Forum Topic

The Albany GP Practice.

There are so many complaints broadcast on local Facebook pages that one wonders if there should be concern.The poor receptionist probably has a tough time ..maybe the GPs too.Could it be that Brentfordians are difficult to deal with.Who knows?

Jim Lawes ● 1550d30 Comments

Hooray. Less than 12 hours since last night's JL posting.... we have a response on the front page!

Jim Lawes ● 1521d

Why doesn't someone from the Practice respond to this thread. Don't they read Brentfordtw8.com?I wonder what Ruth Cadbury MP thinks about these complaints?

Jim Lawes ● 1521d

Yes, the current location of Reception is dreadful.  You can only speak to the receptionist at the end that opens.  The other end is screened off and, because they can't hear you, you have to move back down to the "open" end.  I also find the Receptionists scruffy-looking.  They used to wear professional-looking uniforms.  Why have they taken the retrograde step of now wearing "civvies"?

M H Mason ● 1521d

Yes, I have also had to resort to going down to the practice in person to sort out problems.  And you're right.  It IS demeaning to be forced to resort to such an action.

M H Mason ● 1521d

Why am I not surprised?  They refuse to acknowledge or learn from their many mistakes.

M H Mason ● 1521d

Totally agree with you!

M H Mason ● 1521d

I fully sympathise with your plight.  Talk about a "Jobsworth", refusing to give you an appointment unless you phoned in, and then making up the " outside the practice" rules!I had been with them for decades, starting with their original iteration in Albany Road.  They are truly dreadful!

M H Mason ● 1521d

It seems that this topic and longish thread is well justified.

Jim Lawes ● 1528d

When the reception for Albany practice was on the back wall, it was clear,bright and very well run. The staff,Sharon & Carole, plus others, were always smartly dressed.I hardly go to the GP, but have had to recently, and as someone who works in a customer service environment, I was shocked at the staff in the corner wearing their overcoats and woolly hats!!! Not hygienic at all.The reception area for Albany Practice is appalling - like we have stepped back 20 years!Then we have the woman who is not a health professional( not sure she is even a phlebotomist) but was given the task of taking my Dads blood samples. The mess she made of his arm was dreadful..in the end he asked her to get someone who knew what they were doing! Same person bruised my sisters arm taking her blood pressure.The GPs (except one), are excellent and I have no issue with them. But the reception team need to up their game and the non medical staff should stick to non medical jobs unless they can do the tasks efficiently.

Sharon Trevor ● 1528d

After 2 days of calling in vain, I had to go to the practice in person. How demeaning can this get? I feel I am begging to be seen

Silvia Diaz ● 1530d

It's still the same, I've often thought it was a deliberate policy to make people hang up and go away!

Steve Bullman ● 1530d

Although I have now let the area,I had frequent historical problems calling this practice - I remember once the phone ringing for in excess of 30 mins! It transpired there had been a longstanding fault on their phone system.After a heated discussion with the practice manager & an NHS complaint it appeared that the partners were aware of this but were not prepared to make the expenditure to replace the system.

Roger Foreman ● 1530d

nobody replies. called 12 times today. I have been put on hold with the music and the countdown but when it is my turn and the telephone rings nobody replies. I hope they do something about this practice, cannot carry on providing this level of non service

Silvia Diaz ● 1531d

and after 32 minutes of music and you are 6 and you are 5 and you are number 2 ..it started ringing, telephone rang for over 6minutes, no reply. if you have health issues, this  pleading is disheartening..

Silvia Diaz ● 1532d

been with the practice for 13 years now and to be honest is getting worse to get appointments but the worse aspect for me would be the high GP turn over. you get used to a GP and after a few months, they disappear.something v. funny happened to recently, have to share this dystopian adventure. had to pick up some results.  as I was there and in need of a follow up appointment, I asked the receptionist - who had just given me the results- if she could book me, given she had my file open in her screen? "appointments are only given over the phone" receptionist replies... Fine I said so I proceeded to take out my mobile from my bag and called her whilst looking at her, telephone started ringing, she would not answer it. I asked her if she could pick up the phone, as it may be me calling? she said that "calls had to be made outside the practice" another little new rule to overcome I thought, so off I went to the entrance and started calling. no reply of course...difficult to believe...but this is true. and i must point out that I was alone in the practice, not that it looked like picadilly circus at rush hours and they were careful with overcrowding the place...and BTW, been on the phone now for over 25 mins waiting for the practice to answer....must be their lunch hor i guess

