Doctors of Northcote

Doctors and all are great. Only one person (Sandra) at Reception needs to be educated in services. She keep repeating to go around the counter as I am not allowed to view the screen. Where I was I was not able to see the screen anyway. I am disable and just needed to use the bench top to get my Seniors Health card for her to register. Sandra is a real grouch and must have got out on the wrong side of bed that morning.

I have been coming to Doctors of Northcote for a few years now and have always seen Dr Andrew Sampson. Dr Sampson has always been professional, caring and is always ready to listen. Most recently after contracting Covid, Dr Sampson took all phone call assessments was in regular contact to make sure I was ok.

I couldn’t be more impressed and grateful for the care I received and couldn’t recommend him highly enough. Thank you Doctors of Northcote for having such a skilled and knowledgeable doctor working at your practice.

I have been a patient of Doctors of Northcote for years, the GP's are fantastic and the admin staff are exceptional and understanding. I highly recommend this practice.

So rude and unhelpful. A confused, elderly, hard of hearing man came in saying he received a msg to come in for an appointment. He was clearly distressed. The woman at the counter just got frustrated with him and and told him to go home. All because she couldn’t be bothered to try understand him. If you work in this field you should know how to help someone who is struggling. Especially the elderly. Better training is needed to help the vulnerable without judgment. Be better!

Stay away from 'Dr. ' Andrew Sampson! I was a loyal patient at Doctors Of Northcote for almost 8 years. I went from seeing a 'champion' GP in Dr. Rasika, who unfortunately last year left the clinic, to then seeing a 'dud' GP in Andrew Sampson. His incompetence and ignorance as a GP has cost Doctors Of Northcote a long time patient, as I recently had my file transferred across to another clinic. His inability as an effective practitioner is why the clinic lost me. I'm now seeing a new doctor, who's addressed and detected issues Andrew Sampson never did.
It was all over, after my last appointment. Here's a summary of why I said 'enough';
1. He is cold and comes across as unconcerned. You are just another number to him. It's impossible to have a warm and trusting repoire with Andrew.
2. He kept me waiting approximately 40 minutes and was unapologetic.
3. Prior to calling me, he had seen a couple with a baby. The baby had either had a nappy change or even perhaps an 'accident'. After they left, I was called in. The stench was unbearable. The room was claustrophobic and smelly. I had to hold my breath and was on the brink of vomiting. Do you think this man had the courtesy or decency to use a room spray? Did he even consider his next patient? Again, he was unapologetic.
4. I asked him for a prescription. My request was clear. In return he gives two prescriptions to me (I don't know why). When I arrived home and had a look at them, they both were wrong. I hadn't asked for neither one. Hence I was back to Square One, without a prescription, and my medication had run out. Very poor and unprofessional, Mr. Sampson.
5. He suggested I have a treatment, that with my pre-existing conditions, could be potentially lethal. He gave it no thought, but just went along with common practice. He did not base this on my individual case. He either doesn't have an understanding of my conditions, or he quite evidently hasn't done his research. This is dangerous practice. I was disgusted and I realised at this point that I was not in safe hands.
My new doctor, who provided a second opinion, confirmed what I already knew, that Andrew was wrong. In conclusion, I wanted to make this public and make others aware that they should carefully select their practitioner. They're not all skilled and understanding out there. I also will be lodging a complaint about this 'doctor' to the AMA.

Love this clinic! I feel like I have almost seen every doctor there over the years, they’re all great. My two recent favourites being Dr Emily and Dr Andrew. I have been struggling a lot since COVID started, as I’m sure most people have. It really means a lot to me when admin is always so nice and accommodating when I come in.

So grateful to have found a caring GP! Dr Holly Harman is kind, empathetic, and a pleasure to deal with. She has made me feel super comfortable, and I feel like she genuinely cares for my welfare. I have also seen Dr Janice Lam and she is also wonderful - caring, kind and very thorough. I've had nothing but good experiences with Doctors of Northcote. Thank you!

Dr Magdalena Janiak was super nice, helpful with everything I needed to bring up, comfortable environment, recommend.:)

I am so glad I came across this clinic and more importantly the amazing Dr Leanne Hoang. Dr Hoang has been a huge support to me with my ongoing mental health issues. I have been blown away at her compassion, kindness and patience and I finally feel like I am being listened too and can begin my road to recovery. My partner has also had great experiences with Dr Andrew Sampson and Dr Magda Janiak who absolutely raves about their care and professionalism. Great work Doctors of Northcote!

Dr Kelly is really fantastic - I couldn’t recommend her and Doctors of Northcote enough - she goes above and beyond for her patients.

