Sovereign Practice - Eastbourne

Silver S.

Grim.
Impossible to get an appointment, just an insanely oversubscribed practice.
You can only ring for an appointment at 8.30am (prime commuter time). The moment 8.30am strikes, the phone line opens and it's an insane scrum. You'll get the busy tone instantly, and then you'll need to redial over and over and over again.

Eventually you might get through to the automated queuing system. Today I was number 77! Yesterday I was 54. Approximate waiting time according to the robotic voice was 4 hours and 45 minutes. Obviously you're NOT getting an appointment that day. And the 'ring back' service stops working when so many people opt to use it, so you have no option but to give up or foolishly wait on the line. Don't bother, there's only a dozen appointments per day. It greatly bothers me that the GPs seem oblivious to this. So often they tell me to let them know how I get on with a new dose or a medication trial. But there's no pre-bookable appointments for working people. You have no way to communicate effectively with the GP for medication reviews. Your meds won't even appear on your electronic medical record for repeat ordering, because the Dr forgets to put it on the repeat medication list. They blatantly don't understand their own system.

At 9am the online messaging service opens, but it's the same story as the phone. Within seconds, the service is at capacity and you can not then request help from a GP or admin.

Simple tasks such as adjusting dosages on a prescription become a massive fiasco. I'm on a medication that should be adjusted throughout the year depending on my symptoms. Yet the surgery will be impossible to communicate with, the prescription query emails will be ignored or refused, and no-one takes ownership of the query. The patient is stonewalled.

It can take over a week of ringing the surgery admin, writing letters and emailing prescription requests with notes, all for everything to be ignored.

Only getting an appointment with the GP will get me anywhere. And that is an absolute waste of a valuable appointment. It's also a waste of my time and my employer's time. My dose adjustments could easily be managed by an independent prescriber. So why isn't this happening?

The problem - besides there being far too many patients on the books and too few GPs - is the doctors don't delegate appropriate tasks to other qualified health professionals. For example, there are no independent prescribing pharmacists running clinics at Sovereign practice. The government has mandated that all pharmacists must be prescribers if working in primary care. So why isn't the surgery taking advantage of that resource? The answer is the GPs refuse to surrender any prescribing powers. The GPs are in-charge of the purse strings, and have been for many years now. And the practice has suffered from their ineffectual use of public funds.

Other health professionals are now also qualifying as independent or supplementary prescribers, like specialist nurses and paramedics. But the GPs still want the ultimate say when it comes to prescribing. This slows the process to a crawl and is unresponsive to a patient's changing needs. The system is so cumbersome. Allowing independent prescribers to issue prescriptions within a range of agreed doses should be a simple and safe task.

It's horrifying seeing more homes and flats being built in the area. Sovereign practice will never cope unless it recognises the importance of other qualified healthcare professionals.

SB B.

I had to leave my previous surgery of 35 years due to a change of address. I'm in my 70s, and not someone who'd naturally camp outside doctors' surgery, unless it is absolutely necessary. I find the receptionists confrontational, off-hand and dismissive. Extremely hard to get a face-to-face appointment. I'm devastated for having ended up here and I genuinely fear for my future medical care.

Michael H.

What's the point of having a doctor when you can't even get past the receptionist who think they are doctors.ill be changing doctors yet again.its discussing.rang and was told to go to walk in centre.so what's the point in having a doctor if there just going to send you to the walk in centre. Rang today to make a complaint and asked for all my doctor records. To be told if you need an appointment I hsve loads available today and that was at 10 o'clock.think they just make it up and don't like working.i said no thanks needed a doctor weeks ago not now

Claire B.

A practice that moves with the times. From the old days of queueing outside for an appointment on the day (whilst being in a queue on the mobile) now you message the doctor, book online or ring. I love the messaging, if the doctor thinks its urgent they whip you in. Mostly I've a little issue and advice is prompt and reassuring with cream etc that stops the issue worsening. Four star as not so easy for none technical folk; plus no countdown when on a general NHS waiting list to know how many more months to wait.

Sheree F.

I'm very happy with the service. They have a great call back service so I dont have to wait long on the phone. I've had scans and annual reviews and the clinical staff are helpful and attentive.

Yam N.

Place full of 🎪 circus ;
1. Booking appointment only on phone call takes more than weeks,
2. Keep removing registration,
3.Call back system is more worse have to wait again 20min on phone .
I don’t recommend this GP ; unless you want to spend your time 🕰️

Rose E.

The worse GP practice all the sistem need to change the staff ar absolutely rude specially the receptionist who thinks are doctors is impossible to book eny apoiment ..I've move to other GP and finally Ive mange with there's suport to have my surgery..cus with this practice you can die.

Sarah W.

Having been invited for a blood pressure and cardiovascular review appointment which should happen yearly…. Have not had one since 2018… the earliest blood test I could book is January 2023…. Unbelievable shocking disappointing. Let’s hope I don’t die before then.