Dreadful attitude to patients
I have suffered the arrogance of the receptionists at Lordswood for many years, but in recent years it has started to affect my health and I feel I need to warn people. Initially, my concerns were triggered by listening to the receptionists slagging off telephone callers (by name and sometimes by address) while I was sitting, waiting to see a doctor. I used to comment on this behaviour to whichever doctor I saw (including the managing partner) but nothing ever changed. Since Covid, Lordswood Practice seems to have abandoned the concept of patients seeing doctors. In 2022, I tried for two months without success to get an appointment to discuss coming off one of my medications. Every day I was told “No. No appointments. Try again tomorrow.” even though I was happy to accept an appointment days or weeks in the future. My carer even turned up every day in person for two weeks before they opened the phone lines for appointments. She was literally first in the queue, ahead of everyone else, but every day she was told the same thing “No appointments” Eventually, she broke down in the street after she caught the receptionists sniggering and nudging each other as she walked in. She had to be comforted and helped home by a kind, passing hospital doctor. After two months, I accepted defeat and just stopped taking the drug (an antidepressant) without medical supervision. And yes, it was horrible (but I am glad I did it). When my carer asked me “Why are they (the receptionists) like this?” I answered “Because they can be. It’s an abuse of power. They are little people trying to punish the world for their littleness.” Finally, Lordswood is yet another practice that is trying to force patients to see ‘physician assistants’ rather than qualified doctors. These assistants only have to have a science degree to be employed (eg geography or geology) and don’t need any medical or first aid training or experience. The original justification for this idea (which came from American healthcare and private equity firms as a way of boosting profits from deprived areas and vulnerable people ) was to help with administration. But now they are to be the first line of people seen by patients. I wish the regulator would do something about this place. For too long, It has been allowed to be a goldmine for the partners at the expense of patients. But if you can never get an appointment with a doctor, why is the NHS continuing to give the place millions of £’s per annum (I meant it when I said it is a goldmine)? The taxpayers should not be paying private businessmen (the partners) for a service that is not being delivered.