We had very similar experiences with our old GP in Clapham, but we've switched to the Lavender Hill Practice and they've been excellent so far.

give em a go

All sounds very frustrating. GP surgeries are paid for each person they have registered with them. If enough people change to a different practice and tell them why they are doing it then they have to take the issue seriously....

they are TERRIBLE!! well, the doctors are fine (mostly) and dr williams is brilliant but she is rarely there - it's just those receptionists!! one in particular - yo probably know which one i mean.... my husband was diagnosed with a melanoma by the mole clinic in london and needed an urgent referral to a dermatologist for a see and treat the next day. we have three small children and were desperate to get it dealt with asap. the receptionist told him the earliest appointment was next week(a week after his dermatologist appt) as she couldnt do an emergency appt for a referral. when asked what was more serious than skin cancer for an emergency appt, she cited "things like sinusitis". ???!!!

we too have bought our way out of the situation and paid a private doctor to giv us a referral straight away so my husband could have the mole cut out the next day.

it is RIDICULOUS that they have this bureaucratic protocol!! i am so cross that we have to pay money to see a doctor in urgent situations...

I'm having a bad experience with Brocklebank Group Practice, often they tell me there are simply no bookable appointments available at all and I have to call back at 8.15 on the dot each morning, to join a long phone queue to possibly get an on the day appointment. So basically you have to spend the entire morning on the phone to get the appointment, then no choice about when the appointment is so you're waiting around all day for that. It's incredibly frustrating.
When we were with Bridge Lane Group Practice they were great, appointments always available, always same day if it involved my 2 year old.
I wish we'd kept with them when we moved.

I too have had issues with the Battersea Rise Group Practice. A couple of weeks ago I phoned up as my son had a very high temp and a little cold and was very grouchy and when I called up I was offered the ring back service. The Nurse was very off hand and said, he probably just had a cold and to keep taking Calpol. When I kicked up a bit of a fuss and said that I knew my own child and he only ever gets temperatures when it's more likely to be tonsillitis or something similar, she finally offered me an appointment. Good job really as after a 40 minute wait the doctor diagnosed an ear infection and tonsillitis but more importantly sent us to A and E as his temp was abnormally high and heart rate was 200. My son was monitored for 12 hours in hospital and thankfully after the help we received there, they were able to get temp and heart rate down with super duper meds.

I have to say, I think the service has gone seriously down hill and I always feel guilty for calling them. Not the way it should be!!

I COMPLETELY agree with all the above posts. Every time I leave the Battersea Rise GPs (which is fairly often with 2 young children unfortunately), I'm in a fury. Horrendous waiting times - not easy with children to keep occupied in a waiting room with no children's toys, short rushed appointments because the doctors are always delayed, lost test results (1 was for an ECG so could have been really serious), not being called back when a doctor was meant to, 2 weeks minimum to see a doctor (although they are usually good at seeing babies quite quickly if need be).

Surely it can't be that hard to run a doctor's practice like you would a business? They are NEVER on time for appointments, even at 9am in my experience! An hour's wait is not unusual, 40-50 minutues seems to be the norm. Doctors are intelligent people, does it not embarrass them to keep people waiting and can they not come up with some solution to make things more bearable for the poor patients who are not there by choice?

When I moved to London over a decade ago they were the best doctors in the area - I think they must now be amongst the worst for the reasons stated. I agree that Doctor Nicola Williams is by far the best, but she is only there on a tuesday and appointments for her are booked weeks in advance.

I could've written his post. My 9 month old son has had a high fever, vomiting and conjunctivitis this week and didn't manage to get an appointment (admittedly I didn't demand an appointment).

I'm afraid we have bought our way out of the problem ( which as tax payers we're not thrilled about) and registered with the private gp Battersea service based on Northcote rd, which we will use in emergencies only. A doctor came out last night to see my son who had been vomiting for 3 days and followed up with me today to check we're okay. I have his personal mobile number in case I have any further concerns.

Far better than 3 hours at a& e or panicking that there's something seriously wrong whilst waiting for an appointment.

I too had very similar experiences with the Battersea Rise Practice - when i was fortunate to see Dr Williams it was a completely different experience sh was fantastic. However the issue of not having same day appointments for young children and on one occasion not being called back when having given symtoms over the phone for my 2 year old i went st Georges drop in centre and was immediately sent to A& E - my 2 year old was admitted for 2 days. The consultant i saw was very surprised that i had not been phoned back let alone not been able to get an appointment that day. I was very lucky that i did go to A&E.

I did stay with the practice for another 6 months and did speak at length to Dr Williams about the situation but was very lucky to then get into Thurleigh Road practice which i can't praise enough.

My experience was 4 years ago and sorry that no changes have been made.

We had very similar experiences with our old GP in Clapham, but we've switched to the Lavender Hill Practice and they've been excellent so far.

Your experience really rang a bell with me though.

i lost my patience with my old practice when my midwife did an in clinic visit and asked for my blood test results. i walked to the reception desk to get them, and they refused to give them to me as even though they'd been there for days, the doctors had to review them and sign off - my argument that my midwife needed to see them for my appointment cut no ice with them and they wouldn't even verbally tell me the results.

Is it just me or has the service from Battersea Rise Group Practice (GP's at the top of Battersea Rise) gone seriously downhill?

I have lived in Battersea for over 3 years having moved from Fulham and have always found our local GP clinic, Battersea Rise Group Practice, to be really good. That is until this year! Is it just me or does it seem like getting an appointment to see an actual GP is the equivalent to getting an audience with the Pope. And if you need an urgent appointment they have a ring back service where you could be diagnosed over the phone.

I recently had my son diagnosed of conjunctivitis over the phone and a prescription left to pick up with reception which was a bit odd but I went with it and my son's eyes were cleared within a week - all good. Until similar symptoms appeared again a few weeks later so I called the surgery to make an appointment but the first available one was a week later so I asked for the ring back service and my son was again diagnosed with conjunctivitis over the phone. I asked if he could be seen as I was worried as the symptoms were slightly different to last time and I wanted someone to at least see him, as I insisted I was reluctantly given an appointment later that day for a swab to be taken and tested and was told that I would also have a prescription waiting for eye drops but to wait till the test results confirmed conjunctivitis before using them. I called for the test results 3 days later but they weren't back, I called again the following 3 days and a week after the swap was taken I was told that they had lost the test results!

In another case, my son needed to go for an X-ray at St John's Hill Therapy Centre for a possible referral to a specialist which has to come from the GP. My son had his X-ray and I was told the results would be sent to the GP within 5 -7 working days. I called the GP 7 days later as we had been out of the country and was told that the results had in fact come in 2 days after we had the X-ray done but as yet none of the GPs had reviewed the X-rays!!! The receptionist went on to tell me that she would have the X-rays reviewed that day and I would get a call later in the day. But alas no call came so I called back the following morning to be told that the X-ray had been reviewed and that everything was ok. I just don't understand why they didn't bother to call back and let me know that as that is what I was told they would do!

Long rant over!! I am left wondering if I have just been unlucky and that these are isolated cases or are others having similar problems with their local GPs. I am really interested to hear other people's experiences.