Dulwich Medical Centre - is it possible they could be getting worse

[Azalea]

Everyone should leave reviews of their Surgery on the NHS Choices website. I discovered this service a few years ago. You can read other reviews that have been left.

[Nanny]

Long story short, check at this surgery if you are being seen by a qualified doctor. After some issues with the treatment I had received I learned that on the first appointment I was not seen by a doctor, but a nurse, aka ANP - Advanced Nurse Practitioner, I then had to have two further appointments with GP's and 3 trips to hospital for 7 blood tests. Apparently this practice has 10,000 patients and two GP's (counting the two part time GP's as one headcount). The data on the NHS Choices website is not current based on the information provided to me by the Practice Manager last week. It cannot attract salaried GP's or GP's wanting to work 5 days a week so they are supplementing with an ANP and on site Pharmacist to hit the ratio required. They have an obligation to advise patients if their appointment is with an ANP rather than GP, but I was not informed. I am not qualified to determine what level of medical practitioner I require, but nor are the reception staff allocating the appointments. In this case, precious NHS resources could have been saved if I had initially seen a GP. The system is broken as it allows GP surgeries to be run as businesses for profiteering and I was told if I want consistency in care then I need to register with a Partner led surgery where the GP's themselves have a financial interest in the surgery. Does that mean that part of the NHS is already effectively privatised?

[Penguin68]

Does that mean that part of the NHS is already effectively privatised?

Primary Care - (GPs) - have always been private contractors working into the NHS - they were never directly employed in the NHS - which is why partners can and do own practices. There are some (very few) GP practices I think which are NHS run (not sure of that) but the vast majority were, and are, private health concerns on contract to, but not directly employed by, the NHS. Half the NHS was never nationalised! And hence is still private.

[james_r]

Would appreciate a full list of alternatives to DMC if anyone can post. Thank you.

[PeckhamNicola]

You can see list of surgeries on NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/GP/LocationSearch/4

[Azalea]

james_r Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Would appreciate a full list of alternatives to

> DMC if anyone can post. Thank you.

Certain surgeries such as The Gardens and Forest Hill Road won?t take you if you are out of their catchment area. Both these surgeries recently made their areas smaller.

Melbourne Grove has more than ?13k patients and can?t cope or retain GPs. They are also responsible for the new surgery at Dulwich Hospital.

[Sue]

I would be careful before making the leap from DMC.

I moved from DMC some time ago to a surgery in Herne Hill (I am within its catchment area), because I had been impressed by the receptionists, the general vibe, and a GP I saw there (I was there for a clinic she runs).

It also had high ratings. I have also since heard from a pharmacist that people are happy with this surgery.

I have been there a couple of years now, I think.

At first things were fine, but I gradually realised that actually they weren't. The receptionists/admin are still great, and I don't have problems if I need an urgent appointment or telephone appointment, or even a not particularly urgent telephone appointment.

However I have been quite ill this year and last year, and I have not been happy with some aspects of the actual medical care, for three separate issues.

Ironically, I was quite happy with the medical care I had at DMC, but I moved from there because of the admin side.

So be careful you are not going from the frying pan to the fire .....

I would have moved back to DMC, but I understand the most highly rated GP there is on sick leave?

Also, consider the distance from your home to the surgery. When I was really ill, I had to get a taxi to the Herne Hill surgery, whereas I could probably have just about made it to DMC (with a bit of help).

[James Barber]

If anyone is unhappy with their GP practice - DMC or any other - then make a formal complaint...https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/

[se22cat]

Sorry to hear you haven't been well, Sue. The absolutely lovely best GP recently returned. IMHO the practice still has so many serious issues and even the one decent locum they have had on and off has no idea if she will ever be offered a contract, let alone another block of bookings. Receptionists, bar the fantastic one that still manages to smile and be wonderful to people remain indifferent and downright rude to people, taking great joy in barking at patients to get behind the line on the floor, supposedly for the privacy of others despite the whole room being able to hear everything anyway.

This was a great practice when it's owner dedicated his time to it, but those days are long gone. The admin team have a disgusting lack of regard for patients needs or health, there was one guy who was outwardly standoffish but actually helpful and did his best to aid patients but it seems he had enough and left of got transferred to another site. If you have an issue, concern or complaint it will not be dealt with for months and then nothing will be done about it.

While I'm obviously really glad the fantastic doctor has returned, I do wonder for how long, considering the pressure put on them and the toxic environment they work in. She's an absolute treasure and if she moves, so will we.