Arthur Medical Centre
Main Street, Horsley Woodhouse, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 6AXContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Inconsistent Booking System
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Elaine Tissington - Posted on 27 August 2024
After 45 minutes on the phone at 7.45am this morning I finally booked an appointment for 3pm the afternoon. At 1.44pm I received a text message to say that my appointment "this morning" had been cancelled and someone would contact me to rearrange. I assumed that the appointment would be transferred to tomorrow since none of tomorrows appointments can be booked before 8am so I phoned the surgery to confirm that the 3pm appointment was cancelled and to arrange an appointment for tomorrow. I was told that the surgery was trying to get a locum in for Friday to rearrange the cancelled appointments for then, which seems a long time to wait when there will be available appointments on Wednesday and Thursday. I asked why the appointments could not be transferred to tomorrow and was told that the appointments for tomorrow cannot be filled today. Why? surely the fair thing to do would be to book the patients who had been cancelled into the first appointments the following day. I appreciate that problems can arise from staff sickness but it is the way these problems are handled that matters and merely cancelling appointments without the prospect of rebooking them is unkind and unfair.
Visited August 2024
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 27 August 2024
Dear Mrs Tissington, Thank you for sharing your thoughts, however we are of course disappointed that you were unhappy with our service. As you mention, absence causes a number of problems. The practice staff had asked the affected patients to bear with us, whilst we tried to get further availability. Ultimately a number of patients, including yourself, were booked later the same day, as fortunately we were able to add further available GP slots at very short notice. I have reached out to the remaining patients affected by the cancellations and have ensured all are now rebooked into other GP appointments within the next 48hrs. Kind regards Azeem Climie
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Review titled Appalling telephone system
by Anonymous - Posted on 31 May 2024
I tired calling at 8am for an appointment, continued engaged tone till 8.15 and my phone logged 209 tries calling. Finally got through to a queue and as I got to number 1 in the queue the line went dead! I've given up now. This isn't the first time this has happened. Looking at changing now as my husbands surgery has a much better system and he has no issues booking an appointment.
Visited May 2024
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 03 June 2024
Thank you for leaving a review, however of course we are disappointed to learn that you feel you have received a poor service from the practice. We have recently written open letters to our patients, following feedback received relating to accessibility. These open letters address some of the concerns that you have expressed and therefore I would direct you to these for further reference and detail. These can be viewed at https://www.arthurmedicalcentre.co.uk/website/T12345/files/AMC%20Open%20Letter%201st%20March%202024.pdf. We have also hosted our recent open patient meeting on this subject, on Friday 12th April 2024 on the subject of accessibility and appointment systems. The recording of the meeting can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8II5wOi-jYU or by following the link from the homepage of our website, www.arthurmedicalcentre.co.uk. Like all GP surgeries across England, we are experiencing an increased level of demand which inevitably means that our phone lines are very busy at peak times. Patients may contact the practice at less busy points in the day or alternatively can also contact us via Online Consultation or NHS Online Services to request an exception to the normal route of booking appointments if they have an appropriate need. However, I acknowledge the frustration you feel has been caused in accessing the practice by telephone. I am pleased to advise that we are currently in the process of installing a new telephony solution that will improve our patient access and we hope we are able to share more specific details with our patients in the near future. Patients may also contact NHS 111 for help with their problem. NHS 111 is a service provided by the NHS to help patients get the right advice and treatment when they urgently need it. In general terms, NHS 111 can book patients in to be seen at their local A&E / emergency department or an urgent treatment centre, emergency dental services, pharmacy or another more appropriate local service, as well as send an ambulance should the patient’s condition be serious. NHS111 can also book a patient an appointment with their GP if it is appropriate.
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Review titled Very helpful nurse
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 30 April 2024
I've had 2 appointments with nurse L recently and on both occasions she has been beyond helpful, followed up when she said she would and booked follow up appointments I needed.
Visited April 2024
Arthur Medical Centre has not yet replied.
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Review titled Atrocious doctors surgery
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Robert Burr - Posted on 05 April 2024
Amazingly useless practice tried to ring for an appointment today 5/4/24 to be told all appointments are gone for the month a true pantomime as then the receptionist said I could always go private
Visited April 2024
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 08 April 2024
Dear Mr Burr. Thank you for your review. The practice has operated an 'on the day' appointment system since November 2023. Subsequently we release appointments on a daily basis, which means that when we are full, you are able to call to request an appointment the following day. As I hope you will understand, any GP surgery is only able offer a certain number of appointments per day before they are fully booked. When we are fully booked for the day and unable to offer additional appointments, we also refer patients to NHS 111, as many practices in England do. NHS 111 is a service provided by the NHS to help patients get the right advice and treatment when they urgently need it. In general terms, NHS 111 can book patients in to be seen at their local A&E / emergency department or an urgent treatment centre, emergency dental services, pharmacy or another more appropriate local service, as well as send an ambulance should the patient’s condition be serious or life-threatening. NHS 111 can also add patients to our GP diary if they feel that this is appropriate. Please do contact our Care Navigation Team in Reception to request an appointment.
