Harborne Medical Practice
4 York Street, Harborne, Birmingham, West Midlands, B17 0HGContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Flawed appointment booking process
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Wayne - Posted on 22 April 2025
This is a review of the appointment process in the surgery and not of the GPs or staff. Where I appreciate the need to have a process in place for booking appointments, I genuinely can’t understand the management of the booking process, particularly for the 5 card appointments you can book directly in the surgery with the receptionist. It is in my opinion that this is poorly organised and causes unnecessary anxiety to both staff and patients alike. The process as I understand it is the receptionist can only book 5 appointments in the surgery, beyond that you have to book either on the NHS app or call the surgery at the allotted times. This part makes sense to me, what doesn’t make sense is the organisation for the process. For example, I walking in today at 13:10 to book an appointment as I’ve had no luck getting an appointment over the phone or online. On arrival I was instructed, as on a previous occasion, that i can wait to try and secure 1 of 5 appointment cards available for when the appointment window opens up. At the time I walked into the surgery there was only two other ladies sat in the practice waiting, me being the third person to walk in. Previous experience told me to stay standing in the queue line to secure my place as the arguments from frustrated patients last time was unpleasant to observe. Unfortunately, this was not ideal for me having to stand for nearly 45 minutes as my current health concern is related to a painful joint condition. However, what genuinely confuses me is that every person walking in for an appointment is simply told the same thing regardless of how many people that are now waiting! This is what is creating the frustration amongst patients. No one would be happy after waiting up to 45 minutes to secure an appointment to then be told all 5 card appointments have gone to the first five people. It’s honestly not that there are only 5 appointment cards available that’s the problem here, it’s the fact it’s left to the patients to debate it out after finding out they wasting their time waiting. My advice to avoid this is to simply manage the patience expectation on arrival by handing out the cards to the first five people through the door (first come first serve basis) with all later patients being told to use the app or call the surgery at the allotted booking times. Second to that, I would strongly recommend that a manager or supervisor take the opportunity to sit in the waiting area to observe the current process to try and understand how flawed this process is and to then make positive changes to alleviate any unnecessary stress for all concerned during the busy booking windows. On a side note, I gratefully was able to secure an appointment with the GP today.
Visited April 2025
Harborne Medical Practice has not yet replied.
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Review titled Worst practice
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 25 March 2025
I am a consultant in the nhs for 21 years and well aware of the horror stories related to gp practices these days. Inspite of my very busy schedule, I managed to take some time out and go to the surgery physically to collect a letter long waiting to be collected. I was overdue for my diabetes test (of course no one bothered to remind me) and since I have other medical conditions which require regular blood monitoring, I wanted to book all the blood tests at the reception when I was informed that I would need to call back the gp at 2 pm I for these blood tests or explain this to the lady who would call me back to book my diabetes blood test. I phoned gp surgery at 13:55 today. I was 6th on the queue. At 13:59 I moved up to 3rd in the queue. Sharp at 14:00 the line got disconnected from their side - ?that’s how they are reducing the queue? I phoned back immediately, this time 12th on the queue. I did not wait long till the call was picked up and before I could say anything, the lady at the other end (the same lady who was due to call me back at some point tomorrow) said if the call was to book telephone consultation with the gp, all appointments have gone for today. She was prompt in offering the email address of the surgery, where I could complain when I expressed my discontent. I explained her everything and informed all what I wanted was to have all my blood tests together along with my diabetic blood test. She said she would talk to her supervisor and get back in touch with me regarding the blood tests. She did keep her promise and informed that her supervisor (Team Manager) had said that the rest of the blood tests were not due till August and hence I can only have my diabetic blood test. I live both in Birmingham and London and have a very busy private practice in both cities plus work in nhs in Birmingham. I explained to her that I would only live in Birmingham for the next 3 weeks and would have some availabilities over these weeks. It would not be possible for me to come back in August to have the rest of the blood tests because of my circumstances. I wanted to speak to this Team Manager, practice manager and literally begged to fit me in for a telephone consultation with the gp just to have my blood tests sanctioned. She could not help me with my request as team manager was in a meeting, practice manager was not in and gp did not have any slots left for no fault of mine. She could only advise me to call back the following day at 8 am when my own clinics start at 9 am. I know gp surgery these days have become appalling. However my previous experience with this surgery had not been particularly bad especially with the gp but it was totally unacceptable the way my personal circumstances were not taken into account by the team manager. From the unfazed attitude of the lady at the sound of my intended complaint, it was obvious that complaints go unanswered and are not worth anybody’s efforts. Will wait to hear back to prove myself wrong
