New Eltham Medical Centre

Dismissive receptionist ignored my urgent lump concern

You attempt to discuss a newly discovered mass, comparable to a tennis ball, located beneath your armpit, only to be coldly told to call back at 2:30 pm, regardless of the urgency. This contradicts their own advice to immediately seek medical attention upon discovering a lump. Such dismissive and unhelpful receptionists are damaging the reputation of the National Health Service.

Friendly staff made my medical visit smooth

Outstanding medical procedure, front desk staff incredibly welcoming and kind. Physicians consistently demonstrate availability and attentiveness. We feel truly fortunate to have this surgery as our healthcare provider. Our deepest appreciation to the entire team.

Terrible doctors who won't see me in person

The medical staff demonstrate a complete lack of support, and securing an in-person consultation seems virtually unattainable. I cannot in good conscience suggest this general practice or their healthcare approach. When I express my concerns, they merely offer phone consultations and attempt remote diagnosis. I consistently find myself thoroughly disappointed with their service.

Decent service after past reception struggles

The service quality has seen some improvement lately. In the past, their reception was subpar. One shouldn't anticipate top-tier general practitioners here.

I have been subjected to harssment by Dr Arora & harassment

COUNCIL FOR ETHNIC MINORITY (England & Wales) PO Box 17517 London SE9 2ZP URGENT Dear Ms Nicki Moore Further to our email of 11 April in response to your email sent to Dr Deman, now we had an opportunity to review emails sent to New Eltham Medical Centre by the Council for Ethnic Minority and Dr Deman for online appointments. Contrary to your erroneous claims and suggestion there has been no response to Dr Deman’s complaints sent by emails to Ms Patel at NewelthamBlackfenMedicalCentre and to Freya on her personal & surgery emails since 2022. You have not addressed any of the issue we raised in our letter of 8 April 2005 on behalf of Dr Deman either. However, we note only once Ms Patel sent a response to NHS England and offered to meet with Dr Deman to discuss his concerns but she never scheduled any meeting in spite of his numerous attempts to do so. A letter from NHS England is attached herewith and marked as s Ex-A. As to your reference GMC adjudication, now we have looked at its provisional report and your suggestion that report has exonerated Dr Gaekwad & Dr Arora is incorrect. Simply because Dr Gaekwad was not subjected a formal investigation and imposed sanctions it does not mean, she was completely blameless or exonerated. Rather, GMC advised Doctor’s Officer, in the case will be Practice Manager or Dr Arora who himself was subject of complaint for shouting at Dr Deman’s Solicitor and refused to disclose Dr Deman’s medical record despite his duly signed consent form. To date, 25 years record of Patients’ summaries is still missing which has not been accounted. Rather than let the Practice Manager deal with the Subject Access request in a claim against the NHS Lewisham and Greenwich Trust Dr Arora took the call and shouting at Dr Deman’s female solicitor. By the way, the findings of Mr Gareth Thomson are subject to review at the GMC. The solicitor’s account of Dr Arora’s misbehaviour is set in her notes not even an investigation was carried out let alone taking any action. Dr Deman’s notes are attached herewith and marked as Ex-B. It would appear Dr Arora has taken a diploma in shouting not only at his patients but also shouted, yelled and continued with his tirade at his female solicitor, Mariam Bi who has put in writing as an Exhibit-10 to the Court. Dr Arora told her that he had very good relations with Dr Deman and therefore he would not comply with the Subject Access request of medial record with cost paid for by her. We believe he was operating in cahoots with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust & others who are subject of Dr Deman’s claim of negligence Claim No. H30YJ846, and other matters in the High Court & Admin Court. No one could stop Dr Deman from pursuing his claims. Ms Mariam in her Ex-10 says this: “Matters discussed on23/09/2022: Very, very, difficult call from Dr Arora from GP on 23 Sept 2022, at 16:00pm. He was extremely rude and argumentative. He interrupted me throughout and would not let me finish my sentences. He was asking me questions and then not letting me finish. He kept saying he ‘didn’t have time’. He was referring to the email that I had just sent requesting the records (that apparently, they have now found) and a response to our complaint. I called today to chase the complaint response. We made the complaint over 2 months ago and they have not provided a response. He said he had just spoken to the client, who has confirmed that he is happy with the way things are handled. He said on this basis he will not be providing us with anything. He was shouting at me on the phone throughout the call. He would not let me finish and explain what our complaint was about. He said he wasn’t going to provide the records. It wasn’t clear whether he had read this. He hung up the phone. Discussion recorded by NL Further to your accusation against Dr Deman that on 11 April 2025 he shouted at a receptionist at Blackfen Medical Centre, though he denies, without looking at the circumstances surrounding on-going conduct documented in Dr Deman ad our emails’ 8 & 11 April 2025. However, Dr Deman accepts what you say in your email of 11 April 2025 about his complaint of racial prejudice. Being a Roman Catholic, perhaps you should have known in Sir McPherson’s report on the Racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, a teen age boy, “An act or crime is racist if it is perceived by the victims or any other person and a complete failure of the senior management as institutionalised racism.” The event of 14 April 2025 at the Blackfen Surgery narrated to you in Dr Deman’s email is a testimony to his concerns. Dr Deman has genuinely held beliefs that ever since he raised the complaints of discrimination, Dr Arora has been using his white staff to stonewall his complaints, appointment with Dr Harris and harass him verbally by making unsolicited calls and you have shown blatant disregard and have been complicit. Moreover, under the Equality At 2010, any reference to race or racial harassment is a protected act therefore it is unlawful to retaliate against him by way of taking him off the list and it will be subject to legal action. Rather than addressing the outstanding numerous complaints you devoted 3 paragraphs in your so-called response to complaints and chose to burn midnight oil, like Dr Arora did (who appointed you) to carry out the fishing expedition. The case law in question you referred to is irrelevant to serious issues raised in Dr Deman’s complaints against Dr Arora and Neweltham Medical Centre since GMC & NHS England sent their finding to him, in particular in retaliation to service of the Race Relations Questionnaires by the CEM. Clearly you haven’t read our cover letter with RR questionnaires in which we made it clear that you do not have to answer the RR questionnaires but from a failure to answer them, a Court & Tribunal may draw an adverse inference of racial discrimination. Perhaps, you consider organising an induction class for Doctors & staff. Since the service of RR questionnaires, two Practice Managers, Mrs Patel full-time, and Frey temporary have changed yet no progress were made except two acknowledgement from Ms Patel stating that she would come back with a reply but she never did because they have to work under the shadows of Dr Arora who is well known for his hot headed outbursts. On 24 September 2024, Dr Deman