Hetherington Group Practice makes me love the NHS…read more Which is probably about enough info to make you sign up, if you're lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) to live the catchment area. I moved to the UK (from the US) two years ago, and had a rocky start, but when I found these guys... they listen to you, aren't super rushed, and give you what you need to get better. And they seem to always have short-notice appointments. My doctor (Yay, Dr. Gill!) even rang me after a week to give me some further information. Brilliant. (though now I've probably ruined it by getting you people to move to the 'hood and sign up. They should still be acknowledged, though.)

Care is Excellent. The Care Quality of the Doctors is exemplary…read more The Reception staff are polite, helpful and kind

I'd say Gower Street Practice is pretty acceptable. Although, having no UK-based surgeries with…read morewhich to compare it, I wouldn't necessarily take my word for it. Just sayin'. But if you still want to, by all means read on. The physicians are concerned for you yet hurried and therefore get you in and out of the office in ten minutes. They strike an unusual and slightly unnerving balance between making you feel as if you're just another blip on the radar of the appointment day and as if you're a real person with potentially real medical problems. The front-office staff work efficiently. Since the office is in a primarily student-populated area, the waiting room is full of pamphlets that run the gamut from warnings against chlamydia (you whore) to instructions on how to cook healthily for yourself to stave off the obesity epidemic (booga booga). It's also full of students and the odd pensioner. Conveniently, the office runs walk-in clinics every day for those people who seem to be personally opposed to setting doctor's appointments. Although, if this applies to you, be prepared to wait for a long time. And then to use the toilet during your wait because of the four cups of coffee you had before arriving. And then promptly cut the flesh of your hand open and rip your fingernail off on the toilet lock because it's fidgety and gets stuck while you're trying to lock it whilst fidgeting yourself. And then need to book yourself in to go see the nurse on top of seeing the doctor to get your wound cleaned and bandaged. This is all hypothetical, of course. I can't say I've ever got a same-day appointment like another reviewer, but the option of going to the walk-in clinic is always there. The nurse also conducts walk-in clinic hours for the prescription of contraceptives and the performance of smear tests. But of course the one time I went specifically to get my cervix swabbed she was too busy and made me set an appointment for the following week. I'm not gonna lie; I was pretty pissed about that. Not only did I reserve time in my day to make a special trip to get my vagina probed, but I was turned away-- My vagina, rebuffed; its pride, wounded.

The St Phillips Medical Centre was my doctors and dentists throughout university. It is aligned…read morewith the LSE though anyone can register if they live in the area. Also, whilst the GP practice is NHS the dentists is subsidised private. Fortunately my dealings with both aspects of the centres has been fairly limited. Still, whenever I have been to see the doctor they have all had a wonderful manner. The receptionists are less pleasant, though this seems to generally be the case with doctor's. Who knows, perhaps they are supposed to act as some sort of gauntlet. The receptionists at the dentists on the other hand are lovely, as is the dentist himself. Whilst, having having your mouth prodded with sticks and things is never going to be a blast, as dentists go this place is pretty good. In so far as one can choose ones medical care this place deserves choosing.

I used the Dental Surgery at university and after - their service has been consistently good.read more

I think the plus point to any hospital is if you can walk out alive. Well, I'm writing a review…read morewhich means I made it out. Seriously, I have always been of two minds about Lewisham Hospital & NHS in general. I have had to be treated there 3 times, two of which were quite serious including my recent issue. There are some hit or misses about the place but as I said I lived to tell the tale and well, all things considered they did a really good job. I must say it is much cleaner here now than when I first had to stay over some years back.

Good morning I recently had to go to Lewisham A&E and I just want to…read morepraise them for their excellent care. I felt nervous about being in hospital and yet once being attended to I was fully confident that I was being checked over properly. I am very, very fortunate to have such a clean and professional facility available to me. Thank you to the doctor and nurses. Sophie Kirkham

It's always a worry trying to find a GP when you move to a new town. If you find yourself living in…read morecentral London, I'd happily recommend the GP practice I have used for 15 years. As well as a surgery in Pimlico, there's a branch surgery at the excellent South Westminster Health Centre in Vincent Square. This also provides referral services such as phlebotomy, a small X-ray and physiotherapy more conveniently than going to a hospital.

St Helier Hospital... What can I say really? This is the second time in 3 years I've had to use the…read moreA&E here and it really is not fun. The first time, I saw the triage nurse, got sent to a GP on site, only to be referee back to A&E and admitted for a week. The care was excellent over the week from the other nurses, but I was just restless. The second time, I had to wait in A&E for over two hours after waiting for blood samples to be taken. The triage nurse was very rude, however the Dr was lovely, taking an interest in my profession and having a chat about Brexit! If you didn't know it was a hospital, St Helier looks a bit like a prison with its fading white walls and unkept exterior. It's been kind of decorated inside though so it's not all bad!

