Abington Medical Centre
51A Beech Avenue, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN3 2JGContact details and opening times
Patient ratings and reviews
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Reviews
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Review titled Prescription wrong, again
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 25 April 2024
I've been with this practice for 30yrs but lately I'm becoming very frustrated with the service. Ive been constantly cut off the phone after a short answerphone message, the staff just dont answer the phone. I've spent hour after hour calling but they keep just ending the call without answering. My last 3 repeat prescription requests have been handed into the surgery, in clear writing, but they don't make it to the pharmacy correctly, to the point I've been calling and calling without answer for days, and ended up out of medication days later and had to call 111 to get emergency supplies. I'm seriously thinking of changing my GP because since COVID this practice is just not helpful at all.
Visited April 2024
Abington Medical Centre has not yet replied.
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Review titled Horrible practice
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Bianca Lupu - Posted on 09 June 2024
My experience with them over the years was not so great. In May I have to move to another GP as for over 2 months they had not been able to fill in a form I needed for NMC. Apart from that, the staff of the front desk do nothing but lie for the doctor and manager.
Visited March 2024
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 26 June 2024
Dear Bianca Please could you get in touch with the practice directly to enable me to investigate and respond as I cannot find you on our system under the name you have given. We take all feedback seriously as it enables us to look at what we do well and also what we can learn and improve. Kind regards Alison Cooper Manager
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Review titled Excellent service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Roger Farmer - Posted on 04 February 2024
Thank you so much for the attention I received on my visit to the surgery, I found everyone to be very kind and attentive to my situation. Roger
Visited February 2024
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 24 February 2024
Dear Roger Thank you so much for taking the time to share your positive feedback with us. We really do appreciate it. All feedback is discussed and shared with our whole team so we can see what we do well and also learn and look at how we can improve. Kind regards Alison Cooper Manager
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Review titled Great Service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 03 December 2023
Contacted the surgery using the new Anima system. Quick response and the Doctor called me in for a face to face appointment that day. Sent for an X-ray which was done the next day. Result came back with a query, surgery contacted me and Doctor arranged a scan. Called for scan withing two weeks and result came back ten days later. Thankfully it was nothing serious. All the staff at the surgery were kind, helpful and thorough, could not have asked for better service. It is very reassuring to know that they are there for me when I need them.
Visited November 2023
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 04 December 2023
Thank you so much for taking the time to feedback. All the staff work so hard to provide good treatment and care for our patients and it is lovely to share your positive feedback with the team. Kind regards Alison Cooper Manager
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Review titled Frustrating
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 09 April 2023
When trying to access complaint or suggestions screen the date of birth takes you to todays date. If you wish to key on your date of birth going back to 1960 you will have to go back every month for 60 years, a total of 720 keystrokes. Surely that is ludicrous. You should be able to just enter your dob without all that hassle. The news section is dated 2022 and now out of date with regard to govt advice re covid etc.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 22 April 2023
Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear you had trouble navigating our website. We have tried and tested the complaints/suggestions page for you. Can we advise for you to type your date of birth direct in to the box provided. This way you do not need to use the 720 keystrokes suggested in the calendar as we can understand how frustrating that would be. We have updated our news section so it is no longer out of date, thank you for alerting us. Kind regards Abington Medical Centre
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Review titled Awful - patient care should be a service, not a chore!
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 19 April 2023
Warning - if you phone you will be waiting for an hour plus, think 'number 37 in the queue'. Also this surgery is only open for care on the phone between 9 -11am. Other times you will be asked to phone back between 9 -11. You can use the online form between 9 - 12 but it is riddled with glitches, on several occasions it hasn't worked and if you try to resubmit again, it comes up with an error that you have already used it once today. I wouldn't recommend the 'Livi' app - they are more often than not fully booked. It is very rare to see a doctor (get an appointment) at Beech Avenue - the waiting room is empty apart from the queue of people at reception who have been forced to travel to the surgery as they've been unable to get through on the phone. The receptionists role is generally to fob you off, they say the doctor hasn't looked at it yet/ phone back tomorrow/ if you need an urgent blood appointment, use Swiftqueue at NGH (and wait a month). Don't be ill on Wednesdays as they have training days one day a month, they finish at 12.30pm. For some issues, you won't get to speak with a doctor, instead the receptionist will treat you, dishing out prescriptions , even antibiotics, they assumed once I had a urine infection without testing any sample, also they updated my peak flow readings for my asthma without me attending or speaking to me. They take over 7 days on average to add a letter to their system from consultants or other NHS i.e hospitals, even if it's an emergency. On one occasion they didn't read the correspondence properly so missed the referral, I wasn't aware of this as I didn't receive a copy of the letter sent to the GP until I requested to see it months later out of curiosity and saw they had missed the 'actions' requested from the consultant. I have seen previous comments on this site the same as mine - the issues are acknowledged but never addressed by the surgery. The problems continue without resolution but rather you are given excuses. I also work for the NHS, I'm always flat-out busy, but patient care should be a service, not a chore!
