McKenzie House - Hartlepool

Michelle S.

The worst GP surgery in the town. Can never get to see an actual GP. It's worrying the amount of people I know who have been mis diagnosed. Avoid at all costs. I've registered my family with another GP practice and they've been fantastic.

Julie W.

Have been a patient here for a long time and its gone down hill having recently had a bad fall which resulted in my having to have a shoulder replacement i left hospital with medication for the pain. One of which was codeine they said they could only syply 1 box even though rhey had prescribed a large dose. Getting though to rhe practice was almost impossible only to be told there was no appointments and couldnt get meds till id spoken to a prescriber so would have to eatger try next day or phone 111. I. Did this and they gave me a short supply till i can get more from my doctor's . Phoned again this morning and I'm back to Square one. Ive been told i can take 1-2 tablets 4x a daydepending on rhe pain. I am tryng to stick to 1 so i have enough to last but aak also trying to do my physio which can be painfull. Have enough tablets uf u only take 1 4 x a day to kast till tomorrow. So heres hoping i can get through

Brian H.

Every year I go for a MOT blood and blood pressure test always up (white coat syndrome) the staff are just fine clean and tidy

Tia K.

Appointment system is not appropriate. It makes you feel as though you are begging to be seen. I worry for the patients who have communication difficulties or for the people who don’t have the confidence or motivation to keep up with this system. For someone who is experiencing bereavement of the unexpected passing of my 10 day old son, I have not been shown the compassion I deserve. I am also becoming the patient who no longer has the motivation to battle this system. Every day and every memory of my son feels like a battle. It’s very distressing that the surgery make it feel like a greater battle when asking for help and support for something that is out of my control. Certain doctors within this surgery need trauma informed care training. And maybe a sprinkle of care and empathy would do the job. Certain doctors are not confident in their own practice, which affects the patients outcomes.

The C. D.

Terrible service and very poorly ran. My little girl was very sick and couldnt get an appointment to see a GP for the whole week, despite calling for an appointment everyday from 8.30am! Between 8.30 and 9am, you will get an automatic greeting message, and then automatically hung up after the message had been play. Then try again after 10am, you will be told no more appointment left and need to call 111. This happens everyday for the whole week. After my child got seen by the doctos at the hospital and told us she needs to do test at the GP, and put the notes on the system, but after another week of calling from the moment they open at 8.30, we couldnt get through and if cant see GP then no test can be done. I also heard similar complaints about this practice from others, avoid at all costs!!!

John B.

I’m writing this because of the arrogance of one of the receptionists I was taken off medication which I now know you’re supposed to slowly reduce the dosage.

I was a student in Hartlepool and I had to take anti-depressants because of failures to tackle bullying and harassment at the art school. I had gone home while I was waiting for a decision to be made by the art school and was keeping up with my medication by requesting them over the phone.

This was ok for a while but just before I had decided not to return to Hartlepool I tried to request some more medication while the transfer takes place but I was then told no by the receptionist, which you could tell by the pause in her voice that she on spot decided “we’re not taking prescription requests over the phone anymore”.

I don’t believe she had any medical knowledge, otherwise she would have known it’s not a good idea to take someone off Sertraline straight away. I didn’t know this either but ended up with worsening mental health and was barely able to function. I am also asthmatic so making obstacles to me receiving my medication can be life threatening.

This isn’t my only issue with this GP practice though.

The receptionists were telling me to go to the emergency room in the hospital for a non-emergency as ‘they don’t have an x-ray machine’. When I eventually ended up at the hospital I had ended up in the wrong department and it was all over the place and just confusing. What they should have done is book me in with a GP do they could direct me to the correct department. Again the receptionists lack of medical knowledge and procedure caused problems for me.

The fact they expect people to travel to different locations across Hartlepool when I don’t even drive is ridiculous, you should be able to decide where you want to see your GP. I realise I took my GP practice at home for granted, common sense seems to prevail at my GP practice in West Yorkshire and the staff are quite knowledgeable.

Pauline

I wld not recommended this surgery at all my son has been kicked out of this surgery because my 3month old granddaughter needed to see a doctor urgently and they wldnt let her see a doctor got told to ring the next day so we refused to move out the surgery till she got seen by a doctor they soon found her a appointment because we refused to move

Lauren H.

My dad had an appointment with Dr Timlin today, for a check up after his recent stroke 2 weeks ago, and I cannot thank Dr Timlin enough for the time he had given and really listened to my dad with the worried around his meds etc... I know they are extremely understaffed but the care and time given today and he checked through my dad's history to ensure he left with a full understanding of his conditions and medication and referred my dad to the relevant people and teams, I hope Dr. Timlin get to see this review, as I am so very much appreciative for him today, Thank you.