Railway Medical Group
Gatacre Street, Blyth, Northumberland, NE24 1HDContact details and opening times
Patient ratings and reviews
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Reviews
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Review titled Terrible
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 27 February 2024
Absolutley shocking ive been trying to get a doctors appointment for over a month now to ring at 8 am and for them all to be gone, im at the stage now where i think im just going to have to turn upto a and e as i suspect i have very bad galbladder problems
Visited February 2024
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 12 April 2024
Dear Patient. I'm sorry it's been very difficult to get an appointment. Access to primary care due to overwhelming demand is a national problem. Challenges to being able to increase capacity include recruitment difficulties and the shortage of consulting room space in our current premises. There is a limit to how many patients doctors and other clinicians can safely see in a day. Patients may find it helpful to use the e-consult system available via the NHS app as an alternative to a conventional appointment. Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP partner
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Review titled Impossible to access
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 16 January 2024
I was assured that appointments could be booked online from 8am nothing showed on my first attempt , today logged on nothing showing as its 7:59, be aware you have to refresh the page at 8 or any appointments will not show its so slow to refresh , one slot showing (yes only one 10 minute slot ) by the time I went through the selection process that slot was gone , phoned the surgery listened to all the opening recorded messages selected reception when able and another message all lines busy call back later ,gave it a few minutes and redialled same recorded messages till I could select reception to get another recorded message all appointments for the day have gone please call back tomorrow time now 08:07. To say its frustrating is an understatement , I am now waiting for day three to go through the same process all over again but whats the alternative looks like there isn't one !
Visited January 2024
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 05 February 2024
Dear patient Thank you for your feedback regarding difficulty getting an appointment. Our appointments are always in very high demand and they do go very quickly after 8am - through patients attending the surgery in person, phoning up and booking online. We do have appointments for early in the week which are released at 8am on Saturday and Sunday mornings for online booking in addition to those released each weekday at 8am. Please be very brief when entering the reason for the appointment as the system allows someone else to book it whilst you're half way through! This is outside of our control. Patients can also submit e-consults via the NHS App which work well for some problems, but are not suitable where patients have an issue which will require a physical examination. We continue to work hard to maximise our appointment capacity. Regards, Dr A van den Bos, GP Partner
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Review titled Brilliant practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Caroline hardy - Posted on 15 December 2023
Went to this practice this morning the doctor I seen was a breath of fresh air she listened to everything I had to say and what I was worried about.she really put my mind at ease.i always manage to get an appointment no problem online around 8 each morning if needed.thank you for making me feel comfortable and at ease as I suffer with anxiety
Visited December 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 16 December 2023
Dear Caroline Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and for your encouraging comments. I am delighted you have had a good experience both with access and the care you have received. Our patients don’t always find access to appointments easy and hopefully this will provide some reassurance that we are available and working our hardest to get our patients seen when needed. Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP partner
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Review titled Appointment system not fit for purpose
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 05 October 2023
You can only book an appointment for the same day. And you need to call at 8 am Its also entirely possible that having done this, then waited on hold for 30 minutes you still wont get an appointment. I gather you can go down to the surgery and make an appointment at the front desk. Not sure this is a particularly useful, especially if you are elderly or may have an highly contagious disease (For example Measles, Covid etc)
Visited October 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 15 November 2023
Dear patient Although most of our GP appointments are for the same day we do have some that are bookable 2-3 working days ahead. Yes in addition to ringing at 8 am it is possible to book appointments by attending the surgery for 8am and some appointments are also available to book online. Patients may ask someone on their behalf to come down to book an appointment for them though it really helps our reception staff book a patient in with the right person if whoever books the appointment knows the nature of the problem. We continue to work hard to maximise our appointment availability but we are working within a level of demand where we consistently have fewer appointments than the number to meet demand. Mondays and days after Bank Holidays are worst for this and should be avoided except for urgent problems. It's incredibly frustrating for patients when they experience not being able to get seen. Please don't give up trying. Regards, Dr A van den Bos
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Review titled Great Doctors
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Mark Thompson - Posted on 03 October 2023
Everyone is well aware of the appointments across GP practices being in high demand, that's a problem across the country. However I have never had problems getting appointments here when I've genuinely needed one on the same day, or I advance. I have just had jaw surgery at the RVI and needed a follow up to get more codiene prescribed for the pain, as well as a sick note. I was given the appointment on the same day. Everything was taken care of in no time at all at Railway and I cannot speak highly enough of the doctors at the practice. Over the years every single one I've seen have been excellent. I'd like to shout out the doctors I seen today who was kind and compassionate. Girl on reception was also superb and nothing was too much trouble! The practice is also nipping clean and modern. Yes the appointment system could be better and more available to book via the app, but then again many people abuse the service when they really dont need to be seen, or they don't turn up for appointments wasting them for people who genuinely want them. They should be charged for missing more than one!
