The New Seaham Medical Group

Helpful reception staff made all the difference

The team here were very supportive and provided excellent care.

Friendly team made me feel welcome

Excellent encounters with all members of the healthcare staff. The administrative team, clinical nurses and physicians were all exceptionally welcoming and delivered exceptional care throughout.

Hard to get appointments, prescription errors unresolved

I have been experiencing issues with my prescription management for an extended period. After considerable difficulty obtaining an appointment, I finally managed to attend. Upon review, it was discovered that there had been an error with my prescription that had persisted for approximately six months. I received an apology for this mistake. I would caution others to carefully consider their choice of provider. During that same appointment, my blood pressure was recorded at a concerning level. My medication was adjusted and I was discharged without any follow-up arrangement or further discussion. On multiple occasions, I have made clear my preference that only qualified professionals discuss my health matters with me. Despite this, I have found that administrative staff have spoken to me about my medication, which I feel is inappropriate. Health information should only be communicated by clinical professionals. I have also noticed that the practice has received consistently poor ratings in recent reviews. The overall quality and standard of care appear to have declined noticeably. Given that patients entrust their health and wellbeing to this service, I believe the current experience falls short of acceptable standards. The practice would benefit from significant improvements in its operations and service delivery.

Reception staff were dismissive when I called for an appointment

I found the customer service experience to be quite poor. The receptionist who took my call came across as dismissive and unconcerned about patient needs. I have been dealing with an ongoing issue for several years without seeing any meaningful progress. I also felt that I was given inconsistent information on multiple occasions. The practice seems disorganised and indifferent to patient concerns, and I noticed that when I questioned something, the call was ended abruptly. More recently, I attempted to book an appointment by calling early in the morning and waiting in the queue, but was unable to secure one despite being relatively early in the line. The appointment availability appears extremely limited, making it very difficult to access care at this practice.

Practice nurse availability doesn't fit working schedules

It appears there is limited nursing staff availability at the practice, with insufficient cover arrangements during absences. This creates difficulties for patients who work outside standard business hours, as accessing routine appointments requires taking time off work.

Impossible to reach by phone or get convenient appointments

The practice does not seem to take into account that patients are working when requesting attendance for tests or reviews, which can necessitate taking unpaid leave. Booking appointments when you are available off work proves difficult. The overall approach and policies suggest the practice views patients as needing to fit around their service rather than the other way around. In a recent update, medication could not be obtained without completing a review appointment. Availability of appointments continues to be problematic when you are not working. Multiple attempts to contact the practice by phone resulted in extended waiting times and being directed to a full voicemail system, making it nearly impossible to resolve matters. In May, a medication change occurred without prior discussion. The replacement medication was prescribed at a significantly lower strength, which resulted in considerable loss of work time due to inadequate pain management. A subsequent appointment led to a different medication being prescribed, which has provided some improvement but remains suboptimal. When additional medication was needed the following month, an appointment with a practitioner was arranged instead of the usual doctor. You were advised that future requests would need to be submitted via a note on the prescription rather than as a repeat, but when this was done, you were told a doctor's appointment was necessary. However, the earliest available appointment was scheduled after your current supply would run out. After being told someone would contact you by phone, a follow-up call revealed the appointment slot had been pushed back even further. The overall experience suggests a lack of genuine concern for patient wellbeing.

Phone queue didn't recognise priority status

I wish I could give it a zero star rating. I called today to arrange a routine vaccination as I have underlying health conditions and was informed that I am not on the priority list despite my complex medical background.

Long waits and poor service every visit

The service has been consistently disappointing on every visit.

Poor phone queue experience at reception

The service provided fell significantly short of expectations.