Visited March 2025
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 10 April 2025
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding the care you experienced at our practice. I am sorry on this occasion this did not meet your expectations as it is never our intention to cause upset to our patients, their families or carers. You have raised several issues relating to patient care and it is difficult to comment on these in detail on a platform which is in the public domain and in absence of the full facts. I wish to reassure you that we take patient care seriously and endeavour to reach out to patients to remind them of their appointments. I am sorry if you feel we did not do this on this occasion. Regarding the phone disconnecting, our systems allow for patients to request a call back, however it may be that the phone system was at capacity at this busy time and we were unable to offer this facility. If we have the dates in question, we can look in to your query further and I am sorry if your call was unintentionally disconnected and recognise the frustration this may cause. We have increased our call capacity recently and am confident this will bring about improvements. I am unsure whether you wished our staff member to provide our complaints email address and apologise if you did not want this information. I am reassured to know our staff member followed up on their promise to discuss your query with a manager as per your request. In relation to providing blood tests or any other clinical intervention, this would be provided with the highest regard for patient safety when the intervention is actually due to take place / clinically necessary and it is likely this is the reason the test did not happen. Our management staff are not clinically trained and would be unable to sanction a clinical intervention being provided sooner than this was due to take place. I am sorry if we were unable to provide these tests in keeping with your schedule. We are always happy to meet with patients to discuss their feedback and would welcome the opportunity to do so here. Please contact the practice if you would like to arrange this and we can discuss this further. I will share your comments with our staff team and thank you once again for these. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Great service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Kathryn Barnes - Posted on 24 March 2025
I have been very impressed with this practice so far. I registered in the autumn and was able to request a repeat prescription from them soon after. I have had proactive health advice shared with me, and was called to book an asthma clinic appointment and able to book an appointment there and then. They have sent me reminders and staff have been very pleasant and helpful. The doctor was lovely. I would highly recommend this practice.
Visited March 2025
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 09 April 2025
Dear Kathryn Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding your experience at our practice. It is great to see that you are impressed with the care we provide, were able to access an appointment in a timely manner and found our reminder processes helpful. I will share your positive comments with the clinician you saw, along with our wider staff team and thank you once again for these. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Nice doctors
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 13 February 2025
My GP was really nice and considerate. I would definitely recommend her to all my family and friends.
Visited February 2025
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 09 April 2025
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding the care you experienced at our practice. It is great to see that you feel our staff are nice and considerate and you would recommend the GP to your family and friends. I will share your positive comments with our staff team and thank you once again for these. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Great Service- Asthma Clinic
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Jayne Eardley - Posted on 13 January 2025
My first consultation was excellent. Being new to the practice, the pharmacist listened to my history with great care while also explaining the current guidelines. Together we adjusted my medication accordingly so that I felt more confident and informed as to receiving the best combination of medications. Nothing was too much trouble and I’m so very grateful for the opportunity to be monitored going forward.
Visited January 2025
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 01 February 2025
Dear Jayne Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding the care you experienced at our practice. It is great to see that you felt listened to, were involved in making the adjustments to your medication and are assured by the approach of the pharmacist. I have shared your positive comments with the pharmacist and the wider practice team. Thank you once again for your review. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Terrible booking system
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 December 2024
I am very sorry if my review is not good. I believe the doctors working at the surgery provide a good service, for the few lucky persons able to get an appointment. Sadly, the appointment system is ridiculous, with no attempt to get it better (it is going worst). There are only two moments of the day to get appointment (in a window of less than one minute). Note that this system is not only for emergencies, but for basically any appointment (at least this what has been told me). It is impossible to use and discriminatory for who is not able to call or to connect at the required time, or do not have the flexibility to be ready for an appointment right away. There is no rational reason for this to be in place, the "huge levels of demand" is chronic, and there is no attempt to improve the situation (e.g. the clinic is still accepting new patients). It is not true that this is a national problem, other clinics has more acceptable booking system.
