Portsdown Group Practices

Had to register here after old practice closure. So far so good but I wish it was easier to phone and the on line appts never have any spaces.

My Dr - Monnery great guy

I have used The surgery a lot over the past year for myself and my daughter and have always been very impressed with the kindness of the team and the thoroughness of the support. I have usually been able to make an appointment when I have needed to and they have been especially helpful when my daughter was ill.
The online appointment and prescription service is especially useful.

There have been some minor issues with getting through on the phone and repeat prescription mix ups and it is true that medical team and receptionists do seem to move around a lot but overall I would highly recommend Heyward Road surgery!

I have been with this Doctors for a while now. The Doctors are fantastic. My Doctor takes the time to sit away from the computer and talk, he makes you feel you can go there with trust and have a professional relationship with his patients.

Myself and my family have been patients here for a long time. It used to be a lovely surgery with friendly staff who knew their patents. Sine portsdown group has taken over it has sadly become awful..doctors have left and the receptionists and nurses are never the same people..it's as if heyward road is an inconvenience to the group who would rather concentrate on their big surgeries. I expect heyward road will soon close..time to look for another surgery!

I have been with this surgery for over 15 years. It was amazing and I still can't fault the doctors and their care. All have gone above and beyond in the treatments for myself and family. However they recently merged into the ports down group. Since then I have had appointments cancelled on me over 4 times I've had appointments made for me at somers town despite me saying it's too far away. I have had to use st marys walk in several times as there has been no emergency appointments. The telephone system is a nightmare and you rarely get through to the right person or surgery and no one is helpful on the phone any more. They really don't care about you or your situation. I am sure the doctors would be horrified by the attitude of staff on the phone and that we can't get to see them when we need to. I am seriously considering moving now.

When I first moved to Southsea I felt lucky to have found a good doctors. Since its become Portsdown group my only option for an appointment is at Sommers town an hour walk away from my home. With no car and 2 small children this is hardly any help. On top of this they now tell me that they are to busy to issue prescriptions meaning that 8 days after putting in a request for a repeat prescription it still wasn't available having previously been been told by them on the phone it would be 4 days. I will be moving my family to a doctor's which can actually provide basic care.

I'm not excited that Heyward joined Portsdown Group, especially when I am forced to go to Somers Town for appointments, which is an inconvenience as Heyward is closer to me. But it is what it is.

What I don't like is how the receptionists shout across the room at you, instead of speaking in a confidential manner. They don't seem to care or consider that perhaps the patients do not want to share their Date of Birth, or why they're there for an appointment, with the whole room. The receptionist recently announced to the whole room that I came in for a blood test. Why would they do that? Very unprofessional!

There was also a time when I called the Surgery to book an appt with the doctor to get test results and the receptionist took it upon themselves to give me my results instead!! I was livid...even more so because they gave me the wrong results! How do I know? Because I made sure to discuss them with the nurse at the hospital when I attended my appointment, so I did have an idea of what they would be. How unprofessional are these receptionists? I did tell the receptionist off and mentioned that they had no business giving me my results seeing as the receptionist does not have a medical degree or any sort of medical qualification. I also complained to the doctor, who I eventually spoke to, and the doctor said they had a policy whereby the receptionist could give out results that are negative (or where there is no concern). I did say that I did not like that policy and didn't think it was professional to have a receptionist interpret medical results. I hope they have made the right changes here! I agree that there's no need to wait to see a doctor if there is nothing to worry about, but at the very least, the doctor should write or call the patient and explain that there is nothing to worry about - not send the receptionist!!

And let's forget to mention the toilet at reception. God forbid you are in a position such as mine where I had to give a urine sample. The toilet is just by the reception so everyone can see you go in and out. The nurse asked me to pass the sample to the receptionist and I asked them if I could hand it to them instead (at their office) because I was embarrassed that everyone at the reception would see me hand in the sample. I would feel embarrassed for any other patient in that position. The nurse actually laughed at me! The nurse then asked what it mattered as I was still going to use the loo at the reception. Needless to say I was infuriated!! The nurse couldn't care less... I am sure there is another toilet at the surgery that is more private that they could have let me use, but for some reason the nurse was insistent that I use the one at the reception. Again, very unprofessional!

Heyward Road is a good surgery, but the admin side of things need vast improvement. Confidentiality and professionalism is key!

When I came to this doctors they found out I had kidney problems. My doctors before never found this out. Sometimes it can take a while on the phone to be contacted, but you have to bare in mind that you're not the only one with health needing to be checked. Also any calls from 11:30-2pm won't be answered as it's their lunch time.

Always had great service here and been able to get a same day appointment every time

Good