wrote Freya then acting Practice Manager in very consolatory terms as follows: “Suresh Deman Wed, 25 Sept 2024 at 14:50 Hi Freya Congrats! Finally, you have accepted my initial suggestion to take over as a Practice Manager, but you were somewhat reluctant to accept given your other commitments and responsibilities. Please attach find email chronology of emails to former Practice Manager who acknowledge some of the emails but did not response except saying she would. In response my earlier complaints she wrote to NHS Complaints that she would be happy to meet with me to resolve but she never scheduled an appointment to discuss the issues which are still unresolved.. I would be grateful to you if we could discuss these matters to avoid formal procedures without hard feelings. In fact, every time I start pursuing the matters formally Dr Harris and you appear (both professional and competent) before me and give up.” The above email does not sound like Dr Deman was taking a combating posture and to accuse him of broken down Patients & Doctor relationship. Neweltham and Blackfen surgery has two fulltime partners GPs and 3 Indian and two African origin locums. Dr Deman has good working relationship with Dr Harris and other locums, but Dr Harris was his preferred choice since she was acted professionally throughout his ordeal. As per the NHS New Guidelines senior citizen are allowed to have GPs of their own choice to which Dr Arora has shown great contempt. Similarly, Dr Deman had very good relations with most of the staff, in particular with Freya. However Dr Arora not only himself but also started using them to stonewall him in getting an appointment with Dr Harris and directed staff members to behave ignorantly and harass Dr Deman, particularly a couple senior white staff at Neweltham and Blackfen. Despite the above evidence, you chose to make baseless conclusion that the relationship has been broken down without identifying with whom, if with Dr Arora, yes but that is not the end of the road as there are other GPs with who Dr Deman has working relationship. In fact, Dr Arora is the author of creation of hostile environment for Deman. You chose to put Dr Arora’s word in Dr Deman’s mouth without a thorough investigation. In foregoing background, your erroneous conclusions in the last paragraphs that “that the relationship between yourself and the practice has irreversibly broken down”, though a standard condition for the dissolution or divorce but not in Patient & Doctor Relationship, is totally without merit. You appear to blame the Cardiologist for the heart disease. By the way it has to be ‘irrevocably’ not ‘irreversibly.’ We believe your hasty & discriminatory decision is in breach of the GMC Guidelines which are as follows: Ending your professional relationship with a patient 1. Good medical practice sets out the principles, values, and standards of care and professional behaviour expected of all medical professionals registered with us. The standards of good practice apply to doctors, physician associates and anaesthesia associates (collectively referred to as medical professionals and whom we address directly as ‘you’ throughout the guidance). As with all our professional standards, this guidance applies to all our registrants to the extent it is relevant to the individual’s practice. Ending your professional relationship with a patient builds on Good medical practice to provide more detail on our expectations of medical professionals in this area. 2. The professional standards describe good practice, and not every departure from them will be considered serious. You must use your professional judgement to apply the standards to your day-to-day practice. If you do this, act in good faith and in the interests of patients, you will be able to explain and justify your decisions and actions. We say more about professional judgement, and how the professional standards relate to our fitness to practise processes, appraisal and revalidation, at the beginning of Good medical practice. When might it be necessary to end a relationship? 3. In rare circumstances, the breakdown of trust between you and a patient means you can’t continue to provide them with good clinical care. This might occur when a patient has, for example: a. been violent, abusive, or made threats to you or a colleague b. displayed other criminal behaviour, such as stealing from you or the premises c. acted in a sexual way towards you d. persistently acted unreasonably. 4. Relationships with patients may also end for other reasons, for example because a contract or service ends, or because of the closure or relocation of a practice. In such circumstances you should follow the guidance at paragraph 13. 5. You should not end a professional relationship with a patient solely because of: a. a complaint the patient made about you or your colleagues. You must make sure that any complaints or concerns raised by the patient are responded to promptly, fully and honestly (Good medical practice, paragraph 46) b. the resource implications of the patient’s care or treatment. Before you end the relationship 6. It may be reasonable to end a relationship immediately in certain circumstances. For example, primary care regulations and contracts allow for the immediate removal of patients from practice lists if a patient has been violent or behaved in a way that has caused other people to fear for their safety. You must follow local or national guidance and regulations. 7. In other circumstances, before you end a professional relationship with a patient you should: a. tell the patient that you are considering ending the relationship and explain the reasons why b. do what you can to restore the professional relationship. This could include setting expectations for the patient’s future behaviour c. discuss the situation with an experienced colleague or your employer, or contracting body. 8. You must seek advice from a safeguarding lead if you are concerned that ending a relationship with a patient could leave or someone close to them, at risk of significant harm.them, 9. You must make sure that you are acting fairly and not discriminating against the patient (see paragraphs 19, 33 and 56, Good medical practice). When you've made the decision to end the relationship 10. If after considering paragraphs 6–9, you decide to end your professional relationship with a patient you must: a. tell the patient or make arrangements for the patient to be told of your decision and the reasons for it – where practical, this should be done in writing b. consult and follow relevant local guidance and regulations c. make sure arrangements are in place for the continuing care of the patient if they are unable to make arrangements for themselves d. pass on all medical records without delay to ensure continuity of care, in accordance with paragraph 65 of Good Medical Practice e. record your decision to end the relationship, making sure that information recorded in the patient’s records is factual and objective, and does not include anything that could unfairly prejudice the patient’s future treatment. Clearly your decision to remove Dr Deman from Surgery’s list is not only arbitrary, irrational and discriminatory and also in breach of the GMC’s Guidelines and not good for his health & safety. Dr Deman is diabetic and has been a cancer patient and he is in the middle of various investigations including the Hearing & MRI, we until Friday the 18 April 2025 to withdraw your decision to remove him from the Surgery’s list else we will advise Dr Deman to issue Judicial Review Proceedings making the GMC & NHS interested parties to the clam to quash your decision by way of Mandamus and Certiorari and seek an urgent stay order of the Admin Court. In the meantime we are exploring other options. Yours sincerely,