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Review titled Awful service
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 February 2024
Went to Gp practice yesterday following having chemotherapy at hospital , to get an appt to see a Gp which I had been advised to do by the hospital as they were unable to prescribe the medication I needed . I explained the situation to the two receptionist who had no empathy for my situation and I was told to ring 111 even though I had just come from the hospital . I have been having cancer treatments for 7 months and never once asked anything of the Drs practice and the one time I do I’m turned away , the receptionist wouldn’t even see if a Dr would see me for 5 mins at end of day or pop out to see me . The waiting room had 2 people in it , so not over run with patients . After the disappointing experience at the Drs , I called into the next door pharmacy and even though they were busy the pharmacist found time to come and speak to me and suggested some tablets that I could purchase which might help the situation , he showed empathy to what I was going through . It’s a shame the Drs couldn’t show the same level of care and empathy as the pharmacist !!
Visited February 2024
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 16 February 2024
Dear Patient, Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere, personal apologies for any frustration or concern that you feel has been caused by this matter. Arthur Medical Centre strives to provide an exceptional level of care and it is of great concern if a patient feels that they have received less than this. I would be keen to discuss this with you to resolve any outstanding matters and ensure you are safe from a clinical point of view, however as your review is posted anonymously, I am unable to look further into the specifics of your concerns and can only comment in general terms. In general, if a hospital department feels a patient requires medication, they will prescribe this themselves and upon discharge, the practice will normally received a discharge summary which will include details of medicines. It is very possible that the practice had not received communications from the hospital at the time of your visit and a prescriber therefore would be unlikely to issue medication until this was received. In terms of appointments and the practice being busy, we have provided 4,405 appointments to patients in the last calendar month. Almost 2,500 of these were GP appointments, which is an average of 113 per working day. We operate an appointment system which means that you would need to book an appointment rather than being seen on demand. Whilst the practice does experience a high level of patient demand, it is possible that you visited the practice at a time when the clinical staff are engaged in administration, home visits or other activities which happen at points in the day. Again without specific information it is hard for me to comment properly. If you would like to discuss your concerns, please contact the practice on 01332880249 and ask for the Practice Manager, Azeem Climie, to contact you.
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Review titled Appointment system
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 23 January 2024
There is a serious problem with the appointment system at this practice. After receiving a text message from the doctor to book an appointment following a medical issue you are told to ring at 8am for a on the day appointment. This is impossible as when you start calling the surgery at 8am, it is continually engaged until late morning/lunchtime. Fine if you are not at work and have nothing else to do with your day. When you do get to speak to someone after sitting in a queue you are then told that all the appointments are gone for that day so ring back tomorrow. It’s a joke. When you go to the surgery the waiting room never seems to have more than 4 people in. The staff in the pharmacy are very helpful and obliging. Hospital clinics are full when you go but it seems that the covid rules are still carrying on here even if all other NHS services are back to speed.
Visited January 2024
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 23 January 2024
Dear Patient. Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere, personal apologies for the frustration you feel has been caused by this matter. Arthur Medical Centre strives to provide an exceptional level of care and it is of great concern if a patient feels that they have received less than this. Since the start of November, the practice has operated an 'On-the-day' format of appointments to respond to the predictable increase in patient need for urgent appointments over the winter period. This was communicated out to patients at the start of the period and we are currently reviewing the system to make improvements based on the needs of the majority of patients. We are also currently considering telephony solutions that will improve our patient access and we hope that updates will follow on this in the near future. For clarity, Arthur Medical Centre has continually reviewed our systems and services since the start of the pandemic to allow us to serve the majority of patients within our capacity. I can confirm that we have not been operating any restrictions based on the Covid-19 pandemic for some time. The Practice has provided over 2,900 appointments over the three weeks since the start of January 2024 across our clinical teams. With regard to GP appointments in particular, patients are usually given the choice of a telephone call or a face-to-face appointment and on average the rates of face-to-face are typically around 50%. Like all GP practices, Arthur Medical Centre has been experiencing an increased level of patient demand for our services. Inevitably, the practice is only able to offer so many appointments in one day, within safe working limits and patients are therefore referred to another appropriate route, such as NHS111, when our appointments are full for the day. NHS 111 staff are able to assess patient needs and direct them to the best help for their problem. I hope that this goes some way to responding to you review. In the event that you are unhappy with the services offered by the practice, you can ask to speak to the practice manager or alternatively, submit a formal complaint via the practice's established complaints process.
To report this as unsuitable, please contact the service desk
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Review titled Disgusted
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Robert P Burr - Posted on 15 November 2023
How can a doctors surgery refuse medication due to needing a review, and yet when trying to get a review and ringing 195 times to be told ring at 8am. This surgery is a joke alot of the medication needed is medication that has been taken for years and is highly dangerous to stop. Nobody can email complaints as the website say contact the practice manager by phone or letter. He's never available by phone surprise surprise and who sends letters nowadays. This practice needs to move into the 21st century and not stay in the 80s. It could also do with staff and management that's approachable.
