Bedford Hill

I was surprised by how good my first visit here was. Nurse Nathalie saw me right on time, was really insightful, and was lovely throughout. I'd recommend her. Thank you.

I still don't understand why getting an appointment here is so difficult. I submitted the online form and heard nothing. It's possible I made a mistake, but having that as the only way to book is exactly the problem. I finally reached them by phone, only to be told the form is the only way to get an appointment. The practice itself asked me to make one, so I don't see why they can't offer more help.

Dr Sayeda is caring and attentive, and always ready to arrange an appointment and help with my difficulties. The admin and reception staff have been very helpful too.

The patient's paper registration form was lost, delaying registration by almost three weeks. The patient is vulnerable and terminally ill, so I believe this should have been handled with much more care. At 3:50 p.m., I was kept on hold for over 20 minutes trying to reach reception about a triage request. That isn't even a peak time for GP surgeries. I work in the NHS and have never known a practice to respond so poorly at that time of day. When I got through, the receptionist said a text had been sent offering an appointment, but didn't tell me when it was. I'm the patient's next of kin and have consent on file to discuss their care, so I should have been told the appointment time. After I checked with the patient, I learned it wasn't an appointment at all, just a booking link showing 0 appointments available. I called again, waited another 20 minutes, and asked for help booking since the link had no availability. The receptionist said she couldn't book it and the patient would have to keep refreshing the link as appointments came up. So it's pot luck, and if you don't refresh at the right time, you may never see a slot. I've managed appointment books and booking links myself, and the advice I was given is factually inaccurate. That's very concerning. I feel for patients who have nobody to advocate for them. I'll be making a formal complaint to the ICB and the CQC. This practice has shown two major failures in its duty of care, and I urge others with similar experiences to raise them. There are no rules saying appointments can't be booked when the link shows 0 available. That's a policy the practice has enforced, not an NHS rule, and it's a very bad one.