Visited December 2024
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 24 December 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding your experience of our practice. I am sorry on this occasion we did not meet your expectations, as it is never our intention to cause upset to our patients, their families or carers. I will attempt to address your queries on a point by point basis: You are correct in that GP appointments are released twice a day; this however does not preclude patients from continuing to call, look on line or come in to the surgery to see if appointments are available with GP’s and other allied health professionals. In terms of this being discriminatory, we do our best to offer equal access to our appointments via phone, website and in person and are sorry if you feel this is not the case. As is the experience of many other practices, we know we are not always able to meet patient demand. We however do our best to ensure patients who need to see a clinician are able to do so, and this includes signposting patients to NHS111. You state this is not a national issue, however feedback from patients, professionals and the media tell us the lack of GP appointments is very much a national issue and something which we are sure Government is keen to address. In the meantime, the practice is unable to stop accepting patients as this would effectively mean closing its’ list and this is not something we are contractually able to do currently, or would wish to do in any case. In terms of what we are doing to address the issues you raise, measures include the practice recruiting additional GP's alongside other clinical staff who are trained and competent to consult with patients. Additionally, our reception staff are also trained in Care Navigation, to help ensure that patients are directed to the best clinician to meet their needs. We are always happy to meet with patients to discuss their feedback and would be willing to do so here. Please contact the practice if you would like to arrange this and we can discuss this further. I will share your comments with our staff team and thank you once again for these. Best wishes Lilian Sayers
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Review titled Great practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Jean - Posted on 15 December 2024
I seen Dr twice because I forgot to asked questions about my condition, the first time and all the stuff was very helpful, nothing is too much trouble and will go out of there way to help you 😁
Visited December 2024
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 24 December 2024
Dear Jean Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding your experience at our practice. It is great to see that you feel our staff are helpful and you are clearly happy with the care we are providing. I will share your positive comments with our staff team and thank you once again for these. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Pharmacy consultation - excellent appoitnments
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Gareth Lewis - Posted on 11 November 2024
I have had multiple appointments with a pharmacist (for some reason I cannot include her name in this feedback???) wrt tapering down and stopping sertraline. She is very knowledgable and helpful - having regular F/u appointments over the course of 2 months has been very beneficial. It is often extremely difficult to get booked in to the practice in general, however this approach has been reliable and easy for me. She has been very supportive and I would recommend her/this approach to anyone else in a similar position.
Visited November 2024
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 05 December 2024
Dear Gareth Many thanks for taking the time to comment on your positive experience of receiving care from our practice. It is great to know you feel our Pharmacist is knowledgeable, helpful and supportive and you recommend their approach to providing care. We have shared your comments with our Pharmacist, who also wishes to thank you for these. We appreciate your feedback. Regards Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Terrible appointment system
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 18 July 2024
Arrived at 13:45 for an appointment having tried to get an appt for a lump that could be cancerous for at least 3 weeks. Given a number (number 8) and asked to take a seat. Then people holding cards and not holding cards queued up at 2pm and appointments given out chaotically with no attention being given to the card system. I joined to queue and by the time I got to the desk was given an appt for late afternoon. Useless appointment system.
Visited July 2024
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 05 August 2024
Dear patient Thank you for taking time to leave your feedback on the care you received from our practice. I am sorry we did not meet your expectations on this occasion. We introduced the number system in response to patient feedback and recognise this is not perfect but does seem to work on the whole. I have checked the CCTV for the date in question and it seems that the majority of patients wanting an appointment were given one and I am glad to know you were seen the same day. We encourage patients to book on line where possible and not turn up at the surgery but do recognise not all patients are able to do this. Following on from your feedback we give out a defined number of cards and patients are advised to then use the online booking system. I have shared your feedback with our reception team and other related staff. Thank you once again for your comments. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager
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Review titled Bad practice
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 July 2024
Received results from gum as well as a text msg from one of the gos from the Surgery for same health condition. Attended a gP appointment and was seen by another gp who wasn’t keen on helping me with the health challenges I presented to him as he was bold enough to tell me that i should be there to be seen for cholesterol tests results regardless of me being seen twice by 2 Drs for same within a short period of time. Does it mean that patients are not allowed/expected to present any other health issues besides what they are known to be suffering from? Was disappointed and I hope i will never go to the surgery and meet him again as he definitely failed me. I know we have shortage of gps but if you still want to work for NHS please deliver care accordingly otherwise you will be reported
Visited June 2024
Review titled Harborne Medical Practice
Replied on 05 August 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on the care you received from our practice. I am sorry we did not meet your expectations on this occasion. Without knowing your circumstances in full, it is difficult to comment specifically. What I can say is a clinician would ordinarily arrange an appointment following test results or to care for chronic health conditions and I feel it would have been for these reasons the GP asked to see you and was anticipating providing care for. Where we have patients requesting an appointment, staff will ask the reason for the appointment and would of course provide care for the condition presented. Where there is more than one condition, patients are advised to make a double appointment and I can only assume this was a single appointment. I am not clear from your feedback whether you were able to discuss your health condition and not just that which the GP originally wanted to see you about; in an ideal world we would have wanted you to have the opportunity to do both and there would have been reasons why this did not happen, if that is the case. I am happy to discuss this further with you, should you wish to get in touch and provide more detail and we share the detail of patient feedback across the practice where relevant. Thank you once again for your feedback. Best wishes Lilian Sayers Business Manager