Dulwich Medical Centre

[Monkey]

So I had a bit of time this afternoon and looked at my complaint to DMC in 2012 about how difficult it was to make an appointment. Back in 2012, they blamed it on a number of staff being on maternity leave. You'd think that by now they'd know women have babies if they had not already learnt it at med school.

[MrBen]

A token appearance on here getting all customer focussed isn't going to change anything. The underlying way in which this and other local GP's are run is broken. The quality of the people employed is poor, the faceless management are nowhere to be seen. It's profits before people. It's like watching a car crash unfolding.

[JDR]

Unfortunately I have extensive experience recently of staff. I meet two decent locums, one who was awful. Permanent staff, amazing, but so hard to see. More amazing they stay. Let's hold they do after the terrible publicity. I told one of them after the CQC assessment that I held the owners responsible, not them. The Gupta's should be truly ashamed

[MrBen]

The Guptas won't have a business if they don't change things soon. The authorities will bow to public pressure and make that decision for them.

[PeckhamNicola]

I suggested back on page 2 that anyone unhappy with the service should register their complaint as suggested by James Barber and then leave and move to a different practice. Whilst James thought there wasn't much point as it would take hundreds of people doing this for it to register with dmc, I think that's like saying there's no point in using your vote as you are only one person, which I doubt he would advocate. And unlike voting in an election, by moving to a new practice I saw an immediate benefit.

One year on I am clearly still a little scarred by my dmc experience- otherwise what would I be doing reading and replying to this thread? ;) But the difference is that I can now see a doctor when I need to. Quite a novelty.

[MrBen]

It's not just DMC though is it? MGMP was just as bad. These are essential public services we're talking about. The stark reality is that if you need to see a GP urgently the new choice is:

- Pay ?65 for a private GP appt

- Go to A&E

Waiting 2 to 3 weeks is not an option.

When will politicians and councillors wake up to the impact that the erosion of GP services is having on A&E departments?

[Penguin68]

The stark reality is that if you need to see a GP urgently ...

But only at certain ED surgeries - many do offer real 'same day' appointments - mine does for instance, for 'urgent distress' (i.e. actually being ill). This will either be immediately face-to-face or a telephone consultation - often all that is needed. I only have to wait any length of time if I want to see a named doctor - and then this will be about something routine - i.e. care review of a long term condition, when I am looking for continuity of care. That is why the DMC saga is so annoying, even in ED it doesn't have to be like that - it's not just 'the way it is' in SE London.

[Pengui]

DMC, your text reminders have always worked well for us. In fact, I received a text reminder to schedule my child's asthma check up just two weeks before I received a call from you saying that his asthma prescription could not be refilled because we had been mysteriously dropped from your practice. I applaud your text reminders, but the impossibility of scheduling an asthma check-up and now having asthma medication denied remains the problem.

[Ole]

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong, but GP practices get paid per person on their books, not by how many people they see (unlike dentists I think, who get paid per patient they see).

If you own a practice, the more people on your books, and the fewer GPs you hire, the more profit you will make.

[Penguin68]

If you own a practice, the more people on your books, and the fewer GPs you hire, the more profit you will make.

Other staff costs include receptionists, practice nurses, other clerical and admin staff, as well as expenditure on IT systems, telephony etc. All possible to cheese-pair on. Some medical staff (such as midwives and Community Nurses) may be based in GP practices, but are paid for by NHS trusts or successor. Generally salaried doctors earn far less than the headline earnings you read about for GPs (around ?100k+) which are for partners. Additional payments are made for achieving particular targets, although I am not sure how these are audited.

[James Barber]

Please, complain to NHS England BEFORE adding to this thread. This thread is clearly informative but it is NHS England who will make this practice change. I fear most people are not actually complaining to the relevant body.

[email protected]

If enough people complain something will be done about it.

After I formally complained as a local councillor an investigation has been launched and suddenly the DMC are on the forum and employing extra doctors and pharmacists. So we must all keep the pressure up to get things permanently fixed.

[jimbo1964]

I complained but got an automated reply to say that the first port of call is to complain the the practise.

[James Barber]

Thne i would add, if true, that you have no faith in the practice complaints procedures and state whatever the reason you've lost faith is.

If I were a patient there then probably from years of appalling service and with respect to immunisations that they're failing my child's health.

Hope that helps. Don't let the...

[Bic Basher]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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

> The stark reality is that if you need to see a GP

> urgently ...

>

> But only at certain ED surgeries - many do offer

> real 'same day' appointments - mine does for

> instance, for 'urgent distress' (i.e. actually

> being ill). This will either be immediately

> face-to-face or a telephone consultation - often

> all that is needed. I only have to wait any length

> of time if I want to see a named doctor - and then

> this will be about something routine - i.e. care

> review of a long term condition, when I am looking

> for continuity of care. That is why the DMC saga

> is so annoying, even in ED it doesn't have to be

> like that - it's not just 'the way it is' in SE

> London.

Spot on. I think people who are with DMC or MGMC think that this sub-standard GP service is the norm throughout which is far from the truth.