I was admitted here by ambulance, in 2005, and stayed two weeks. The building(s) are very old,…read moreuncared for on the outside, and built on one or more hills. The ground floor passage in the main building leads through into different floors in other parts, which leads to a little confusion, at first. The care I received was excellent, from Nurses, Doctors and Consultants, and I consider the hospital as the best among the ten+ hospitals that I have been treated in. Every two or three days, my bed and furniture were moved around the ward, so that total cleaning of all floors, walls, and ceilings could take place. This was to prevent MRSA, which was, and is, very common in almost new hospitals, which are probably cleaned a lot less often. The food is pretty good, including in the cafeteria. The late Goon, Harry Secombe was a fan of this hospital and he equipped it with one of the first CAT scans in England.

I had a very good experience at this walk-in centre and would recommend it for seeking treatment…read moreadvice or routine medical care. I was referred here for treatment when the cold symptoms I had continued to worsen after 10 days. The staff were polite and efficient. The wait time to see the nurse was less than 30 minutes (mind you, this was a Monday morning in late June and not the peak of cold and flu season). The physical examination she conducted was thorough, hands-on, and certainly unlike anything I have experienced in the USA.* At first, the exam seemed too rudimentary to possibly be an effective diagnostic tool, but I was wrong. The nurse also had a significant number of questions to ask, along with inquiring as to how my specialist in Los Angeles had treated these same symptoms on previous occasions. The nurse seemed impressed by what I recounted to her, stating that the diagnostics and treatment my specialist in LA. had administered were rather advanced. Even so, I found her examination and line of questioning impressive. As it turned out, her diagnosis and prognosis were spot on. Even better, this service would have cost me at least 250 US dollars at my physician in Los Angeles, whereas it only cost me 25 pounds in the UK. Based on this one experience, I wouldn't hesitate to come here again. Hours of operation... Monday-Friday 8.00am-8.00pm Saturday-Sunday 10.00am-8.00pm (also Bank Holidays) closed Christmas Day * In America, physicians are reluctant to touch patients unless absolutely necessary, lest they be sued. Americans tend to be overly litigious.

Friendly nurses! What a relief to walk into an NHS clinic and not be greeted with either a…read moredeathstare, apathetic look, or derision. Those three describe my two previous encounters with the NHS so luckily I haven't been sick much in the last 3 years. Now to be fair, I'm actually a fan of the NHS. Sure I hate paying NI taxes as much as anyone, but I do appreciate not having to pay when I do need to use a hospital. However, I've heard the horror stories and lived in a slight fear that I may shoplift a few germs inadvertently while I'm there due to lower the spectacular conditions that result when you put too many people into too small a space and fail to provide enough funding (which has been spent on fancy ways to blow up caves). This slightly irrational fear is made worse when you are going to a walk-in clinic which in the states would be crammed with coughing, dirty, mostly homeless people who have no private medical insurance to rely on. Luckily, within 30 seconds of walking into the Soho Walk-in Clinic, my fears were put to rest. The receptionists are very friendly and patiently took me through the process of registering and explained the next few steps. The waiting room was quite spacious and turnover fairly high so everyone was spaced several seats apart. A selection of newspapers and magazines (fairly recent) were also provided in case you didn't have a phone or book to keep you occupied. The place was also very clean which is quite a feat when you are catering to sneezing and coughing invalids. After being called in for a quick screening which consisted of a few questions, I was told it would be under an hour before I saw the nurse. I should note that there are only nurses here and not full doctors so if you are seriously ill they will likely have to refer you to one of the full hospitals. However, for most things they are more than capable of diagnosing and dosing you up. About 30 minutes after the screening, I was called in to see a nurse. First off, she was hilarious. I do appreciate it when they give you a bit of banter rather than just rattling off questions in as efficient a manner as possible. While taking my blood pressure we had a bit of a chat about things and she was pretty good with explaining what she was about to do. It was also a fairly educational experience as I learned that I was borderline overdosing on paracetamol (too many Lemsip Max tablets in one day) and that it can have serious consequences like stopping your heart. Fair enough, I will follow the instructions more carefully from now on. I was diagnosed with tonsillitis in about 10 seconds flat and given penicillin right there. I definitely appreciate being dispensed drugs on site as it avoids an annoying trek and wait to Boots when you just want to feel better. My nurse was also good at explaining the importance of following the full 10 day regime despite the fact I'd likely feel fine after 3 days. If she hadn't mentioned it, I would have been very tempted to stop after a few days (I don't like taking pills) but that would have helped push along the development of a penicillin resistant strain which isn't good for anyone. Overall, I was very pleased with my experience and would definitely recommend the Soho Walk-in clinic to everyone. I'll be going there as my first stop next time I'm sick for sure!

I have never had anything other than great service from everyone at the medical centre…read more very happy.

GPs: I had to talk to a different doctor every time I consulted. Most seem bored and uncaring, if…read morenot plain rude. One of them diagnosed me with something I didn't have based on very little evidence. One of them gave an incorrect answer to a basic but crucial question of mine. One of them could not make their own decisions + failed to clearly mention all symptoms on my referral letter, which made my problem seem less urgent than it actually was. Reception staff: Most are rude and incredibly difficult to communicate with. I have been given inaccurate information on several occasions as well as the wrong testing kit. Also, patients are asked to wear a face covering but reception staff don't (as of July 2020). Overall, virtually every experience I have had with this practice has been unbelievably disappointing and I am truly worried about other people who have far more serious conditions and whose health lies in the hands of Riverside Medical Centre's GPs and reception staff.