Visited October 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 15 November 2023
Dear Mr Thompson Thank you for your kind words which will definitely help motivate our hard working staff to keep going. We have deliberately limited the proportion of our appointments which are available to book via the app because of concerns that if appointments are all snapped up with online booking this could disadvantage some of our elderly, physically disabled and learning disabled patients some of whom are less tech savvy and have very complex needs for which good access to primary care is vital. Within NHS rules we are not permitted to charge patients for appointments or for missed appointments! Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP Partner
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Review titled Appalling service for booking appointments
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 18 October 2023
Managed to see a doctor who said I needed further appointments for various checks and to speak to receptionist on the way out. Receptionist couldn't make any appointments and told me to ring and book - not so easy when I'm driving at 8 in the morning and can't be online or on phone. I don't understand why you can't book future appointments if the doctor has requested them. Eventually managed to get through with available appointments 6 days after seeing the doctor to be told by Receptionist that I could only have the blood test and not the examination, I had to wait until the bloods results were back - even though they are unrelated and checking for different things. (Do I need to trust the receptionist more than the doctor?) Which means I then have to try to book Again!! I was told that my bloods have to be taken in the morning as they need to 'spin them' after 4 weeks previously having bloods taken on a Friday afternoon.
Visited October 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 15 November 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for your comments about your difficulty getting appointments. Our receptionists unfortunately often have to deal with frustrated patients where a doctor has recommended a follow-up appointment is needed but on trying to book in there isn't anything immediately available. This is not the receptionists fault and they are not being deliberately obstructive. We deliberately run a system where GP appointments cannot be booked more than a few days in advance as from experience where this is permitted patients have often either got better and no longer need the appointment or have forgotten all about it which leads to a crippling wastage of appointments in what is an extremely stretched service. We continue to work to maximise our efficiency and to recruit new clinicians to handle the relentless rise in demand. Regards, Dr A van den Bos
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Review titled Great practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Barry - Posted on 13 July 2023
Excellent efficient service. The new appointment booking system offering call backs is an excellent service.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 09 August 2023
Dear Barry Thank you for your positive feedback about our new telephone service which has been well received by our patients. Nobody likes having to wait on hold. Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP Partner
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Review titled The Bedrock of the National Health Service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Michael Thompson - Posted on 13 July 2023
All to often praise is bestowed on 'front line' NHS workers; nurses, the ambulance and A & E The reality is that Doctors surgeries are and often are omitted. Excellent Service. #Railway Medical rocks (man I'm being down with the kids there!!)
Visited July 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 09 August 2023
Dear Mr Thompson I couldn't agree more (but maybe I'm biased)! According to Primary Care England general practice provides over 300 million patient consultations each year compared to 23 million A&E visits. One of our most important roles is trying to deal with less serious medical problems in order to enable A+E to concentrate on sorting out those who really need them. If patients are unsure about whether they need to go to A+E our reception team may not be medically trained but are used to handling queries or patients can seek advice from 111 or the NHS Website. Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP Partner
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Review titled Appalling appointment system
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 11 July 2023
Never any appointments and ring back constantly , I’m fed up with lack of service and unhelpful responses .
Visited July 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 09 August 2023
Dear Patient I'm really sorry you've had a rotten experience trying to secure an appointment. You're not alone in this respect. This is by far our most common reason for complaints and negative feedback. We are working extremely hard to try to maximise the number of appointments we offer but there will frequently be times when demand exceeds supply. Demand is reliably higher on Mondays and days following Bank Holidays. Patients should first consider whether they can get their problem dealt with without needing to go through the surgery. Advice is available through the NHS website, 111 and local pharmacies. Most of our appointments are released at 8am each weekday so phoning or coming into the practice as soon as possible after 8am maximises your chances of securing an appointment. We also have some appointments which are available for online booking which become available at other times. These can be booked through the NHS app. If you have an acute (ie. of recent onset) medical problem which needs prompt medical attention even if we have no remaining routine appointments our reception team should be able to add you to the acute service triage list for a call-back from the GP on a same day basis. I hope this proves useful and you have a better experience if you have to contact us in future. Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP Partner
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Review titled Valuable annual memory and physical health review
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 31 July 2023
I found our annual review very useful. I felt we were listened to and received some very helpful information and further medical follow up. It was good that both my husband's and my own needs as his carer were addressed.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Railway Medical Group
Replied on 09 August 2023
Dear patient Thank you for your lovely feedback. We carry out a considerable number of annual reviews for physical and mental health conditions which involves our health care assistants, practice nurses and paramedic and nurse practitioners. We also utilise the district nursing service for some of our reviews for our housebound patients. This is a vital component of ensuring good quality care and disease management for patients with chronic diseases. This needs a holistic approach. We try to take into account patient preferences and concentrate on what is important to them. We strongly encourage patients to respond to invites for chronic disease reviews and hopefully your feedback will help motivate patients to attend. Regards, Dr A van den Bos. GP Partner