Silvia Diaz ● 1532d

I’ve struggled with them for years, and I’m not really ‘vulnerable’; it must be truly scary for those that are. All their systems seem to be designed for the benefit of the practice, nothing for the patient. The whole experience is just not nice. The last time I visited the doc I was kept waiting 20 minutes. That’s ok, I suppose, but once in her room she told me to ‘hurry up’!! At the very least it’s supposed to be a health SERVICE.I note the journalist who wrote the article on this site said they’d tried to contact the surgery, but couldn’t. I guess they don’t really care.....

Tim Barnes ● 1534d

It seems that this thread was appropriate after all. Well done to those who spoke up on Facebook and triggered this further publicity.

Jim Lawes ● 1535d

There CQC 2020 inspection report they have displayed says it all.

anne parish ● 1542d

Agreed,the phones are rarely answered despite the 'your call is important to us and you will be answered shortly'message, followed by 'you are no.8 in the queue'.If you have a query or need to book cancel and appt.it is very frustrating, especially as you also get text messages 'can you please phone the surgery'.It is a pity, as the service from the gp's and nurses there is very good imo. You might as well hold a seance as phone them.

Keith Iddon ● 1542d

I have always had excellent service from the GPS at the Albany Practice. However since the reception counter has moved into that dark and dingy corner it seems to have gone into a black hole! No  one answers the phones and general communication is poor and not patient friendly.

Elizabeth Price ● 1542d

I tried to post a thank you to the St Margarets surgery web site and it was intercepted by an NHS vetting site which rejected the comment as not bring appropriate!

Sarah Felstead ● 1549d

My wife and I have had nothing but excellent service & advice from the Albany Practice.  No problem ever getting an appointment and referred to specialists as required.

Reg Ghosh ● 1549d

That's fightin'talk,Ben.That certainly has not been my experience, but it has become extremely hard to get an appointment for the day you feel you need it, and it can only logically get worse when the vast swathes of new flats are built and occupied by people needing services.It will not affect local schools in the same way as families rarely move into flats.I spoke to a practice manager there a couple of years ago and she told me that the new flats that had been built in the previous couple of years had not resulted in an influx of new patients.When I asked why was it then still harder to get an appointment than it was previously, the question hung in the air like yesterday's washing and went unanswered.I was also asked if I would recommend the surgery to others and I replied I would not, purely on the grounds of not being able to get an appointment as it stood.As I said, for me the service I get once I see someone is fine, but the barriers to seeing them are certainly there.

Keith Iddon ● 1549d

Ben: your comment and those read on GOOGLE and FACEBOOK suggests that action IS REQUIRED."Calling all Brentford Councillors HELP"

Jim Lawes ● 1549d

Having been on their list for a few years I would have to say they are more likely to kill than to cure, scarily incompetent.

Ben Halloren ● 1549d

I find once you see a gp or nurse, that the service is good.Trying to get to see a gp or nurse, well that's a different matter sometimes.

Keith Iddon ● 1549d

As an irregular visitor to the Albany Practice thanks to, generally speaking, good health I have no complaints. Though I must admit having more than one GP practice sharing the same waiting room space continues to strike me as a bit bizarre.

Sue Rowe ● 1550d

That's quite true. I have a good GP but it can be sometimes a bit below par and it has poor online ratings.  But I have good health so am not a regular customer.Those I know who have chronic problems and are ailing a bit do seem to have a patchy range of experiences.We've certainly had that poor experience with a now deceased relative with a rather poor GP practice this past year. Especially when compared with our own practice.Not immediately local but did for us, as carers, make it uneasy to complain and would do it direct first. The eventual response was a little evasive and negative. Going online must be a last resort for those who go through that and don't get a resolution.

Raymond Havelock ● 1550d

Plus it's disgruntled patients who post reviews and ratings. Satisfied customers don't bother. Some of the reviews for my own health centre paint a picture which I don't remotely recognise.

Susan Kelly ● 1550d

Most GPs get low star ratings in the whole district including Ealing and Brentford and Chiswick.  Have for a very long time.Very hard to fathom.I think it has to be sheer volume of patients per practice and minimal facilities and support at many practices

Raymond Havelock ● 1550d