Long wait and rude staff at clinic

Extremely let down by the continuous deterioration of service quality and professionalism at this facility. Their primary focus appears to be minimizing their own workload rather than providing patient care. The appointment scheduling process is frustratingly inefficient: you must call at 8am, endure a lengthy wait, only to potentially receive a conditional call back from a doctor who may or may not decide to see you. The front desk staff are consistently discourteous and unhelpful without any justification. An utterly disappointing experience overall.

Kind doctor and caring staff helped me

After relocating to this neighborhood approximately four years back, I initially experienced difficulties reaching the clinic by phone to schedule consultations. However, those communication challenges have significantly improved over the past year and a half. The front desk personnel are truly exceptional, consistently demonstrating remarkable dedication and support, particularly during recent complex periods. Dr Arora consistently displays a compassionate, empathetic, and attentive approach to patient care. I enthusiastically endorse this medical practice.

Saturday morning welcome at surgery

On Saturday, September 7th, my relatives and I decided to sign up with this medical practice, and we were thoroughly impressed by the exceptional demeanor of the two receptionists. I believe both of their names might be Carol, though I'm not entirely certain. I want to express my gratitude to these wonderful staff members for their warm hospitality, composed manner, and highly professional approach.

Reliable care since 2016

I genuinely cannot fault this medical practice; I've been their patient since 2016 and have consistently experienced smooth scheduling for both myself and my child, with prompt communication from the physicians. Despite a few past encounters with an somewhat discourteous front desk staff member (which occurred some time ago), I generally find the team welcoming and supportive, with the medical professionals delivering excellent service and attentive care.

