City GPs Ltd - Te Aro

Had been a patient at City GPs for over five years! Good for minor issues such as head cold, flu etc that heals by itself, for anything that needs real treatment, go elsewhere! Don't for a sec believe Doctors don't lie just because they had taken an oath, they do, just like your plumber, for a few extra bucks! Otherwise, the only explanation for my experience would be, these are bunch of incompetents!

My doctor was great, I saw him for about five years. The administration team however were the obnoxious and terrible to deal with. They misplaced a payment and hounded me for proof that I payed for months. They wouldn’t respond to my emails but would send out fresh invoices. I advised them several times that I had paid on the day but they failed to keep their own records. I paid, they lost the record of payment and expected me to prove I had paid. I was patient for over around 6 years and they prioritised $19 over my continued business. I’m the end I chose to pay and move on. I would strongly advise against using this clinic.

I’ve had some great banter with the receptionists, although it feels forced & they attempted to charge me the wrong amount, now I’m not much of a confrontational person so I naturally felt embarrassed, even terrible having to tell her she was charging me $30 more than my normal amount. Their waiting room is quite pleasant & even comes with a tv with some funnies on it although it’s because doctors become late & have me waiting for 35 minutes after my initial appointment time, granted I’m completely understanding that things can happen when being a doctor & I’m sure they had valid reasons, except when someone came over to suggest booking another time, I was slightly frustrated as I was experiencing an unknown infection that was deteriorating my skin & eyes at the time which was causing me anxiety & discomfort, I’d already pre-called a day prior asking for the closest available time, so to be suggested to pick another date was just down right distressing. I’ve experienced quite fast & efficient care from numerous amount of doctors there at City GPs when it comes to minor inconveniences that I’ve experienced, they’ve provided medication that I needed when I’ve had something wrong then I’m out. It’s nice to experience service like this in a fast pace world, although it’s distressing when you come to your doctor about an issue & they try get you in & out as soon as possible, I recently experienced the opposite experience with a doctor where they talked bare minimum about something that was happening within my body & spent the 87% of the conversation about COVID-19 that was completely irrelevant to the issue at hand, & I didn’t even mention Covid-19 once so for him to give me a whole run down on how Covid-19 spreads was slightly frustrating considering I’m not paying a doctor to educate me on a virus I’m well aware of & how it works. Granted, I could imagine in the health care spectrum Covid-19 has become quite a serious thing to prepare for as well as being a hot topic, my issue was completely unrelated to Covid-19 & felt trapped in the doctors office when in reality I just wanted to learn about my own problem. As mentioned above the doctors there have treated most of my problems I’ve experienced physically, & I’m extremely grateful I’m not sick anymore. Although I feel like such an inconvenience to some of the doctors I’ve been seen by there, like I’m just some cog in a machine, & once I’ve gone there already pre-planning on getting the next patients out as soon as possible. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m being listened to by my doctors ether, granted to this day I’ll put more trust in them than myself because I’m no health care professional, but I still feel the unsettling sense that my issues are being read over especially considering I came in for an unusual bump on my neck & he examined the wrong area & agreed there was a lump there even though he never actually managed to find the lump & I had to assure him to check in the area I specifically told him to check, & for him to only notice it even though he agreed to a bump on my neck that wasn’t even there in the first place which came across strongly as if he was just agreeing with me to get me out. I’m uncertain if I want to warn people to not use this as there main medical centre, but for me I’m unfortunately having to change as I’ve had to many uncomfortable experiences here that in the end made me disapprove with their professionalism, customer Service as well as going against my morales when it comes to health care. I’m grateful & appreciative for the treatment, but that is it.

If there was a possible zero stars then I would give this. Our son had food poisoning we tried to get him an appointment here because they were his doctors before we moved back to Christchurch. The woman on the phone was rude, unhelpful and seemed more interested in getting the government subsidies than anything else. After going through the rigmarole of re registering they gave him a phone consultation which cost $35 to be told drink fluids and rest. No tests nothing for what is a registered Ministry of Health disease. I am appalled by this level of service and sure in hell will never go there again. Be warned these people are only interested in getting a new BMW it seems.

I've been meaning to leave this review for a while--I had such a disappointing experience with this practice in 2020 that I feel the need to warn others to stay away, or to be cautious. I arrived early for my appointment but the reception staff was so slow to check me in—I was literally standing in line at the desk for 10-15 minutes, waiting to speak with a receptionist—so that by the time I was checked in, my appointment time had started. As a result, the Dr. cut my appointment short. We spoke for perhaps 10 minutes, for $70 or so. Worse than that, she was extremely dismissive of my concerns and requests, did not order anything I asked her to (a test, or referral, or... anything), and was extremely condescending. She said she didn't have time to answer all my questions, and made inappropriate comments about my body type. It was one of the most incompetent medical appointments I've had. I had to immediately book another Dr. elsewhere to get the treatment I needed. I see that that Dr has since retired so perhaps when she saw me she was simply not invested in her patients anymore. It's possible there are other more competent Dr.s in the practice but the whole experience and reception treatment put me off investigating further. I've since moved to a suburban medical practice that I travel out to and am just amazed at the difference. My new Dr takes the time we need to talk through anything I'm going through, orders all the tests I need, the practice as a whole treats me with respect, and the prices are better. I hope this place improves!

Very unfair systems about waiting time. Every single time when I visited I always need to wait for 20+ minutes even when I booked the appointments in advance. There was once I arrived literally 1 minute late, the reception spent 3 minutes to ask the doctor if they can still see me, and the answer was No. I was punished for 1 minute late, yet they are like half an hour late every time!!!! Absolutely terrible experience.

I’m naming names because I think it’s necessary so others can avoid my mistake, or at least be cautious. Always read the reviews! And don’t ask receptionists for their recommendations—I asked for an experienced GP who would listen to me, and instead I got a registrar (Javier Stroud) who made a crazy dx at my first clinical appt, changed my medication, overriding all other dx and information from my long-term specialist—and then refuses to accept or even acknowledge any evidence including what is sent to him by other health Pracitioners. SURREAL. He is, however, continually pressuring me to come in to see him for free appointments despite the fact I have repeatedly told him I’m not going to unless we iron out these problems first. I’ve told him that my concerns are about him, not my health. (I’ve had to go to an after hours doctor and then ED to get urgent treatment + minor surgery in threatre.) Funny that many of these bad reviews are replied to by practice manage Lorraine Wood—because she totally ignored me when I requested to change GPs, and I decided she didn’t exist. She replied only to hassle me to respond to a notification of an appointment that Javier made for me expressly against my wishes—which I have no duty to respond to. The has resumed ignoring me, including my request to complain. Under the H&D regulations we’re allowed to complain and have our complaints dealt with reasonably, but Javier puts all this in my clinic notes instead. It’s like the Twilight Zone. I’ve repeatedly asked their reception team and assistant practice manager to exit me and no one has replied. Have messaged another (experienced) doctor to see if he can help—here’s hoping. This MC used to have a good reputation—I don’t know what’s gone so wrong but I join others here by saying BEWARE. One of the GPs, Tony Jenks, has very good reviews (on a best GPs in Wgn site) and has been there a while. I’d say choose your GP, not your medical centre per se. Never had such a bizarre experience.

I have been a patient of city GP’s for more than twenty years. I have had several doctors of the highest standard through this time. If I ever need an urgent consultation, they have never failed to fit me in on the same day. The website and “manage my health” app work well for things such as bookings, health notices and repeat prescriptions.