Idle Medical Centre
440 Highfield Road, Idle, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD10 8RUContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Frustrated with service
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Belinda - Posted on 14 February 2025
I have a chest infection and was told to ring back for a face to face appointment as I was diagnosed over the phone. Rang today was told by the receptionist that I need to finish my medication before ringing for an appointment but it says on my notes to ring before this time. Told too late at 10.30 am to have a phone appointment let alone a face to face and even though the surgery is open to ring 111 or wait until Monday at 8.30. Wasn't asked my name. My notes were not checked by the receptionist and she made the medical call. This used to be a great surgery but is going down in my estimation unfortunately
Visited February 2025
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 18 February 2025
Dear Belinda, Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry you feel that you did not get the service you required. I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you to discuss the issues you have raised. I can clarify that the Receptionist would not need to have asked your name as our new phone system automatically brings up your medical record and details based on your phone number. Unfortunately, we have a finite capacity of available appointments on any one day. It is quite likely that by 10.30 in the morning we will have taken over 200 phone calls and there will be nothing left for that day. The options you were given are the only ones available to us. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss further. Kind regards, Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Good Experience
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Grahame - Posted on 18 July 2024
Attended the surgery recently with a knee problem doctor gave me a form to attend Eccleshill Drop in X-Ray centre which I did the following day and also made a Phisio appointment for me which I attended 6 days later the Phisio had the X-Ray results and we agreed a course of action all in all a thoroughly professional and very efficiently carried out experience
Visited July 2024
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 18 July 2024
Dear Grahame, Thank you for your feedback. I am glad that this process went smoothly for you. Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Frustrating Practice
by P Graves - Posted on 18 April 2024
I have been a patient of this practice since being a small child. I am now 53. Never in all the years have I been as frustrated about this practice as I am now. I have high blood pressure and have type 2 diabetes. Following recent blood tests done I received the results online and then received a text within two days from the results arriving. The text message asked me to book an appointment to speak to a go regarding the results all of which came back abnormal. This is where the practice is a complete let down and where if you suffer with high blood pressure ypu become infuriated and stressed...so, the next morning promptly at 8.30 I rung the practice. Busy line straight away...busy line for the next 15mins. Finally after 80 attempts at getting through...i managed to get through to be told it would be a phonecard from a gp..rather than face to face. Ok...so when would the gp ring...within 48hrs I was told, no time slot just within 48hrs. I am now on 48hrs...I rang the practice just before it closed today 18/04/2024 asking if I had missed being called has I had not received a call...I was then told by the receptionist.. "well actually, its 72hrs not 48hrs, so you will receive a call either Wed, Thurs or Friday."Its Thursday so obvs it'll be Friday now when I get the call. I am worried, I want to know what the abnormal blood results mean for me, and 72hrs is simply not acceptable to wait that long for an explanation of my results....I could go to A&E wait 16hrs and probably find out faster doing that. But I won't, I'll wait for the GP to ring. But how is this good practice? If I would have asked for a face to face appt i would probably have been seen...but who knows? In the past even though its post covid, I struggle to see a doctor face to face now at this practice. I can't fault the staff, the nurses are amazing, the receptionists take a lot of flack...but put of frustration of being messed about by the Gp's. I honestly don't get why post Covid they deem this a better way of working...not seeing patients. GP practices across the county are making our A&E's stretched simply by not seeing their patients in a timely manner. Or giving them an explanation of results in a timely manner. Allegedly according to the voice message you get whe you eventually get through on the phone, you can book an appointment t through Patchs ..despite having a login and an active account...I have never been able to book an appt this way....I actually wonder if the GP consultation rooms have GP,'s in them... there are 8 rooms but I bet at any given time there's only 4 GPS in. The website is a joke, what they promise and what they say they do was perhaps true 8 years ago...and they brag a rating of good...but this was from May 2016 no review has been posted since then...as I suspect they haven't had a good rating since. Covid has messed this practice up...they're still stuck in pandemic mode and think this is best practice. It's not.
