good local GP?
  • injoke
    does anyone have any recommendations?

    naming no names but i've been with a local GP for about 5 years, can't seem to get appointments within 2 weeks ever, have been in 8 or so times in total and have never clapped eyes on my actual GP - and now today when I finally get some evidence that he exists in the form of a private prescription he's got my name wrong, the medication wrong and charged me a tenner. i want to change GPs.
  • slats
    Dr Frank Morris Davies at SGMC (opposite the dairy) is pretty good.
  • matt

    My girlfriend is with him and we have not had good experiences and she has had a lot going on recently. So, he might be worse with women. Something to consider.

    I'm still with my old place Archway Medical Centre on Holloway Road (we're an N19 postcode!)

  • Bridget
    I go to Hanley Road Medical centre and its great.

    My fav doctor is away working in S Africa at the moment, he is brilliant, Dr Laurino. The have a few GPS there though and I seem to be able to get an appointment. Its quite busy tho.
  • gargoyle
    I go to the Vale Centre at the Clocktower Mecical Centre in Crouch End, and haven't had trouble getting appointments. Harry Webb there is very good (and not just because he is the Clark Kent to Cliff Richard's Superman).
  • staplejack
    Davies @ SGMC has always pulled good strings for me in terms of referrals, physio etc. But the nurse is not so helpful and getting appointments is often fairly difficult.
  • Donna

    I really recommend Dr Dougall at the 157 Medical Practice, Stroud Green road.

  • Liz

    Hanley Road practice is lovely - even the receptionists are nice. I've seen several doctors there and they've all been good and friendly.

  • Lucy

    Dr Laurino at Hanley road is fantastic! Such a shame he's gone away. Agree with Liz about the rest too.

  • missfrancesca
    Another vote for Hanley Road. Dr Laurino is lovely. My only complaint is that the nurse there often runs really late (30 mins +) and they seem to think this is quite normal.
  • slats
    Hanley road isn't available if you're on the Haringey side though...
  • underscore_cue
    missfrancesca, that isn't "really late"!

    If they increased the time between slots then people would complain about not being able to get seen quickly enough!

    He/She could be doing anything - redressings in a 15 slot could take 10 mins or 25 depending on how long it takes someone to get their clothes on and off (elderly people etc.) - some appointments might involve making phone calls and the other person might not pick up/be engaged!

    Any appointment system will end up running over by late morning because if its a quick appointment the next person won't be there yet, and if its a longer one the next person inevitably will be shown in late, there could be 12+ appointments in a morning session so only a few minutes overrun will soon add up.

    No doubt the overrun time comes out of the nurse's unpaid lunch break. I think 30 mins is actually pretty reasonable, if you go to an out patients clinic at the Whittington the delay is often 50 mins or an hour. You can always ask for an appointment time before 10am when the overrun is at a minumum.
  • kateh
    Don't suppose anyone knows a good one in the Hackney side of FP?
  • bennyfromtheblok
    For Hackney side, try the Cedar Practice on Green Lanes - 020 7690 1151 to go register.

    You may not always see your doctor, but generally can get in to see someone withing a week and they have various walk-in times if you are free in the day.

    I have to say though, the Doctors eyes seem to light up as soon as I tell them I have insurance and just want a referral!
  • tosscat

    Do you know, I never bother to mention it - should I?

  • missfrancesca
    underscore_cue

    I usually try to get the first appointment of the day or the first one after lunch for this very reason, but have had the same problem on my last 3 nurse visits (even on the first appointment of the session).

    A 30 minute delay is a problem when most people have to take time off work for appointments and when they have big posters everywhere saying that if the patient is late they won't be seen (which is fair enough, I just think it should work both ways).

    Mysteriously appointments with the Doctors there are always pretty much on time.
  • rainbow_carnage
    Bah! It never works both ways.

    If you're five minutes late at the check-in desk, Ryan Air will charge you a fortune to get on the next flight. But if their flight is delayed by three hours and you miss your connection, it's somehow still your own fault.

    It's the same at doctors' offices, salons, etc. My doctor is fantastic, but if you're more than five minutes late, they make you reschedule and come back another day. I totally understand the reason for this policy, but public transport isn't reliable enough for a five-minute window. The alternative is to aim to be 10 minutes early. Who needs that kind of agro when they're ill?

    Bah, I tell ya!
  • underscore_cue
    Yeah if you were getting the first appointment and its half an hour late then I suppose that is a bit poor. I didn't mean to have a go as well btw!

    I've been fucked over in both those ways getting cheap flights, there is a bit of that going on in this situation I suppose but people who come late do get fitted into cancellations when they rebook, and there are always people who don't even turn up for the appointment without phoning, sometimes two or three times in a row!

    Ten mins of sitting and waiting being early and knowing the appointment is going to be on time is better than clinic being 30 mins late but you had to be there for the proper time just in case though!
  • missfrancesca
    underscore_cue - s'okay, I didn't think you were having a go, I just think it's a shame when the practice is so good in every other way.

    Maybe because I always turn up early it's extra frustrating. :)
  • Don't Look Now
    Hanley road is great, and Dr Laurino was my favourite too. Had to change when I moved to the 'wrong' side of Stroud Green Road, and now with Christchurch Hall Surgery in Crouch End. Much easier to get an appointment, but receptionists aren't as friendly.
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