Larwood Surgery

Quick and smooth customer support

Professional and efficient assistance delivered promptly and effectively.

Frustrating prescription mess at chemist

Placed a prescription order midweek for as-needed pain medication, but received a message stating it was too early. Despite being approved for 20ml daily, I was only given one 250ml bottle, expected to stretch over a month. When I called, I explained that my husband typically uses 10ml daily, meaning the supply would only last about 25 days. I was assured a prescription would be ready for pickup today since we're traveling. However, upon arriving at the pharmacy, I discovered the prescription hadn't been issued. It's been one frustrating error after another. The receptionist told me to go home and wait for a call after speaking with a doctor. Despite emphasizing our imminent departure at noon, I'm still waiting after an hour of uncertainty.

Endless wait for a simple phone call

Once the staff is reached, they are friendly. However, every time we call, we're left waiting on hold for over three-quarters of an hour before connecting with anyone to schedule an appointment. We've remained at home all morning anticipating a doctor's call, which never materialized.

Long wait but kind staff helped

The line moves at a snail's pace, but the employees are incredibly friendly once you finally make it to the front.

Prescription chaos led me to switch surgeries

(2021) Extremely poor communication and procedural inefficiencies. Hospital letters are simply filed away or left neglected in trays for months. It's been increasingly challenging to accomplish anything, with reception staff seemingly undertriaging everything or lacking proper training and dismissing concerns with misleading responses. In mid-December 2020, they suspected a stroke but only advised taking Aspirin until the New Year. Subsequently, they believed I might have experienced a heart attack or severe angina due to 20 minutes of breathlessness, hastily prescribing emergency Nitrous and dispatching me to A&E without a proper examination. A&E staff were frustrated after finding nothing wrong following 3 hours of monitoring and blood tests. A significant overhaul is desperately needed. Today, I'm apparently unable to request painkillers because everyone is "TOO BUSY" and am instructed to call back tomorrow. Doctors make impulsive referrals without consultation, seemingly to fulfill bureaucratic requirements, and then express surprise when patients cancel these referrals. (2022) A year later, after continued complications, I'm switching surgeries! Critical medication was cancelled without my Neurologist's permission, and their letters were filed away without implementing recommended actions. Essential prescriptions were denied due to unread neurological correspondence. Messages remain unanswered or rejected outside specific time frames. Random doctors make unexpected calls, assuming chronically ill patients are perpetually available and unemployed. I'm thoroughly frustrated. Just before transferring, I needed a critical medication prescription rerouted to an alternative pharmacy due to Boots' reduced hours. After two days of requests, I was compelled to seek unpaid leave from work to resolve the issue. Utterly inefficient. I've now joined Newgate Street, who have been exceptional—processing prescriptions within hours and proactively communicating via phone or text when uncertain.

Endless messages before reaching reception

Update 24/08/2022: After thorough evaluation, they have opted to deteriorate. It's practically a supernatural event to find a day when they aren't conducting training or accepting anything beyond emergency calls. Colour Larwood Health Partnership caught me off guard, but typically, during emergencies, people reach out to EMERGENCY services. It's literally in their title! Additionally, if I'm attempting to contact the surgery during an emergency, I'll likely be deceased before navigating through the initial 19 pre-recorded messages. Just to connect with reception, you're subjected to no fewer than three repetitive announcements, delivered at a glacial reading pace, emphasizing they don't handle repeat prescription requests. I understand - elderly Irene calls twice monthly for her repeat prescription, and you must instruct her to disconnect and press 1. Why must everyone endure this inconvenience? Here's a proposed script for your automated messaging system: "Welcome to Larwood Health Partnership. To request a repeat prescription, press 1. For Covid vaccination details, press 2. To speak with a receptionist, press 3." Can you appreciate how much more straightforward that is? If someone wanted extensive information about Covid vaccine availability, they'd select option 2. I guarantee, with absolute sincerity, every individual calling the surgery has spent five minutes thinking, "I'm not interested in any of this, just let me order my medication or speak to staff". Making the process maximally frustrating doesn't discourage us; it merely ensures we'll be thoroughly irritated by the time we reach a receptionist.

Waited all day for useless prescription

I reached out to the medical practice via their online platform first thing in the morning. Throughout the day, I awaited a physician's callback, who ultimately confirmed the need for antibiotics based on the images I shared, clearly showing my severe infection. The doctor prescribed medication and suggested it would be ready at the adjacent pharmacy. However, by 3pm when the prescription was issued, and even by 6pm as the pharmacy was preparing to shut down, the prescription had still not been processed. Consequently, I was forced to endure another night without the necessary medication. The entire experience was extremely unprofessional and utterly unhelpful.

Frustrating wait times and ignored messages

The front desk staff display a complete lack of empathy. Initially, I believed their online platform was a breakthrough for individuals with hearing impairments or communication challenges. However, they're now neglecting messages and prioritizing only "emergency appointments" while pushing other requests aside. Even when the issue seems critical and urgent, requiring immediate attention, I've repeatedly attempted to make contact as early as possible, only to receive a late afternoon response telling me to try again the next day. There are instances where I'm left waiting up to four consecutive days just for a request to be acknowledged. This experience is profoundly demoralizing and makes me feel utterly insignificant and disregarded. Perhaps someday, there will emerge receptionists who genuinely recognize and respect their clients as actual human beings. Though at this rate, that might take a century to materialize...

Worst customer service I've ever experienced

A complete embarrassment, utterly incapable of managing even the simplest tasks, let alone handling matters of critical importance to human beings

Doctors won't call me back after multiple tries

It used to be an excellent facility, but now it's appalling how the general practitioners have disregarded multiple communication attempts and refuse to even call me to schedule an appointment, instead sending one-way text messages that prevent any response. They should be embarrassed by their conduct. This is precisely why I've never praised the NHS, and I wish I could opt out of national insurance contributions and seek private healthcare. Their treatment is more distressing than my actual medical condition.