East Dulwich GPs compared to others in Southwark

[James Barber]

I was sent the attached this morning obtained from: http://www.southwarkpct.nhs.uk/documents/6248.pdf

Its a league table of GP scorecard results for Southwark.

I was surprised to see that East Dulwich GPs should do so badly on the scorecard.

[richfish]

As a user of DMC Crystal Palace Road I am not really surprised by the results though I am always a little sceptical about these type of tables - look what they resulted in on school admissions. At DMC I don't think I have seen the same GP at all in the last 3 years so you never establish a relationship with anyone, the doctors seemingly always arrive late in the mornings for the first appointment that I normally request, so you are waiting a needlessly long time and there is a general feeling of a lack of patient care/interest at reception. Still it seems much better at DMC than at Melbourne Grove where according to my partner you need a PhD degree in Inventive Problem Solving to work out how to get an appointment and then when you do the GPs English is so bad you can't understand a word they say. Not a good impression from this house then.

What happens as a result of this survey? Do the GPs have to put together some sort of improvement plan with targets? It would make much more interesting reading in the waiting room than the usual stuff they have on their walls which seems to entirely miss the fact that men have health problems too. Perhaps that's why their performance is so poor as they are missing out on reaching half the population.

[louisiana]

As a previous patient at one of the ones that comes out at =43, currently about to leave one that scores =27, I can't say I'm surprised.

[Ridgley]

Not surprised James, I recently wrote a thread bout this going to your local surgery is a nightmare you cannot get appointments when you finally do you have to deal with an (uptight Gestapo receptionist) and what do the surgeries do with this information once it is published do they improve or don't they care?

[PeckhamRose]

I am on the patient forum of Nunhead Grove Surgery and this chart is weird because in another one I saw recently it came top by a long way for things like patient satisfaction and opening times and ability of ease to get the doctor you want and when you want, and so on. And they work hard at this sort of thing. I don't understand why they're not nearer the top in the one you have attached, than the one I saw a few weeks ago. Curious! Either way, I can say Nunhead Surgery Practice Manager and her staff and doctors are all very conscientious and work very hard to make sure they do the Right Thing. The doctors insist they'll never go down the route of the 0870 call centre answer system and so on. They are very patient focussed!

[sedgewick]

Some of the doctors in Melbourne Grove are good but I had a bad experience with one doctor that lead me to seek out an alternative practise.

I wont go into details here but one or two bad experiences could tarnish the reputation of others.

Are you really surprised though James? the amount of people that whine at you all day on your councillor thread clearly shows that the ED massive are complainers.

[Panda]

Can anyone recommend the gp surgery at The Lister Primary care centre (dr ashworth)??

[cate]

sedgewick Wrote:

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

> Some of the doctors in Melbourne Grove are good

> but I had a bad experience with one doctor that

> lead me to seek out an alternative practise.

>

> I wont go into details here but one or two bad

> experiences could tarnish the reputation of

> others.

>

> Are you really surprised though James? the amount

> of people that whine at you all day on your

> councillor thread clearly shows that the ED

> massive are complainers.

There are 4 doctors there now. They had a bad time a while back though, after Concordia took over. They were excellent pre Concordia.

[Kes]

Peckham Rose - I've just moved (because we moved house)to the Nunhead Grove surgery, having previously been at the surgery that came number 1, comparing the two I can see why Nunhead would come lower, the GPs have mostly been lovely and easy to get appointments but a few things have really annoyed me, chiefly having to go over to Dulwich hospital and wait hours to get blood taken (which I have to do regularly) at my previous surgery they could do that on site and on appointment. Also one of the GPs seemed very surprised that I have a very common post-natal condition she told me it was very rare and I know from the literature it isn't at all.

K

[EDmummy]

And we are going to let these people commission services! Perhaps they should spend their efforts on providing a good and effective service to patients first. I have a great deal of concern if commissioning of oncology services were left to a GP who might only see 4 cancer patients in a single year. Let alone those with rarer cancers!