What DMC has been doing is nothing short of a scandal, but don't let it tarnish the other NHS GP practices which are providing a normal service to patients.

[SebsC]

James Barber Wrote:

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

> Please, complain to NHS England BEFORE adding to

> this thread. This thread is clearly informative

> but it is NHS England who will make this practice

> change. I fear most people are not actually

> complaining to the relevant body.

>

> [email protected]

>

> If enough people complain something will be done

> about it.

> After I formally complained as a local councillor

> an investigation has been launched and suddenly

> the DMC are on the forum and employing extra

> doctors and pharmacists. So we must all keep the

> pressure up to get things permanently fixed.

I complained to NHS England and copied you in James. The first response back was rather uninterested so I sent a second reiterating that complaining to the practise achieves nothing and patients are at risk. I got this reply back...

The complaints process is as follows:

Once a complaint has been made to either Provider (GP Surgery) or Commissioner (NHS England), the other cannot also investigate. Once a response has been provided, if you are unsatisfied you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

I can see from your previously complaints that it was about waiting times for appointments and phone calls being answered.

NHS England commission the service, but the GP Surgery is a separate business, and NHS England do not govern the way that the service runs. If you have concerns over the way the service is run, and that they are taking on new patients, I would suggest putting this is writing to the Practice Manager.

If you need any further information, please let me know.

I would appreciate if you confirm receipt of this email.

So as you can see a less than satisfactory response.

[DMC Healthcare]

Please see at this link below, information on our complaints procedure and how to feedback suggestions directly to the practice manager Janet Borthwick. http://www.dmccrystalpalaceroad.co.uk/clinics-and-services.aspx?t=5

We are taking steps to communicate better with patients about the best ways to make appointments, especially when they are for non-urgent care. Like all GPs we face pressure in the early morning rush. We would like to inform you that patients calling this morning were able to receive same-day appointments.

[Cora]

As well as an email to the address given by James I can also recommend phoning the NHS England complaints number...I can't be sure it is the same number I rang but after fuming last time around it was good to relate my issues direct to a human being who took down the details which are then passed on to a case officer. Best route - contact by phone, email and the surgery!

NHS England complaints number:

0300 311 2233

[Lou]

I received the following response to my complaints email:

I am sorry to learn that you are having difficulties in arranging appointments at Dulwich Medical Centre.

NHS England is aware of this issue and is working with the Practice to bring about a resolution.

Together with the practice, we will be putting into place actions that will resolve these matters in the short term, and processes in place ensuring long term remedy.

We hope to bring this to resolution as soon as possible.

Regards,

Sarb S Bansal

Senior Primary Care Commissioning Manager. GP & Pharmacy

NHS England, London Region

Primary Care Commissioning

South Area Team

2nd Floor

Southside

105 Victoria Street

London SW1E 6QT

[Mscrawthew]

Having has a phone consultation with a doctor at DMC a few weeks ago, I was given a new prescription which I had to chase up. After getting through to a receptionist I was then told the "Health Authority" had removed me from their list. Surely a patient has to be notified beforehand and an explanation given? I would never have known if I hadn`t contacted them today :-(

[kristen]

This happened to me as well Mscrawthew and I think few others on here too.

I thought at first DMC were trying to get rid of me as I have chronic condition but now I've heard it has happen to more I wonder if it is a software malfunction.

[Bic Basher]

Under normal circumstances, you can be removed from the list if another GP practice adds you to their list. However it's more than likely they have software issues as mentioned above.

[Pengui]

My entire family was dropped as well (I described this earlier in the thread), and the DMC receptionist explained to me that NHS, not DMC, had removed us from their list. She said it was happening so often at DMC that she called her own surgery to make sure it hadn't happened to her (it hadn't). Based on the posts here this problem seems to have been going on at DMC for months. It might be a software malfunction, and maybe it originated in a centralized NHS database (I doubt it), but that it remains unsolved is an administrative malfunction.

I finally went to another local surgery to register and they had just run out of forms. Whilst printing out new forms I overheard the receptionists comment on their recent, surprising spike in registrations. Not so surprising to me.

kristen Wrote:

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

> This happened to me as well Ms Crawford and I

> think few others on here too.

>

> Thought at first trying to get rid of me as have

> chronic condition but wonder now heard happen to

> more if a software malfunction.

[James Barber]

Anyone who finds they've been removed from the list please complain.

[Mscrawthew]

I have complained, having been seen as a patient weeks before I cannot understand why either the nhs or the surgery would take that step. When I was informed by the receptionist she made no mention of there being a major problem either with software or the amount of people it had happened to.

[Sporthuntor]

Regarding DMC last post re appointments this Monday 23rd February, I can categorically state that their statement claiming callers got same day appointments is not true. My wife had to redial 83 times before getting through, starting at 8am when lines open, then waited 15 minutes to talk to someone, and was told that the first appointment available for a sick child was 5th March.

Think we will have to go for the double of a complaint and leaving the practice in the face of such bare-faced dishonesty on top of the abysmal service.

Thanks for the link James.