Highgate Group Practice
LP
Lara P. 4 years ago • From Google
Bad
I am utterly astounded by this practice's complete abandonment of patient care. The only way to access medical help is by enduring a grueling 30-minute wait during extremely limited time slots, since online booking has been discontinued. You're then greeted by an irritable receptionist who schedules a PHONE consultation (not even video, just audio) with an equally disinterested GP, typically lasting a mere five minutes. Patients often struggle to articulate their symptoms accurately, and describing complex health issues over the phone to someone who cannot physically examine you is incredibly challenging. Crucial medical conditions are typically discovered through thorough physical examinations, where a competent doctor can visually assess a patient. Phone consultations instead breed complacency, with doctors hastily prescribing medication and dismissing patients. How can potential serious conditions like cancer or jaundice be detected? How can heart or lung issues be properly evaluated? I'm experiencing severe back pain, and previously, GPs from this same practice would conduct in-person examinations, refer me to specialists, and arrange X-rays. Now? I'm simply instructed to find a private physiotherapist at £44 through an app. The NHS is essentially pushing patients towards expensive private healthcare via telephone. In other European countries, GP practices remained fully operational during COVID, with doctors wearing protective equipment and seeing patients in person. Here, primary care has been reduced to virtually nothing, which is absolutely disgraceful.
Richard M.