Brookside Group Practice
Brookside Surgery, Brookside Close, Gipsy Lane, Earley, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 7HGContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Great Practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 22 December 2022
In a time where the NHS and GP surgeries are under a great amount of stress and criticism, I feel it’s only right to recognise when a service does excellent care. I saw a practice nurse yesterday for, what should have been, a straightforward medication appointment. I discuss the issues I was having as I was unsure if it was normal. The nurse was kind and went to ask a GP associate for some advice, who then promptly saw me during the same appointment. I then saw another GP who gave me some more advice and treatment. As a NHS worker myself I appreciate how precious time is and I didn’t want to take up a lot of theirs. I never felt rushed and felt very reassured when I left. I’ve never had a problem with the surgery and feel they do give some of the best care in the area.
Visited December 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 23 December 2022
Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We really appreciate your comments and will pass it on to the Practice Team. Kind regards, Brookside Group Practice
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Review titled Fantastic practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Abby - Posted on 09 November 2022
No praise will be enough for the work you do and i hope this little bit of feedback helps -i have had to come in a couple of times over the last few months to this practice and every time the service has been superb. More recently my son came to see the practice nurses and they were brilliant with him They really took their time making sure he felt safe and gaining a connection with him. i have been with this practice since i was born, it has undergone many changes but what has remained constant is the level of care and quick action when required. i feel so lucky to be apart of this practice and would like to thank all the team , doctors , nurses and other clinicians and non clinical staff. You all do a fantastic job in quite often challenging circumstances. A big thanks once again.
Visited November 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 10 November 2022
Dear Abby Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us such great feedback about your experience at the Practice. We really appreciate your comments and will pass them on to all the staff. Kind regards BGP
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Review titled Unnecessary text messaging & lack of response
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 30 November 2022
Received a patronising text message basically asking me not to contact the surgery if I have a if I have a viral infection. I would never seek an unwarranted appointment and am lucky be in the position of being a light user of GP services. I am aware the surgery is under great pressure but feel they are trying to discourage people who may be genuinely ill from seeing health care they need which is not acceptable. I also had a message about withdrawing access to my childs digital records once they turned 11. Called the surgery who said it was nothing to do with them. The communication had the surgery name on it I confirmed this to them. Said they would call me back no follow up ever came with advice on what to do & it is more than a month later. I know this is not an urgent matter but if you send emails at least be able to follow up on them. Not great service.
Visited November 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 02 December 2022
Dear Patient We are sorry you found the recent text message regarding viral illness patronising. It is great to hear you would never seek an unwarranted appointment however many people do contact the surgery with coughs & colds without first taking over the counter medication or giving their body time to get better. Unless there is an underlying condition, there often isn’t anything the clinicians can do to speed recovery as these illness should not be treated with antibiotics. We wanted to encourage patients to consider this as there are a lot of respiratory illnesses in circulation at the moment. We are sorry you haven’t received feedback about your child’s medical records. As your feedback is anonymous we can’t look into this for you but if you contact us directly we can follow it up with you. We can confirm that when children turn 11yrs our clinical system automatically sends out an email to inform the parents who have signed up for proxy access that they cannot continue to see the child’s records but are able to continue to book appointments for them. At the age of 16yrs these features are removed. This is standard NHS policy to protect the confidentiality of young people although we are aware that for many parents this is frustrating. Do contact us directly if you would like to discuss this further. Thank you. The Team at BGP
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Review titled Appointment and call service
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Michelle Procter - Posted on 16 November 2022
So I was recently referred for a 2 week wait after experiencing some very nasty effects which I thought could be menopause related turns out ca125 was raised so haf a 2 week referral the hospital treatment I received was amazing. I was advised by the specialist to go back to the doctors to receive an urgent appointment for removal of the coil and replacement, well after 3 calls and 2 hours on hold over 3 days I have finally been told they would have no appointments available till February which goes agains what the specialist has advised. I have no idea what has changed with this surgery's phone/ booking system but it's seriously disappointing you get through to receptionist who can't book as needs to be past to the bookings team who then book you for an appointment you can't make even though you advised the Receptionist morning appointment would be better clearly a big lack of communication.
