Dulwich Medical Centre - Any good?

[Burbage]

Ant Wrote:

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> It may be worth noting that in the eight or so

> years I've been registered with DMC (Crystal

> Palace Road) I have hardly ever seen the same

> doctor twice

I'm not surprised. The DMChealthcare website lists it as a 'training practice'. Whether that's a bad thing or not depends on whether you prefer being treated by embittered cynics or inexperienced idealists.

[Sue]

Burbage Wrote:

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> Ant Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > It may be worth noting that in the eight or so

> > years I've been registered with DMC (Crystal

> > Palace Road) I have hardly ever seen the same

> > doctor twice

>

> I'm not surprised. The DMChealthcare website lists

> it as a 'training practice'. Whether that's a bad

> thing or not depends on whether you prefer being

> treated by embittered cynics or inexperienced

> idealists.

xxxxxx

I've only ever had excellent treatment from the GPs at DMC in Crystal Palace Road, apart from one many years ago who I'm pretty sure was a locum.

And lately I've seen the same GP every time I've been even though I haven't specifically asked to do that.

And if they think you need to see someone urgently they will override the usual booking system - at least that was my experience late last year. I had a telephone consultation and was given an in-person appointment the next day (I think it was).

ETA: Though in some ways that was rather worrying!!!!

[PeckhamRose]

Jeremy thanks for listing the NHS review site. I note The Gardens and Nunhead Surgery has great reviews but very few of them. People are eager to share bad experiences, warning about them, but not so eager to share good ones.

[Peckhampoet]

Leaving DMC was best thing I did last year for my health and sanity! I used to get great service there but not in the last two years. They clearly have too many patients on their books. I am now with the Nunhead surgery and very happy and healthier!

[landellsrd]

DMC - any good?? In a word: NO

they are awful. You will never get an appointment, unless you fancy going in there at 8am. There is only ONE doctor that everyone is registered under. I've just been offered an appointment for this week but I guess that's becasue they are charging me ?25 to write me a 'fit to fly' letter, so of course they can find an appointment for something that makes them money. I am transferring as soon as I can.

[Huguenot]

I wonder what they legal scenario is for a 'fit to fly' charge - if they're also charging the exchequer for the appointment that's a double charge.

[emza78]

Does anyone know how it works with Health Visitors at The Gardens? At the moment we're DMC/Townley Road which is very convenient for us but wondering whether to make the change.

[josser]

the doctors have to run cars that cost over ?100 per hour to service and cost ?50 plus they also get payed for many pat that have left gb the banks stole from the old ,like it or lump it now ,dmc is run by very proud drs

[Chillaxed]

For those interested, I spoke to the Practice Manager at DMC CPR today. I felt she was honest and understanding in her answers. Highlights:

- they're well aware of the complaints and have recently completed a 'demand and capacity audit';

- they currently have 9.8 FTE GP's on their books. The results of the audit suggested to them that rather than employ more GP's they need to better utilise their time;

- part of this is to better reflect the demographics of their patient list, i.e. lots of under 5's, in their service;

- the powers that be require them to keep their patient list open, but they are looking at channelling new patients to different facilities;

- they are looking at staggering the release of priority appts i.e. not all to the 8 o'clock queuers;

- the are also looking at setting up a triage both on the phone and in the early morning to better allocate priority appts to those in need;

- the planning permission for the pharmacy is on hold and if it goes ahead it will have no impact on the GP service.

I?m just relaying the conversation for those interested so I won't be able to answer follow up questions or challenges. I encouraged her to meet the complaints head on on the EDF (a la James) which she will consider.

That's all.

[Sue]

Thank you Chillaxed.

I haven't personally had any problems with DMC, but it's very encouraging that they are listening to those who have had and doing something about it where it's within their own control.

[lemonellen]

Thanks for this thread. I have been with DMC for 5 years and until last year had little cause to use them.

Last summer I did managed to get a same day appointment but was dismissed by a very young, inexperienced and disinterested doctor who was more concerned with eating his lunch. When my symptoms continued to get worse I went back and managed to see another young doctor who was absolutely brilliant. She immediately arranged an array of tests, which confirmed her diagnosis and called me regularly to check that I was ok and see how I was responding to the medication.

On checking now, I can see she is no longer with the practice, and my recent attempt to get an appointment was met with the same challenges already mentioned.

Reading this has made up my mind. Gardens here I come.

[Sue]

lemonellen Wrote:

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> Reading this has made up my mind. Gardens here I

> come.

xxxxxxx

Reading that they are making sincere efforts to respond to complaints has made you decide to leave?

[Freddy1929]

When I first moved here about 13 years ago, I registered with the DMC, and at first they were very good. But recently it has been very difficult to get appointments, if you want an emergency appointment on the day you have to start ringing about 8am,and if you are luck you may get one of the appointments. Recently I had a chest infection which would not clear up, so I tried to get an appointment, could not get one of the emergency appointments ( my arthritic fingers are obviously too slow to redial!!), and the next scheduled appointment was 2 weeks!! I asked would it be possible for me to call in and just wait.... I was desperate by then....the advice was to go to KCH A&E!!

As KCH has a big banner outside trying to discourage people from going to A&E for things that a GP can deal with, I felt it wasn't an option. So I went to the GP's walk-in centre at the Lister Health Centre, waited about 1 hour and a very nice GP gave me a prescription, and the infection cleared up in a week. What has happened to some of our GP practices?

[Cora]

James Barber said in an earlier post that if you pm him specific problems you have had he will collate them and pass them onto the appropriate people...