I can't rate this clinic high enough. My family and I have been coming to Doctors of Northcote for years. Between the 4 of us, we've seen a number of Doctors who have all been very helpful, kind and professional. We've also used the nurse for our kids childhood vaccinations, Isabelle is great! We've found the online booking system to be very easy to use and have had only positive experiences with the lovely admin ladies.

Desperately disappointed with the admin at this clinic. I realise they are very busy but with a minor heart issue I expressed how important it was, in advance, that my patient files be handed over to my new clinic when I moved. My historical details and scans are crucial, I tried to stress this.
Not only did this take several calls and WEEKS, and the wrong form, but they clearly forgot and then decided to send it via CD that would take many days to arrive. My new doctor kindly took my word for my prescription and chased it up themselves.
This has really not helped my recovery at all. How hard can it be to send a patient file via email? Pleeeaaase work on this.

I agree with pretty much everyone else here. Doctors are supurb but the pricing is very high. I expect to pay more for good doctors but still feel the costs are over the top.

Booked a spirometry test for my 4 year old. On each occasion it was cancelled on the morning of the appointment. Just became so unreliable we gave up. Was told the practice manager would call me and they never did. Really disappointing

I see Dr Leanne Hoang here. She's fantastic, really cares about her patients all round well being, very professional and compassionate. I initially only came for mental health plan, but stayed with her as my primary. The clerical staff are always friendly and I've never waited more than half an hour. Also enjoy access to the hotdoc app, super handy for checking appt availability.

Second time I’ve been here, first time wasn’t so bad, but the second was not good at all.
I went to get a mental health plan, he asked me questions and it sounded like he was giggling on the other end of the phone after I answered his questions.
Yea, because making the appointment wasn’t hard enough.
Would not recommend.

Edit: was charged $220 for a 15 minute mental health plan consult over the phone.
Yes, I admit I didn’t have a Medicare because it expired 4 months ago but I was more expecting $80, on what planet dose it cost $200 for 15 minutes!? !? !

I am not using my real name because I don’t want to be mocked as this is what I’d assume you people would do by you’re previous actions.

I called to make an appointment for a mental health plan. The receptionist stated to me that I could do a mental health consult over the phone and booked the appointment. (I had preferred in person, but in these times was flexible). When I received the call from the doctor, she stated that we couldn’t complete the mental health plan as she needed a double session to complete it. When I informed her that I told the receptionist what the appointment was for, she offered to start it and then finish it another time, or just hang up and book a double another day. Since I was going to still have to pay for this appointment, I decided to just start it. (As I do not qualify for Medicare on my visa, I have to pay for everything upfront and then claim it.) When I called the receptionist to bring up this issue, I asked if the double had been booked as a phone consult, if it would have been more money. She stated that it wouldn’t have been more, but refused to waive the fee for a second appointment, even though it was a mistake on their part. She accused me of lying, and said she would talk to the doctor and get back to me. I never received a call. Although the doctor seemed nice, would NEVER recommend this office.

Most of the doctors I’ve seen at this clinic are highly unprofessional. Most recently I saw Dr Janice Lam and she was to follow up on some information regarding vaccinations. Because she wasn’t informed of the details herself she had to ask a nurse to research the safety. The nurse however was leaving for the day. I was told they’d follow up on this. I’ve never heard back from them. The clinic however happily took my money for this appointment. In another instance the clinic’s check in system failed and I was made to wait almost two hours until the doctor left and never saw me because of a technical failure. I have lots of stories of this place. It’s just not very good.

Have been with Dr Wong myself and with Dr Sutton for my child. Both are great doctors: friendly, sympathetic and very competent. The clinic itself is well managed. Highly recommended!

The doctor I had for my consultation (Dr Amarasekera) made me feel very uncomfortable, I ended up leaving before getting the checkup/documentation I originally came in for. Thankfully I did not pay.

Between switching back and forth from my preferred name and my legal name, nervous and frantic inability to verbalise a coherent sentence while discussing LGBTQI+ terminology, and complete lack of compassion discussing anxiety symptoms, I fear this doctor (sucks to write this) is either queerphobic or extremely judgemental in relation to mental health topics. It's hard to tell which of the two, but NO doctor should make a patient feel this awkward, self conscious and more anxious than when they arrive, especially when they are trying to navigate a service which is already by nature so inaccessible!

Before I left the doctor advised me HE was feeling uncomfortable - I suspect this is because my body language suggested I was becoming increasingly more agitated and anxious as he continued. I quite literally had to leave due to feeling shamed - weirdest GP experience I've ever had. Judging from other reviews I am sure other doctors here are doing a good job, but just a heads up, if you're gender diverse or wanting someone empathetic in relation to mental health I'd call to ask if anyone specific would be suitable, rather than trying your luck. This really sucked.