Moonee Ponds Medical Centre

Happy to name and shame here, WORST clinic I have EVER been to.
I have had Dr Hill laugh at me and tell me "there's not much I can do about that" for something that ended up being a simple fix.
I have had Dr Aslam call me for my Telehealth appointment to ask me "did you have an appointment today"

I drove 45 minutes to an appointment on Tuesday to be told it wasn't happening and they had called me - which they had called the wrong number. When I had asked why it hadn't been followed up or why I'd not received a text or email about the cancellation I was told "thats not allowed". The receptionist then told me to "sit and wait, the doctor might see you when they get here but I cant guarantee it"

I was then told to make another appointment and book it as Telehealth, for my doctor to call and say "as of last night the rules have changed and we can no longer do your appointment"
I don't understand why it's so hard to get some help for an autoimmune disease and mental health. No wonder so many people struggle with their health when terrible clinics like this are running.

Leaving 1 star feels generous.

If you can avoid this medical centre I would suggest doing so, I have been going here for years now and not once has any of the staff made me feel like they care or want to help me with my ongoing health issues. I had a telehealth appt with Dr Sameena Aslam yesterday, the receptionists told me she would call at 2: 30 it came through at 2: 11 and the phone call went for two rings before she hung up, with no voicemail left. The first time I visited her she made me cry from how patronising and insensitive she was. I am done with this place.

I will say that Dr Hugh Gallagher is lovely and has been the only doctor there that has shown any empathy and done all he can to help with my pain. If you must go to this practice I would suggest seeing him.

Terrible health care experience. Waited over 50 minutes despite having an appointment. Poor communication from staff. Saw a doctor who handball me off to the nursing team because he couldn't administer an injection. I will not be attending this clinic in future.

I booked tele appointment on 27/2/2021 @ 15: 45pm no one call me & Centre closed 8: 00 pm finally I end up to go to hospital after wating morthan 3 hours very Upset. I belive this medical centre doesn't have a good mangement system

The most disgusting attitude at a health care facility I have ever seen. Condescendingly told a walk-in patient with an emergency to wait for the nurse, 30 mins later we have to ask this woman who seemed to be the nurse. She told us there is no nurse here, came back to reception, barely apologised, she told us to wait again, specifically said she couldnt say how long the wait would be. 40 mins went by another walk-in patient came in and she told them at least a few hours until a doctor could be available. Pretty much lied to us when we asked how long, not sure why the complete absence of empathy and professionalism

6: 00 am: Made an appointment for a Telehealth consult for 12: 40pm (doctor Alan Hill)

7: 40 am: got a confirmation of appointment via email.

12: 40 pm: no phone call.

3: 00 pm: I made a phone call to see what was up. Turns out because I hadn’t been in the clinic physically for over 12 months, Medicare couldn’t bulk bill a Telehealth consult. Fair enough. Where was my phone call to cancel?
It was too late to get a proper appointment anywhere else and nowhere takes walk ins nowadays. So I asked to be seen as a walk in considering they did not inform me of my cancellation over 2 hours ago.

3: 30pm: I walk in and inform them of the situation and I’m told that I would be seen by Dr Alan Hill. They told me to sit and I would be called.

4: 30 pm: the reception notices I’m still waiting and realises no one has come to see me. Transfers me to another doctor.

5: 00 pm: I see Dr Hill walk out of the clinic right at knock off time. Why does he get to leave on time when I’ve been made to wait over 4 damn hours. Shortly, I get seen by another Doctor (Dr Facundo) who was a gentleman.

Aside from the good doctor Facundo and the sympathetic reception this experience made me think this clinic is a joke. Where is the customer service and professionalism? What clinic sends a confirmation of appointment and then doesn’t call to rectify it? How can I get compensated for the 4 hours I’ve lost? What if I had a school pick up/drop off that afternoon? What about MY family.

Get your act together Moonee Ponds. You have good people working there but your standards are very low.

This was one of the most appauling health related experiences my mother has ever experienced. She attended a CT scan process that was traumatizing. The lack of customer compassion and they clinicians was unable to complete the process. Would never recommend this service. The reception team are amazing but it lacks professionalism post there. Complaints contact details is incorrect

Came to get my Implanon taken out. Left with three stitches and my Implanon still in my arm. The doctor had no idea what he was doing.

They doesn’t answering phones, lady in reception never similes, mean, scared one day she will scream “i had enough! “ chairs so dirty black, no happy at all. One day i walked in reception said they dont have any doctors working in today at all “sorry “!

There needs to be training for receptionists to help them be more empathetic and have the capacity to to listen to patients.

When you are made to feel like a burden, to feel like you are interrupting their work and to be made to feel like you are lying, something is seriously wrong.