Visited April 2024
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 19 April 2024
Dear Pauline, Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry you feel our service has failed you recently. I am Malcolm MacDonald, the Practice Manager. You have raised a number of issues which I will try to address. Following your recent blood test you received a text message asking you to make an appointment with a GP "within 2 weeks". This in itself makes clear that the matter was not urgent. We do try to endeavour to meet our 48hr call-back target but on this occasion we have failed and I apologize for this. The point about going to A&E for a blood test is somewhat spurious, we do not ask you sit and wait in the practice to get your results, simply to be available on your phone. Our phone system is, and always will be, very busy at 08.30. If your reason for calling is not urgent, which yours wasn't, then you are better waiting till a little later (after 10.00) and you will almost certainly get straight through. We are introducing a new phone system later in the year which will eliminate the engaged tone as well as offering a range of other benefits. We have adapted our model of operating to offer a range of appointment types and clinicians including Enhanced Access appointments in evenings and weekends both here and at other local practices. We currently employ 11 GPs (1 on maternity leave) who work a variety of days and shifts. There a minimum of 4 GPs and a maximum of 7 GPs working at any one time. You refer to our CQC rating of "Good" and question its validity. We have had 2 "remote" reviews since 2016 (this was a "physical" review). The last review was summer of 2023 and confirmed our "Good" rating. CQC have limited resources, like all parts of the NHS, and save their physical inspections for those organizations that are more problematic. I hope I have addressed your issues but please feel free to contact me at the practice if there is anything you wish to discuss further. Once again apologies for the issues you have had recently. Kind Regards, Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager Idle Medical Centre
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Review titled Poor service
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 June 2024
I'm very sorry to leave such a negative review. However, based on my personal experience, and the experience of of my partner, I feel it is absolutely necessary. Itn the last few months I have had numerous blood tests. The results of which, have been communicated via text message. Unfortunately, some of these messages have been sent to me by accident, and we're obviously meant for other people. Furthermore, some of the message which were meant for me, actually stated that everything was ok, and no further action was required. When in fact this was not true. My partner has been trying to book an appointment for weeks. Given the nature of here job, she cannot ring at 8 30 am. Other attempts to book an appointment have also proved unsuccessful, and the excuse given by the receptionist was that they have too many patients. And I recently visited an out of hours surgery, as it has also proved difficult for me to get an appointment, was advised to get a fit test and this would be available to collect from the idle surgery the next day. Went the net day at last lunchtime only to be told it had not been done, so I had to wait I do appreciate the NHS and the great work they do, however, Idle surgery seems to be lacking in numerous areas.
Visited January 2024
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 27 June 2024
Dear Patient, Thank you for your feedback. I am Malcolm MacDonald, the Practice Manager. I am sorry for the poor experience you have had recently. I would very much like to investigate the issues you have raised but as this is anonymous I am unable to do that. If you would like to contact me at the practice I would be more than happy to do this. Thank You, Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Great practice, great organisation
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by S.Backhouse - Posted on 04 December 2023
Idle Medical Centre is a brilliant practice and very well organised. Whenever my children have been ill, I have had a telephone call from a Dr within a few hours, and been offered an appointment on the same day, if necessary. When I have been ill recently, I have been able to speak to a Dr by telephone, then been offered a face to face appointment without any trouble. I feel very grateful to have such a fantastic local surgery. Thank you.
Visited December 2023
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 05 December 2023
Thank you so much for taking the time to post these wonderful comments. I know all our team will really appreciate them. Kind regards, Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Great service from receptionists and nursing staff
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 29 November 2023
There was a mix up whereby my HRT review was not logged fully with my BP results on the system - which triggered another HRT review being requested 4 months later. The reception ladies at the time were very friendly and put my mind at rest. My tel appt with a GP was not fruitful and wasn't helpful and suggested an inefficient way to deal with this in giving a 1 month prescription telling me I would have to get another BP test and then book in to have another HRT review with another GP - even after I said I would go get the BP results to him the same day if he could hold off on prescribing the short prescription, he said it was not possible to wait to prescribe a longer dose and to book with another GP. I went back a few hours later to get another BP check completed at the pharmacy as requested and went upstairs for them to log it. The reception staff were very understanding and went above and beyond to make sure that I was seen by a nurse the next day and enabled me to have a full HRT prescription given. I saw the nurse who was great and was then given a follow up call later by a lovely lady on reception to inform the prescription was ready. 10/10 for reception. Thanks ladies.
