Three Chequers Medical Practice
PP
Pgs P. 3 years ago • From Google
Poor
We have never actually met our healthcare provider during our time as patients here, so we cannot comment on their approach. It appears that access to appointments is extremely limited - you almost need to be in critical condition to be seen. My spouse had a physiotherapy appointment due to severe mobility issues and considerable pain, yet no medical consultation was arranged beforehand. We attended the physiotherapy session only to discover the treatment room was located upstairs with no elevator access. Given my spouse's difficulty walking, the stairs were completely inaccessible. The physiotherapy took place in a cramped room without windows where a proper assessment could not be conducted due to space constraints. When we raised concerns about this, we were told that treatment outcomes would likely be minimal anyway. As a result, no physiotherapy was provided and the pain remained unresolved. It seems questionable to locate a physiotherapy facility upstairs without lift access, particularly when advance notice of a patient's mobility difficulties should have prompted alternative arrangements to avoid unnecessary suffering. We ultimately paid privately for medical consultation, physiotherapy, and specialist assessment. The private specialist identified the underlying issue and prescribed appropriate treatment along with intensive physiotherapy to address muscle weakness. We will need to continue paying privately for physiotherapy as it is essential treatment, making this surgery unhelpful to us overall. I have given two stars because we do receive appointment reminders and vaccination notifications. However, I have had blood tests performed and never received any results, leaving me uncertain about my health status. Telephone access is problematic - there is a lengthy recorded message before the line rings, which then cuts off, followed by silence that makes callers assume the connection has failed, before eventually being answered. The staff members are genuinely pleasant when you finally speak to someone. I recognise the pressures the NHS faces, but a service should function as such. The experience feels like being treated as an administrative task rather than a patient, though I acknowledge this may not be unique to this practice. From what others have mentioned, some surgeries appear to have greater difficulties, though this is secondhand information. How does one actually obtain a doctor's appointment? It remains unclear to us.
Ed H.