Quick online booking saves time

Absolutely top-notch medical practice! Their digital appointment scheduling is incredibly user-friendly, eliminating the need to frantically phone at the crack of dawn like other clinics require. The physicians are remarkably competent and supportive.

Impossible to get an urgent slot

Getting a slot at this place is incredibly challenging. They're perpetually fully booked, which is truly frustrating, particularly when you're in urgent need of an appointment.

Anxious wait for rejected ultrasound referral

I've been anticipating an ultrasound to investigate some concerning lumps for a month and a half, only to discover today that my referral was denied, and my doctor was supposed to communicate with me about this matter, which they failed to do. I'm just praying this isn't a life-threatening situation 👍🏻

Dolores made my pap test easy

What an incredible encounter at New Eltham Medical Practice with Dolores! I scheduled my cervical screening test via their online platform yesterday and received a prompt confirmation email shortly after. Upon arriving at the clinic, the receptionist was assisting another patient but demonstrated remarkable helpfulness and warmth. Her professional approach was truly commendable. Nurse Dolores was incredibly compassionate, understanding, and proficient during my procedure, which I deeply appreciated. From the moment of my initial registration (handled by another outstanding receptionist) through to today's visit, this medical practice has completely surpassed my expectations. I'm thoroughly impressed with the entire experience! Many thanks!

Impossible to get a doctor's appointment

Absolute worst medical practice imaginable!!! Appointments are perpetually non-existent, completely booked 100% of the time. This forces patients into emergency slots - only available if you call precisely at 8:30 or 2:30, and must be scheduled same-day. For someone working seven days weekly from 8-4:30, this is completely unworkable. I'd need to sacrifice an entire workday just to see a healthcare professional. How difficult could it be to offer appointment scheduling that accommodates patients' needs? The surgery is never genuinely as overwhelmed as they claim. Additionally, staff seem more interested in casual conversation than patient care. Once, I waited 30-45 minutes in a phone queue, only to discover upon arriving that receptionists had deliberately muted calls while chatting amongst themselves. These receptionists behave as though they're medical professionals themselves. Absolutely terrible staff and service. I'd assign zero stars if the rating system permitted it.

Frustrating rx runaround all afternoon long

I was given a prescription by my doctor for a medication that's been discontinued. When I followed up the next day, they told me the GP would send an alternative and to call back at 1pm. Upon calling back, I was instructed to call again at 3. When I called at 3:30, a staff member rudely informed me that's not their process and provided absolutely no assistance whatsoever.

Terrible wait times at new medical centre

I am compelled to express my profound disappointment with the New Eltham Medical Centre's abysmal service. Upon relocating to the area and seeking a new healthcare provider, I deeply regret choosing this practice. My attempts to communicate with them proved futile, as my numerous calls throughout the week went consistently unanswered. After an exasperating 30-minute wait, I finally reached a representative who coldly informed me that they were completely booked, offering only same-day appointments with no possibility of advance scheduling. Moreover, they rigidly specified a narrow window for booking, which seemed utterly inflexible. Given this seemingly standard approach to patient care, it becomes immediately apparent why their appointment slots are perpetually filled. The entire experience has been nothing short of frustrating and demonstrates a complete lack of patient-centered care.

Freya made my check-in super smooth

Freya, who works the front desk, was exceptionally friendly and courteous. She addressed all inquiries quickly, efficiently, and with a delightful demeanor. Her outstanding customer service definitely merits top marks, and she should be commended!

Awful wait time and zero help

This GP is absolutely absurd. I spent an hour on hold, and when someone finally answered, she curtly stated there was no screen and immediately hung up. This isn't my first encounter with their disrespectful and unhelpful service. I didn't want to call them; I called because I'm unwell. They're a terrible healthcare provider. Despite being their patient for years, I've never received any meaningful assistance. I believe the health minister needs to investigate this situation, and I intend to file a formal complaint with the local authorities.

Nurse Beverley made my day better

I recently met with Nurse Beverley and I must express how impressively she represents your medical facility. She is truly an exceptional, highly competent healthcare professional. Additionally, the front desk team demonstrates remarkable warmth and compassion. My sincere appreciation for the outstanding service.

Prescription nightmare with my gp clinic

Every single time, I'm forced to contact my general practitioner at least five times just to get a prescription transferred to the pharmacy. They repeatedly claim it's been sent, but when I arrive at the pharmacy, nothing is there, leading to an endless cycle of back-and-forth communication. The entire process is completely paper-driven and incredibly inefficient. It feels like I'm stuck in a bygone era, not the modern medical system I should expect!