Visited April 2023
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 22 April 2023
Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear you are not happy with our service. Our same day access is available from 8.00 – 11.00 on the telephone and we also offer online access between 8.00 - 12.00 each day. We are aware our phone line can get busy depending on when you call which is why we offer an online service. We are aware that the online system does have occasional issues which we understand can be frustrating, we have reported this to our NHS England IT Service Team on several occasions sadly without resolution. We will report the issue again. We are presently looking at a new online system and over the next few months will hopefully be able to update our patients regarding a new system to use. There will be times when our waiting room is busy and also at times quiet depending on the time of day and who is in seeing face to face patients. Our GP’s triage and offer appropriate care to over 200 patients each day. Additional to this we have a pharmacy team, nurses, paramedics and a social prescriber that are also treating patients daily, this will be a combination of telephone, online and face to face appointments. Not all patients need to have a face to face appointment to be treated. It saddens me to read that you feel the reception role is to fob off patients. I can assure you that we have a very dedicated, hardworking team at Abington Medical Centre. I would be happy to meet with you and show you the work we do in Primary Care and allow you to meet our team so you can have a better awareness and be more informed. The Blood Taking Unit at NGH does have a waiting time of three weeks. We are not contracted to offer blood tests and therefore NHS England provide a blood taking service at NGH for practices. Please contact NHS England if you are not happy with this service. All Practices in Northampton at the request of NHS England have to close one afternoon a month to allow for all staff to attend mandatory training. While closed practices are covered by the NHS 111 service so patients can still receive treatment and care if required. Please contact NHS England if you are not happy with them asking practices to close for training and wish for them to stay open as we have to follow their guidance. Please be assured it is never a receptionist that is treating you. Reception and admin staff will be requested by the doctor to contact patients and give feedback as per the doctor’s instruction. As someone who works in the NHS you will be aware that there is a lack of funding and resources and we have to utilise the whole practice team to enable us to be able to treat and care for as many patients as we possibly can. I hope I have been able to address some of the issues you have raised. If you would like me to investigate further I would be happy to do this for you but I would need to have your details as this post is anonymous. Kind regards Alison Cooper Manager
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Review titled Impolite Receptionist
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 29 September 2022
Phoned to ask to book an appointment, barely said 2 sentences before the receptionist started repeating "pharmacy first" at me. Not sure how a receptionist can refuse an appointment or be giving medical advice to patients without attempting in anyway to get a medical history from the patient. When you feel ill and helpless the last thing you want is to be made to feel like an inconvenience and to feel like there is noone there to listen to you.
Visited September 2022
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 07 October 2022
I am sorry to hear this and would be happy to review and listen to the telephone conversation as all our calls are recorded. Please contact the practice to give your details to enable us to investigate your concerns and respond directly. NHS England has asked practices to refer patients to pharmacies for certain treatment and care and I am sorry if a member of our team did not take the time to listen to your needs before directing you to contact them. Kind regards Alison Cooper Manager
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Review titled Excellent Care
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Andy Cooke - Posted on 27 August 2022
Discharged from hospital after operation, the surgery arranged an appointment for my dressings to be changed the next day. Further visits booked for exactly the right times for my ongoing treatment. All the staff on the healthcare and nursing teams were kind and supportive as was the Doctor who reviewed my progress . Could not have asked for better treatment.
Visited August 2022
Review titled Abington Medical Centre
Replied on 30 August 2022
Dear Andy Thank you so much for taking the time to give your feedback regarding your treatment and care from our team, we really appreciate it. I have shared this with everyone in the practice, your praise means a lot to us. Kind regards Alison Cooper Manager