[Alex K]

You will not have a doctor if you go to DMC. You will have the members of a practice, and their squinting access on-line to a set of notes, and their fumblings through formularies to take the next recommended step when a treatment seems not quite to be doing the job. You will be very much on your own in guiding yourself through the NHS.

(Will this be any different elsewhere? Likely not.)

I should like to respect my doctor. I find this difficult at DMC.

[Sue]

Alex K Wrote:

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> You will not have a doctor if you go to DMC. You

> will have the members of a practice, and their

> squinting access on-line to a set of notes, and

> their fumblings through formularies to take the

> next recommended step when a treatment seems not

> quite to be doing the job. You will be very much

> on your own in guiding yourself through the NHS.

>

> (Will this be any different elsewhere? Likely

> not.)

>

> I should like to respect my doctor. I find this

> difficult at DMC.

xxxxxx

I respect all the doctors I have seen at DMC, all of whom seemed to know what they were doing.

Apart from one years ago, but she was a locum.

[Burbage]

Freddy1929 Wrote:

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> What has happened

> to some of our GP practices?

The practices are just doing what suits their business purposes best. And that's fair enough. They don't make the rules or decide what they get paid for what. They're just the gatekeepers, and their only responsibility is to balance the books in such a way as best pleases them, within the limits of their contracts.

So if a patient turns up with something that might have to be referred to A&E anyway, wasn't scheduled in advance and would play havoc with the appointments-book*, they won't even see a doctor, let alone a nurse. Instead, reception will send them to A&E (or the walk-in centre, if it's run by the same company). A&E might charge the practice (around ?75, I think), but that's just a pocket-change (A&E don't have profit-margins to consider) and easily outweighed by the freedom it gives the practices to both stuff their books with more patients than they can cope with, and restrict the hours of the practice nurse.

Of all the reforms currently on the table, none will really address this, save, perhaps, the idea of turning A&E departments into canteens for paramedics who'll be free to kerb-crawl for minor injuries and non-specific poorliness. The more truculent defenders of the NHS (and, of course, the Business Units) will point out that pharmacists have now been brought into the fold, and can do almost as good a job as a doctor, provided it involves just selling you stuff. (I'd be delighted if anyone has received useful counsel from a pharmacist, but the last time I bothered asking, they looked at my bleeding fingers in abject bafflement and tried to sell me a sling).

The quacks certainly don't want more reform (save the bit about CCGs, which will give them the power to put downward pressure on A&E's prices), and thanks to the hard work of their unions and 'colleges', the public don't much fancy reform, either. Whether that's going to work out helpful is a matter for the optimists among us.

For my money, the polyclinic idea looked a good one. The plan was to have a bunch of, effectively, walk-in centres with a mix of skills appropriate to the area, run by the NHS trust, treating everything from acne to zits. Admittedly, they wouldn't have necessarily been able to provide the valuable rapport that some GP practices allegedly offer, but with GPs ditching of out-of-hours, home visits, acute care and, apparently, the telephone, that's debatable. But, of course, it was debated, and the upshot was that the quacks didn't like it.

* Is it just me getting old, or is there a rise in 'administrative' appointments? I've had to arrange a number of visits over the last year or so to my GP, just to chase up referrals and tests and results and stuff, for an as-yet undiagnosed complaint, and I'm wondering if the proportion of appointments devoted to checking the post is rising generally and, if so, why?

[DulwichElsi]

every person I know who has gone there has said it is horrific. I registered at a smaller but much more amazingly pleasant, logical and decently staffed surgery round the corner. DMC is just awful.

[Sue]

DulwichElsi Wrote:

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> every person I know who has gone there has said it

> is horrific.

Xxxxxx

How many people was that?

[Medusa]

I've been a patient at DMC for years. Most of the doctors are great, but the administrative side of things is appalling. The other day I spent 20mins redialling to make an appt, was then 8th in line on hold and finally all the apps were taken. I've had referrals sent to the wrong place more than once, including a request for an urgent brain scan a year ago( which was faxed to an incorrect number three times). They can't even manage to send my son's script electronically to the pharmacy each month.

Once I've found somewhere better, I'm off.

[Frankie8]

I too was experiencing such an awful service from DMC that I have abandoned them and moved to a different surgery where I can get through on the phone within a few rings, have a choice of (so far)fantastic friendly doctors and never have to wait more than a day for an appointment. But I am not telling you which surgery it is or you will all want to go there!!

[Alex K]

Sue, if you're pleased, I'm pleased for you. My experiences, and my feeling that the GPs who have attended me are... well, "throughput-oriented"? Will that do? -- seem to differ from yours. Perhaps we visit different DMC branches. My experience is with what once was the Isidore Crown Medical Centre (off Bellenden Road) where before the DMC take-over I was seen regularly by one physician who knew me and my quirks. That now is a DMC outpost, and the sense of engaged continuity of care is long since, for me, run into the sand.

[Jeremy]

Sue, to be fair, of all the recent opinions I've read (here and on the NHS website), you seem to be the only satisfied patient. I guess the 8am queueing system works for you. For me it is unacceptable.

Burbage, please edit your post and close the italics tag!

[Sue]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> Sue, to be fair, of all the recent opinions I've

> read (here and on the NHS website), you seem to be

> the only satisfied patient. I guess the 8am

> queueing system works for you. For me it is

> unacceptable.

>

Xxxxxxu

I guess most people who are satisfied won't bother saying so

I haven't even considered posting on the NHS website.

I moved to DMC after a bad experience with a GP elsewhere.

Maybe Ive just been lucky there so far.

[ianr]

Italics Begone.