Visited November 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 07 December 2022
Dear Michelle, We understand that you have now been in touch with us and have consulted a clinician and that you are happy to be followed up at your next appointment which you have already booked. We are glad you are feeling better and thank you for your kind comments on the phone earlier today. Coil removals and insertions are a specialist skill and not all clinicians are able to provide this service to patients. We have to balance this specialist service alongside urgent and routine patient care as the coil and implant appointments need an extended amount of time. You will be pleased to know there is a now a call back facility in the queuing system which means you don’t have to hold but we will can return your call when you get to the front of the queue. We hope this helps you understand the care we have provided for you. The Team BGP 18th November 2022
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Review titled Absence of useful service
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 October 2022
I have received a message about needing a flu shot and a follow up complaining that I still have not had one. The message claims that they have a website that allows booking online but does not specify the Url. Searching the web it is possible to find a Url which offers a button to book an appointment, but clicking that leads to a text box explaining that most likely I should select an eConsult, but for some special things use the NHS app. Obviously I don’t need a consultation for a flu shot, but flu shots are not listed as a reason to use the NHS app. This means a phone call whereupon you have to wait for several minutes of explanations of why you should not waste your GP’s time by trying yo phone them, But if you are persistent you can get to an announcement that you are between 7th and 10th in the queue, and since they don’t have many people answering calls (I'm assuming at least one but it’s hard to be sure) this is an all day effort and most people can’t waste all day. This practice is utterly useless and I wonder how much of our NHS money is being wasted on a non-functional GP surgery ?
Visited October 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 21 October 2022
Dear patient We apologise for any confusion that the text message has caused. You are correct there is no online link that enables you to book into the Flu clinic. However you are able to book yourself into our Flu clinics directly by using the Patient Access App or the NHS App. If you haven’t been able to book an appointment for your flu vaccination please contact us via our Contact the Practice | Brookside Group Practice with your details and we will help you book your flu appointment. We have reviewed and re-worded our text message going forward to reduce any future misunderstanding. The team at BGP
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Review titled Online service never good to use
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 28 September 2022
Hi I’ve contacted the practice 4 times this week about the nhs app not working and with out it I can’t order my medications and no one phoned.
Visited September 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 29 September 2022
Dear Patient, We are sorry that your NHSapp is not working. As this software is not managed by the practice we are not able to advise you why this is happening for you. We have checked NHSapp is currently working for other users. Please ensure you are searching for the practice by the correct post code RG6 7HG as there are several surgeries with a similar name. Alternatively you can navigate to our website www.brooksidegrouppractice.co.uk From the home page, for any queries that do not require medical triage, you can navigate to "Ask the Practice a question" "Ask Reception a question" "Ask Pharmacist a question" forms to let us know about your query. If your medication is no longer on repeat and you require a review, you can call the practice on 0118 966 9333 and speak to our Patient Services Team to book a medication review with a Practice Pharmacist. If your medication is available for repeat re-order, you can submit a request for repeat prescription here https://www.brooksidegrouppractice.co.uk/navigator/request-a-repeat-prescription/ If you require medical help or advice about a condition you are currently suffering from, from our website home page please click the red box marked "eConsult" and go through the form. Your eConsult will be triaged and we will get back to you by the end of the next working day. eConsult does not require a log-in. Kind regards, Brookside Group Practice
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Review titled Concerning Telephone Reception at the Practice
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Xerxes - Posted on 17 August 2022
This concerns my recent experiences. Obtaining a response when phoning for an appointment can take a very long time and, in my opinion, it doesn't need to. Recently I phoned and was told "you are number 3 in the queue". That part is good and is useful information. I then held on for 20 minutes to be told I am number 3 in the queue. Then within another 2 minutes I was answered. This indicates that the person on the line was not simply booking an appointment and then two more people had their appointment requests handled in one minute each. So my suggestion is --- if someone needs an extended conversation about something before the appointment can be booked they should be moved to another extension for that conversation, thereby freeing the line for other patient bookings to be handled. I am aware there are other extensions because when first dialling one is offered several options before being offered the appointments extension. Changing the procedure in the way suggested could help provide a much better service for all. Regards.
Visited August 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 18 August 2022
Dear Xerxes, Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your recent experience of contacting our service and for the suggestions for improvement. We apologise for the delay in answering your call. Unfortunately not all requests and enquiries we have coming in are straightforward. To make it easier for patients who have a question or query, we have “ask a question” option on our website. Those patients who use NHS app are able to book appointments and order prescriptions without having to call us on the telephone. In addition, those calling us on the telephone have different options to press for appointments, general enquiries, referral information. To help us manage demand for appointments and to be able to triage the requests, we ask that patients fill in an eConsult form online so we can contact them to offer an appropriate appointment and advice. Please be reassured that we are doing all we can to answer the calls and to manage enquiries as efficiently as possible. Kind regards, Brookside Group Practice.