It’s not just about good use of a computer or good book keeping. You are in human services and could be rude to someone trying to manage serious health issues.

This review refers to one particular woman receptionist who l have supplied feedback to management previously.

On that occasion they kindly supplied a response. On this occasion several weeks later, no response.

Serving the state from a neo liberal top down business is never a great mix.

I will continue to go because of one doctor who l like. I just dread the call with the gate keepers!

13/04/21
Rang today to make another appointment. In the morning. Spoke to a lovely guy, very helpful. Needed to call back again in the afternoon, unfortunately, the same woman again answered who motivated me to write my original review. As gently sarcastic as ever. Blood pressure increased enough to document again. I asked for a certificate l forgot to ask the doctor for. Calmly she replies” l thought you saw the Dr this morning? ” I have a preferred name on my file no one has ever had issues before, “ l don’t see that name here”! It’s because you want to make life that little bit more challenging for me and you lack any real power hence you enjoy baiting patients for you entertainment! The most annoying thing is that management don’t look at their reviews to see what’s going on or they are helpless to bring about positive change foe customers.

Preface: Its painful to write a bad review. But sorry I had to. However will update, if my opinion changes over time.

Review:
I am never happy with the reception staff.
1) On my recent visit, the staff member has so easily lied to me saying, "hmm. I can see in the system, the Dr has rang your phone but no response".
But reality is, the Doctor has only rang up 20 minutes later.
I think the actual problem is with management.

2) Missing link between teams: I had 2-3 experiences, where it's evident, the Reception had no clue of Pathology results and the patient is kept hanging, not knowing when to book in a follow up with the Doctor.
Can't the patient get a simple text message when their results are ready?
Systems and Management problem.

Good things so far in my experience:
My Doctor is - good.
Pathology Staff is - good.
Imaging equipment brand new, and staff is - good.
Ambience is - clean and hygienic.

Been going here 7 years and safe to say I will never come back. Majority of these doctors don't care and disregard anything you say. Don't ask questions or symptoms. You are just a number, in and out in 2 minutes. Pretty disgusting that they shrug off mental illness and tell you to "go for a walk" "do your own research" and "come back when you're serious". I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE.

Been waiting 1 hour and 25 minutes for my telephone GP appointment. Have tried calling reception, nobody answers.

This medical centre has just about every medical service from physio to dental. It used to be GREAT about 5 years ago. Sadly, it has gone downhill since then - from the grubby waiting room seats to the inadequate number of receptionist staff and long wait times to see a doctor. There seems to be a rapid turnaround of doctors these days too - which is an indication that something is not quite right with the centre management. *Note to management: hire more support staff especially in peak times. I had to wait 15 minutes to make an appointment this morning when I rang at 8: 10 am. There was only one person on reception - clearly not enough! The poor woman was obviously under the pump but she was still very nice and professional. I have had to ring 4 times over 3 days in the attempt to speak to a doctor. So far, no luck!

I should really read more reviews.

The bad ones are all correct, time wasters.

Took a booking to call back about my son who has not been before. As I have, they took his details and said it was fine, I received a text message confirming I would receive a call from the doctor.

1 hour later, not wanting to pester sooner I rang up to query when the call would be coming as I have work to do this afternoon.

The man who answered tried fobbing me off some garbage about them not being able to make a booking as he hasn't been before, and he can't have a booking already, I insisted I had the text message and he instantly directed me to a woman, who presumably is skilled in killing a conversation with bluntness and it ended there.

Pathetic.

Reception staff rude, unhelpful, disinterested.

They speak so loud that your private details are not kept private.

I’ve been sitting here waiting for 45 minutes watching this mess.

Long waiting time, no call back from doctors when you request a call, even when you book an appointment doctor may call you and tell you hey I want to go earlier today come early or cancel your appointment, so annoying.

Given this current environment the process was seamless, staff friendly and Dr Harry was excellent. Nothing is perfect but under tough circumstances the staff are people too, be respectful, they are doing their best. In reality, if you are attending a GP, you are not in any immediate life threat, (majority of the time) so be grateful we have the services we have in Australia. Take care.

I have been going to this medical centra for few years now and always had very good experience. Yes, the wait can be sometimes longer than expected (hence 4 not 5 stars) but that's just the way it is, bulk billing centres are busy. All doctors I have seen were friendly, professional and accommodating. Reception and pathology staff polite. Before I went to the MP Medical Centre I went to the other GP practice in MP that didn't do bulk billing hoping to get a high quality service but came out disappointed. The bulk billing visits offered in MP Medical Centre are much better than what I paid for for the private visit.

Very rude receptionist who told me to go to my usual GP even after i told her they were fully booked. Unprofessional and lack of empathy for sick patients who need to see a doctor.