St Pauls Medical Centre
KB
Kathreen B. 7 months ago • From Google
Bad
I am writing to add that it has now been over two months since I submitted a formal complaint to this GP surgery and I have received no response regarding the outcome. This is the substance of my complaint — I provide care and support for my elderly relative who has significant vision impairment and has been under the care of an eye specialist since relocating to the area. The specialist has prescribed essential eye drop treatment that must be administered regularly to manage the condition and maintain remaining vision. Despite clear instructions from the consultant, the surgery has repeatedly failed to provide adequate care by not issuing repeat prescriptions for this vital medication, resulting in gaps of up to two weeks without treatment on multiple occasions. This pattern has occurred so frequently that I have lost track of how many times it has happened. As a consequence, my relative has had to return to the eye specialist on numerous occasions experiencing severe pain and vision loss, which appears to be directly linked to the gaps in medication supply from the GP. Most recently, my relative has again been without the prescribed eye drops for two weeks and is now suffering severe pain, discomfort and deteriorating vision. This suffering is entirely preventable. Our family has raised these concerns repeatedly and submitted a formal written complaint that was never acknowledged. Today I attempted to contact the practice manager to lodge another formal complaint. The receptionist who took my call informed me that I would need to submit this by email. Given that I had experienced a significant bereavement the previous day, I explained that I was not in a position to write an email and requested to speak with someone directly. What followed was deeply upsetting. The receptionist, apparently believing the call was on hold, made disparaging remarks about my complaint and made inappropriate comments regarding my bereavement in conversation with other staff members. When she returned to the call, she stated that no one was available to speak with me. I informed her that I had heard her remarks and expressed my distress at her conduct. She apologised for what she had said. However, I find it difficult to move past this incident. When grieving and in distress, no one should experience their loss being treated as a matter for ridicule by someone in a position of care and responsibility. I felt this was deeply insensitive and it has left me upset and shaken. The practice later informed me that calls are recorded. The practice manager reviewed the recording, contacted me to apologise, stating she was deeply sorry about what had occurred, and acknowledged the conduct was unacceptable. The staff member involved has since faced disciplinary measures. This incident is not an isolated occurrence but rather reflects a broader pattern of inadequate care, unsafe practice, and insufficient compassion within the organisation.
Kathreen B.