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Review titled Reception staff are not helpful / not human :-)
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 04 August 2022
I had a vaccine appointment at brookside surgery and by mistake, I thought it was at Chalfont and visited Chalfont instead of Brookside and very fast drive back to brookside after realising the mistake ..a few minutes late.. the look I got from reception staff was as if I have done a crime. And rejected straight away saying you are too late and me apologising for my mistake, no appointments for this month.. - felt horrible, and still wonder why they are so unhelpful consistently. They give me Groveland’s Medical centre number as brookside don't have any appointments.. funny.., I called Groveland’s Medical centre – and reception @Grovelands say my GP practice (brookside reception) has given wrong information, they don’t give vaccination for other GP practice patients – it seams.. Me in limbo.. this is not the first time I’m going through the issue of this basic appointment.. sounded like this surgery is only good for people who are super fit and don’t need any appointments, (I’m asking myself – do we need such GP practice in our area at all?) all chairs are always empty.. does anybody visit anymore this surgery…?
Visited August 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 05 August 2022
We were disappointed to hear about your negative experience at the Practice. We do understand that this was frustrating for you and are sorry for the inconvenience it caused you. As a general rule, if a patient is more than 10 minutes late for their booked routine appointment/vaccine appointment then the clinician will usually ask the patient to re book as it is unfair to delay others who have also booked a face to face or telephone appointment. If a patient was acutely unwell then we would respond to their need, unfortunately we are unable to do this for routine vaccine appointments. We can confirm that the Masta Clinic at Grovelands provide a private travel vaccination service. We hope you have been able to source an appointment. If you need more information about this service or would like to discuss your concerns further, please do contact the Practice; you have not left your contact details so we are unable to respond to you personally. The team at BGP
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Review titled Impossible to communicate with
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 August 2022
This surgery does everything in its power to make communication almost impossible. As an example they send out text messages which you cannot reply to to ask questions about. The text messages contain acronyms which I do not understand. The instructions on the latest text message are not in line with anything I was expecting yet I was asked to click on a hyperlink I do not recognise. To query the latest text message I phoned reception, in line with the 'making communication impossible' strategy I had to hold for 28 minutes. The receptionist had no idea why I was asked by text to provide blood pressure readings twice a day for a week (despite not having a blood pressure monitor) but suggested I ask the nurse when I was next giving a blood sample. The nurse didn't know and was very obviously frustrated to be asked, telling me she only gets five minutes per appointment (she was already running ten minutes late at 7.20am so it wasn't looking good for the rest of the day). She begrudgingly checked my notes and yelled out the door at a nurse, wanting to know why the nurse had sent me the text request. This nurse didn't know why she had sent the request other than she was instructed to send the same request to a long list of people by one of the doctors (not my doctor). The text message was not signed. The nurse instructed me to ignore the text. This surgery has become so difficult to communicate with I avoid any contact. I have outstanding concerns about my health but the frustration of having to deal with desperately unrefined automated systems or holding on the phone for ever just to be told that no doctor is prepared to meet me means I'd rather just live with my ailments and hope they are not symptoms of something serious. I only wish this surgery sent out some form of regular feedback form to their patients, I can't find anyone in the area that isn't incredibly frustrated at how much the service has gone downhill.
Visited August 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 25 August 2022
We are sorry to hear that you found the text message we send to patients regarding their blood pressure monitoring unclear. We will review it and endeavour to make it clearer and ensure the nursing team are aware of the reason for the requests for blood pressure monitoring. If you would like to contact us with your details regarding your concerns we can look into it further for you. You can use the following form on our website: https://www.brooksidegrouppractice.co.uk/navigator/contact-the-practice/
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Review titled E-consult and more
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Danny - Posted on 21 July 2022
The e- consult way of booking appointments is far better than calling and getting through to the call centre, I have used it on 4/5 occasions, it is a quick and efficient process and I always use this method now. Had an appointment today early afternoon and the doctor had another slot available later to perform some minor surgery which saved waiting. Great service and the reception staff are always friendly and helpful.
Visited July 2022
Review titled Brookside Group Practice
Replied on 22 July 2022
Dear Danny, Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We really appreciate this and will pass it on to the practice team. Kind regards, Brookside Group Practice