Visited November 2023
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 04 December 2023
Thank you very much for this positive feedback. It is much appreciated. Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Falling levels of assistance keep declining
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 August 2023
The practice was a very good one 5 years ago but leading up to the pandemic, during and then post pandemic it's become an awful place to seek any assistance from. Everything is done via call back it is virtually impossible to get an appointment with receptionist used to assist in diagnosing your issue. I've lost count of the number of times we have received a diagnosis and medication based on a photo emailed over and/or from answering the General Practitioner quiestion over the phone to "what do you think it could be?" Recently while on holiday I was unfortunate enough to break my, the options I had were to either pay for surgery abroad or fly home and have surgery in the UnitedKingdom. The doctor abroad said both would be fine we would just need to make a decision. After checking with the airlines we could fly back the next day ot wait 5 days for the next flight. If we chose to stay and take the operation there would be a large amount of physio, medication etc etc that would be needed post operation, however I could not find any info anywhere regarding how and overseas operation may be treated once returned home, with my family with me, the amounts of money, and the time pressure I was attempting to make the most informed decision I could. So I called my Gernal Practitioners and explained the full situation to the receptionist and requested a call back just to talk through my options from a general practitioner as I could not find any information. I was assured my situation was stressful and not pleasant and of course the surgery would call back. What I received was a text message 10 mins after the phone call saying, we advise you follow the advice of local health practitioners. So not only did not bother to take me as a person in need of assistance worth speaking to but also such a quick assessment and dismissal highlights the absolute disconnect between the practice and providing any form of assistance.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 16 August 2023
Dear Patient, Than you for your feedback. I am Malcolm MacDonald, Practice Manager. I am sorry that you feel the service has deteriorated at Idle and that you did not get the assistance you believe you required. With regard to the overall service levels, we have just been rated in the top 10 practices in Bradford in the National Patient Survey. We offer same day face-to-face and phone appointments. Our reception staff are trained in care navigation and will ask questions to ensure you see the right healthcare professional for your needs. We are able to offer the vast majority of patients an appointment within 24 hours of them contacting us. A clinician may well ask you about what you believe to be the issue. This is not unusual and is a way of gathering information. With regard to your injury whilst abroad, we are not an emergency service. You would not phone us from an A&E department in this country to ask advice. The clinical issues were best dealt with by the clinicians locally. Your concerns about money, flights and ongoing treatment were questions for your travel insurance company. I ma sorry if this feels harsh but we have to use our limited resources in the best way possible. I would be happy to discuss this matter with you if you want to contact the surgery. Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Poor communication
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 May 2023
Partner rang practice this morning to explain medication had been misplaced, receptionist said to call into surgery and will get the doctor to release the prescription. Called into surgery to be told the doctor will not do the prescription. Sat for 2 hours waiting with no communication to be told the doctor is in the record and will give the patient a call. This is medication that can’t just be stopped. The receptionist are not helpful and do not want to go out there way to find out or help.
Visited May 2023
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 05 June 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for your feedback. I am the Practice Manager. I am sorry if you feel that the Receptionists were not as helpful as they could have been. My understanding of this incident was that we were trying to help your partner who had mislaid some medication and needed some more issuing before the Bank Holiday weekend. The GP needed to speak to the patient before reissuing hence the delay. If you wish to speak to me about this then please feel free to call the surgery. Regards, Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager
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Review titled Great Practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Steven Close - Posted on 13 April 2023
I cannot say enough about this practice. I moved to Skipton but thankfully they allowed me to continue with this practice as an out of area patient. If I ring for anything I get a call back 99 times out of 100 the same day and if I need to see a doctor then again it is usually that week or if its late in the week then early the following week. Receptionist always helpful and for a group of people with not the best reputation I will fight their corner. The same goes for the practice Nurses and all the staff at Idle Medical centre. First rate practice and if you live in the sticks you don't know how lucky you are to have this practice on your doorstep.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Idle Medical Centre
Replied on 17 April 2023
Dear Steven Thank you very much for these positive comments. It is much appreciated by everybody at the practice. Malcolm MacDonald Practice Manager