[richfish]

Very good point and I couldn't agree more. I think the proposed GP commissioning model will be a disaster creating even more frontline botlenecks, particularly in high pressured urban environments. I suspect it will also lead to a lower number of specialist referrals especially from profit hungry GPs. The worry is though they won't performance measure against that type of sepcialist need and the NHS ends up the health service of the lowest common denominator.

[PeckhamRose]

Kes I agree. Having to go to Dulwich is a real time consuming pain. It's not the surgery's fault though; they have to do it and they are more than aware of the dissatisfaction. Apparently things are changing; but I highly recommend you either join the forum when it meets or at the least write to CHRISTINE LANDRETH the Practice Manager and tell her of your irritation. The more that do it the better. As for the other issue, I can't comment!

[cate]

How many other surgeries take blood instead of having to go to Dulwich or Kings?

[Penguin68]

Re local blood taking - while it is true that the Dulwich Hospital waiting time is generally intolerable, it is also true that the phlebotomists there are generally expert, quick, painless and unobtrusive - I have had blood drawn by the inexpert which has required several goes, has been painful, and has left extensive and long lasting bruising.

Locally drawn blood (in surgeries) in my experience requires a high volume of patients and a dedicated phlebotomist if the result is to be generally happy - occasional and inexperienced blood drawing is not to be recommended.

[johnh]

Hi James

Doesn't suprise me either, I've been going to Forest Hill Road Group Practice and they are about as friendly as a nest of vipers having just been poked with a big stick ....It's all very well changing the names of these various clinics and printing wonderful propganda booklets telling us how great they are and how often they hit targets... but all we need is a surgery that can answer phones and know what they are talking about when they do.

I read in the local paper that doctors where getting better... well they should really as they don't have to wait days to see one !!

[Keef]

I was with DMC fo years, and never really had any complaints at the time.

However, since moving up to Sydenham, and joining the Wells Park Practice, which is probably a similar size, I have realised that I could have been getting a much better service from the DMC.

[concita]

Keef

I was with Wells Park Practice a long time ago in 1987 and they were very good to me.

Once a doctor, called Carol, drove me to Lewisham hospital herself the same day she saw me, as I had a serious infection. Are they down rated now? I hope not, because they were all very good at the time.

[Keef]

Not sure what sort of rating they have (it's Lewisham, not Southwark), but I'm impressed with them anyway.

[Pugwash]

Dulwich Hospital for Blood tests will be a thinjg of the past soon - only Kings will provide this service ( see last week's local paper)

[louisiana]

sedgewick Wrote:

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

>

>

> Are you really surprised though James? the amount

> of people that whine at you all day on your

> councillor thread clearly shows that the ED

> massive are complainers.

I was recently advised by two members of staff at Kings that I should complain formally about my so-called GP and they suggested I change surgeries too, owing in a large degree to the appalling referral this GP made, which they both described as "very, very poor". I think they were a bit stunned. That's not an ED'er complaining, that's two health professionals who are not receiving healthcare information from a primary carer, which they need to do their job and care properly for the person in front of them.

[James Barber]

Hi sedgwick,

As a generalisation East Dulwich people arn't in my opinion whingers.

Virtually every contact I get is from people that have real issues - often they show an endemic problem that needs fixing for the benefit of all.

Sometimes the issue only affects that person but really needs a more considerate application of a rule.

Sometimes an explanation of why a ruling has been made is all that's required.

Hi louisiana,

Sounds shocking and hpefully you'll make a formal complaint.

Without such complaints the PCT can't easilly hold the GP practice to account.

[Allie]

You can leave feedback about your GP practice on the NHS website. Here is DMC's page:

http://www.nhs.uk/servicedirectories/gp/pages/gpratingsandcomments.aspx?pid=88E6D520-9234-4C03-8570-CAA3B50BB373&recordPP=0#cmnt48205

[corley]

i read that too. its a nightmare kings is overloaded as it is.

[VC]

I attend the the practice at the Surgery and can't ask for a better service. Reception is friendly and efficient and the doctors that myself and my husband see are on the ball, which is reflected on reception.

[VC]

The Surgery I refer to is at The Gardens.