Middle Chare Medical Group - Chester-le-Street

david K.

Went for bloods taken on Thursday explained had bad cough return after chest xray in November last year. Was told to see reception for apt to see dr in the morning. Surprise surprise was told to ring up at 8am the following day to book apt so rang up at 8am only to be told 16th in the queue. Finally got through and explained situation lo and behold no apts left told to ring 111 for an emergency apt. Absolutely pathetic no wonder people are dieing does anyone actually care?

Stephen H.

Genuinely the worst surgery ever. Never have any appointments left and always told to ring back at 8am the next day to be told exactly the same thing… that’s if you don’t get cut off when you make it first in the queue.
Could be dead by the time you speak to someone!

Mick D.

Additional- Feb 2025 - Negligent New Doctor (see revolving door mentioned below) has decided that "guidelines" are more important than actual patient history.

**My father had an emergency MRI appointment made by a local hospital for this weekend....having historically been provided with calming medication due to severe panic attacks in such environment (several previous MRIs) my father requested a script from the surgery for the same medication, the hospital confirmed he should seek this from his GP.
Doctor Barrass however appears to be dogmatically opposed to fulfilling this script due to "guidelines" completely ignoring (neglecting) my father's well documented medical history available for him to consult should he have so chosen.
My father now faces the prospect of severe distress during a vital scan prior to life changing emergency surgery in two weeks...what happened to "do no harm"

Having had an issue with this particular GP 's approach myself quite recently (literally asking "well what fo you want me to do about your mental health?"), there appears to be a major attitude issue regards actually caring for patients.

A formal complaint will be submitted to all levels possible.

Previous Review -- Nurse practitioner actually cares and has been great but the practice management needs overhauled. Revolving door of doctors it seems.
What is the point of the E-consult system if the response is "call us for an appointment". Impossible to reach anyone unless you sit on the phone constantly from 8am which isn't possible when you start work at 8.

Emma D.

Can’t book appointments in advance, advised to call at 8am to guarantee an appointment that day. Booked a day off work, rang at 8:02am and have been waiting 2.5 hours and counting to get through on the phone.

Nathan C.

Called the surgery and got a same day appt for my daughter. We seen the NP Michelle and she was great. She did a thorough exam and reassured us. She also prescribed some new creams to try and better manage her eczema, which was a separate issue to why we visited today.

Richard W.

Worst doctors surgery ever, wait an eternity to get throught to anyone, always get cut off when they're busy and they plead ignorence. The doctors at the practice are extremely ignorent and rude, with zero patienet empathy. What you in and out in 2 minutes and pay no attention to anything you tell them & try to fob you off with the easiest possible issue every single time.

I will be looking in to claims of medical negligence from this medical centre as my health has well and truly been neglected since being with them.

George

It is impossible to get appointments for that day after 9AM and so, they advise to call at 8AM. The issue is, they refuse to turn the phones on at 8AM and so, you have to sit and call repeatedly until you get an answer from them. For people, like myself who start work at 8AM, this means that you have to take a day off work in order to try and book an appointment which in itself is never guaranteed.

This morning, I called no less than 40 times before they actually turned the phone on. Once I finally made it through, I was put in a queue with one person in front of me. This queue took 23 minutes to get through and once I finally did, I was told there were no more appointments for that day so an entire hour was wasted.

There is no online booking system for appointments, unlike a majority of GP surgeries these days.

I used this GP for 18 years and thought it was decent. After moving to another location and coming back, I can really see how dated and unfit for purpose it is in its current way of operating.

Lynne R.

Excellent practice through all staff from reception to partner. Always helpful. Nothing but positive feedback from me across middle chare and woodlands. Very happy that I chose them. Seen me through the routine to the life threatening. Superb.