did not receive adequate support. I am hoping the medication will arrive today. I find it unacceptable that I have had to wait this long without my essential treatment, and if it does not arrive as expected, I intend to escalate my concerns to the relevant health authority.

Phone lines impossible to reach here

My elderly relative who is registered at this practice has experienced difficulty obtaining an appointment due to challenges reaching the surgery by telephone. Additionally, there have been delays in the authorisation of their medication through the pharmacy. The service has not met expectations in these areas.

Phone lines impossible to get through on

I would rate this surgery extremely poorly if lower ratings were available. I have experienced significant difficulties accessing appointment services at this practice. The phone lines open at 8am, yet despite numerous attempts within the first fifteen minutes of opening, I was unable to reach anyone to book an appointment. This seems inadequate given modern technology allows for multiple communication channels. The practice appears to rely on a limited number of reception staff managing a small number of phone lines, which does not seem proportionate to demand. When raising these concerns, I was directed to use the online booking system as an alternative, however this also presents challenges. Available appointment slots appear to fill quickly, leaving little time to describe health concerns before they become unavailable. The entire appointment booking experience feels poorly organised and frustrating from beginning to end. My interactions with reception staff and management did not resolve these issues. When expressing complaints, the standard response suggests that for urgent matters, accident and emergency services should be used, or that patients should wait until their condition deteriorates significantly. Overall, the practice appears to be struggling operationally and the service quality seems to have declined over time.

Phone lines impossible to reach, unhelpful reception staff

I attempted to contact the practice repeatedly over the course of a week without success. When I visited in person to arrange an appointment for my mother, as telephone calls went unanswered for several days, I found the reception staff to be unwelcoming and dismissive. A young patient who arrived early for her appointment received a message indicating she had missed it, despite being present at the practice. When this was brought to the staff's attention, there appeared to be a lack of concern or responsiveness. This experience with the appointment system and customer service has been particularly frustrating.

Couldn't get through on the phone line

I have been attempting to contact the practice for the past two weeks without success, as the telephone line remains constantly engaged and calls go unanswered. This makes it difficult to access care when needed, and I question the value of having a general practice if patients cannot reach them for appointments or consultations.

Friendly reception made the visit pleasant

Positive