Visited November 2023
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 07 December 2023
Dear Patient. Thank you for highlighting your concerns. I apologise for the time taken to respond to your review. We were unable to administer the feedback tool due to an IT problem which has now been resolved. We have already spoken in November 2023 and resolved your concerns in terms of medication and appointments. We also clarified that the Practice Manager has arrangements in place to ensure patients can access him, and that your comments in your review referred to the manager of the adjacent pharmacy. Please do not hesitate to contact the practice directly if you need further support
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Review titled Some services are inaccessible
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 16 October 2023
This practice isn't helpful for disabled people who can't get to have a simple blood test they told me that they don't have the funding for their trained nurses to be able to arrange to take blood for a patient in their own surgery. I am a disabled non-drive who can’t otherwise access the blood test services due to nowhere near enough for me to get to and the Swiftqueue service being unreliable and broken. The receptionist was very rude about it and didn’t fully listen to my issues. I have the rare good day where I could travel to a clinic, although the nearest clinic is less than 3 mile away it is a 40 minuet bus ride and the bus service is only every two hours this is not good for someone with a chronic pain condition, chronic fatigue and anxiety so even if I were to feel well enough to travel it would make me ill trying to get to the clinic as I could be stuck in the area for a long time. My health changes rapidly on a daily basis, so even if I booked transport to go to a clinic further afield I might not be able to get to the clinic and with there being a wait list of a month on the Swiftqueue service for all clinics within a 15 mile radius it makes it much harder to get to and keep an appointment. I feel the receptionist was very rude and has no understanding of how disabilities like mine affect people’s ability to access services such as a simple blood test, she was unwilling to find a solution my anxiety about my health as increased. I have told her to tear the blood test form up because if the surgery can’t make a provision for patients in my position, then I won’t be able to access a blood test ever, so there is just no point. Nort to mention I am terrified of needs, the thought of a blood test increases my anxiety as does the thought of how I am meant to access one I am comfortable with the staff at the surgery taking blood but due to availability at clinics I may have to deal with complete strangers each time I have a blood test. I have more anxiety about blood tests because of this surgery.
Visited October 2023
Review titled Arthur Medical Centre
Replied on 16 November 2023
Dear patient. Firstly I hope you will accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your review and thank you for sharing your concerns. As you mention, the phlebotomy service is not commissioned directly with our practice. The service is operated by University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) and was hosted at Arthur Medical Centre up until the pandemic, when the service was scaled back by the provider. After the pandemic, the service was withdrawn from the practice by UHDB and operated from local hubs, as you mention in your review. Following the withdrawal of the phlebotomy service from the practice, this was discussed with our Patient Participation Group (PPG) due to the concern about accessibility and the lack of availability of public transport. The Chair of our PPG wrote to the Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board to advocate the reinstatement of phlebotomy in the practice due to the difficulties faced by some of our patients in accessing this vital service and the practice supported this effort as we shared the same concerns. Our PPG Chair was successful in his effort as the Integrated Care Board agreed to provide funding to Arthur Medical Centre to provide staff resource to run a phlebotomy service on a fixed term basis that would later be reviewed. Arthur Medical Centre then trained two members of staff who ran this service until June 2023, when the funding was ended by the Integrated Care Board and we were advised that the service would have to revert back to the local hubs. The service also operates a telephone service to support patients who have difficulties with Swiftqueue. With the practice's support, the Chair of our PPG subsequently raised concerns once again to the Integrated Care Board as the difficulties with access remain unchanged. This has been escalated to a senior level with the Integrated Care Board and UHDB for consideration and we await a response with further information. We hope that this service is reinstated or that another solution is found. Unfortunately in the meantime, we do not run a phlebotomy service from the practice as we are not commissioned to do so. We are unable to identify you from your feedback, however if you have concerns relating to this problem that you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact the Practice Business Manager. You can do so either by contacting our Reception on 01332880249 or report a problem via the online webform on our website at https://www.arthurmedicalcentre.co.uk/contact_dlg1.aspx?p=T12345 Kind regards Arthur Medical Centre
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Review titled Helpful
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Georgina - Posted on 30 October 2023
A surgery that endeavours to help. Whether it is myself or my family I have always been seen when necessary and directed to help if they can’t facilitate relevant treatment or care. It is evident that this surgery is doing their best in a difficult climate.
Visited October 2023
Arthur Medical Centre has not yet replied.
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Review titled A massive thank you
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Kayleigh barker - Posted on 20 September 2023
From the moment I saw my practitioner/nurse regarding my mental health I felt supported and listened to and was offered great advice/help and sign posting, this same lady has seen me continually over the last few months. To have that consistency and such great support has really helped me and I am so grateful, thank you.
Visited September 2023
Arthur Medical Centre has not yet replied.