GP surgery recommendations

Hi all -

I’ve been registered with the Jenner Practice since 2017, and have mostly found them to be pretty good. However, lately things dissolved to the point where I feel I must change surgeries - but only if I can find something (even only a little bit) better!

I have a very inflexible job and cannot call up at 8am to make appointments. Personally, I need a reliable online system where I can book appointments, order repeat prescriptions etc., and where if the surgery says it will send a script to the pharmacy, I am able to trust that will happen.

Does your GP surgery offer the above? Or should I stop hoping for the impossible, and just make do with the Jenner?

All advice welcome!

Try Woolstone Medical Centre.
The chemist is just across the road.

The Vale Medical Centre on Perry Vale, pharmacy next door.

We’re with Vale Medical and they let you book online - although availability isn’t always great and sometimes you’re booking an appointment two weeks away. Prescriptions have gone through to the pharmacy next door without any problems.

The Vale isn’t great online wise/bookings… I was thinking of switching to the Jenner for that reason.

It is so different now than when I was little…our family GP was wonderful…Dr Terry…and his wife was our form tutor and biology teacher at Honor Oak girls school.

The Vale Medical Center got a new Practice Manager a few months ago, so maybe things will change and improve on the booking front…

Thanks everyone. Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my original post - Medicos pharmacy is right across the car park from the Jenner Practice - so it’s not geographical proximity that’s the issue! I was unable to get an appointment with the Jenner GPs so they gave me a link to a Push Doctor service instead, who did agree to give me a prescription - it was then sent to the Jenner, who then had to get it authenticated by one of the in-house GPs, and then send it to the pharmacy. In the end it took 12 days (and around 5 hours of phonecalls, hold time, Push Doctor appointment, pharmacy queuing etc.) from the first phonecall to getting the prescription in my hand, which for an urgent repeat prescription seemed a bit bananas. But maybe that’s just how it is these days.

Definitely don’t switch to the Jenner if it’s online bookings you want! The only way you can make an appointment at the moment is to phone at 8am, and they’ll try and offer you something same day, but it’s never worked out for me - I start work at 8am several days, and on the other days, they’ve only had 1-2 time options that have clashed with work meetings. Serves me right for working in mental health I suppose!

Are you referring to the Forest Hill group practice?
I think Dr Terry was still there but on the verge of retiring when we joined the practice, but I’ve always heard good things about him.

At least you are offered an appointment! We are now encouraged to send an e consult & wait for a phone call, unless it’s urgent.
Those e consults are an absolute pain, there are pages & pages of the same thing over & over, & if you put the wrong thing, you are then told to contact your GP!