GP at Hand Avis 

I would not even give it a one if possible. The service is ridiculous.. I have no way of getting through to a GP even though I’ve phoned them up and requested that I speak to a GP and ask them how I can do it. They just tell me that I have to do it online but if you do it online you can’t get through to a GP. They send you through to a Mrs so-and-so or Mr. Sewing so who isn’t actually qualified at all I have never been able to speak to GP through this. I have asked for several referrals which have already been in the system from my previous GP and they have been unable to make the referrals for me. This is my worst nightmare. I have lots of medical problems.. I’d like to point out that I didn’t even sign up for the service. I was just investigating various alternatives to my local GP practice cause they’re not very good, saying that my GP has always been good there it’s the administration which is extremely poor. I looked at about 10 different online GP services and this is the only one that contacted my GP got all my files and move me completely from my GP’s practice without me even knowing I have a visual impairment and I can’t actually do online stuff so this service is completely useless to me but I don’t have any choice choice because I’m signed up with them. They are absolutely appalling appalling appalling do not join them. You will never be able to speak to a GP. I put in a Right To choose request for an assessment which has already been confirmed by my previous GP that I need the assessment and they already referred me to someone but the weight is six years long.. it’s a really simple referral. I sent them all the links everything they simply need to get in contact with the provider but they have failed repeatedly. I’ve been phoning every day and it’s the same old story it’s being worked on referrals take a very long time well that’s a good reason to stay away from GP at HAND. I never had this problem with my previous GP which they stole from me. My GP made my referrals immediately. It’s the waiting time that takes a long time which I accept that that’s gonna happen on the NHS but not just doing the referral that should be taking no time at all especially when it’s a simple just contact them and give them my details. They don’t need to write a long letter. It’s already been dealt with. If you wanna speak to a GP, stay clear. I don’t know how anyone would benefit from this service. I would just like to reiterate what other people say but you get put through to people that you’ve waited for the appointments they contact you and then they say they can’t help you because they’re not qualified or they can’t do this and they can’t do that what is the point of this? What is the point of it?

Used to be great - shocking now.

Since moving away from their own app to the NHS app, everything is too complicated, takes too many steps.

I cannot locate my repeat prescriptions, calling them is useless because they 'cannot do anything', according the their own people on the phone and you need to sent an email, who god knows when it will be responded too, only to get a cookie cutter response back.

Terrible service.

Will switch GPs, this is just awful now, there is literally ZERO reason to switch or use this GP service now. The only reason this was better was BECAUSE of their own app. Now they just became an unrechable, unhelpful if something goes wrong, group of people that stay in the middle between you and the health provider and make your life difficult. Will switch to my local GP instead.

Have been with them for 4 years. Used to be amazing. Ever since the company changed hands they have clearly implemented cost-cutting measures and now it's utterly useless.

I will be changing GP's.

Why is it so complicated to make a doctor's appointment!? I agree with other reviews when they say they have problems booking a GP but then speaking with a pharmacist who cannot prescribe. Also, some doctors who should have all of your notes asked for me to send referral letters via text as we are talking. I find that impossible. GP at Hand are not providing an accessible process

Awful since they've changed to E-Med. No idea if you're booking an appointment with a GP or pharmacist. If it's a pharmacist they can't refer you, so you have to wait another few weeks for an appointment with a GP. Awful. I'm leaving after 5 years being on it. Babylon was miles better!

Impossible to get appointments or repeat prescriptions. Like everything else Ali Parsa has founded, it has fallen apart.

It is the equivalent of having no GP. If anything goes wrong they aren't there to help or speak to you, and you'll either have to go to Urgent Care at the hospital, get an emergency appointment through 111, or just pray that you get better. God bless your life expectancy. So appalling that it needs shutting down

The new system is awful, the app used to be brilliant now it’s a dysfunctional webpage and getting an appointment or any information is impossible.

I've been a patient with GP at Hand for a decade and it used to be so brilliant. I would be able to get a same-day remote appointment with a clinician of my choice, or an in person one the same week. The customer service and follow up was excellent. The app was really useful. Now it's been sold to this AMERICAN company eMed, the service is absolutely dire. I'm talking three week waits for a remote appointment. Appointments cancelled with no reason given, or the doctor just not showing up. Or sometimes you get given a pharmacist or nurse to speak to, when you need a GP. The app is gone, so has all the functionality. It's genuinely pathetic and seems to be deliberately poorly run - the company wants NHS patients to leave so they can focus on their more commercial profitable ventures.

The new "rapid health" appointment system is anything but. The old app was simple and straighforward but the new system is a joke - pages and pages of questions just to book an appointment, an awful patient experience. Will be moving away from GP at hand.

Trying to book an appointment just to get a new prescription has become impossible. The old Babylon app was fantastic—quick, efficient, and genuinely helpful. But with Emed, the process is a complete mess. The triage form is unnecessarily long, forcing you through 10 pages of questions, yet it still fails to offer the right appointment.
Even after emailing admin directly to explain my medical concern, I was simply told to go through the form again—completely unhelpful! It’s frustrating to see such a great medical service deteriorate like this.

I've been a loyal customer for nearly a decade, and the medical staff—doctors and nurses—are excellent. However, the app experience is incredibly frustrating. I can't access consultations or notes, yet I'm constantly interrupted by an annoying pop-up pushing NHS bookings. The poor app design completely undermines the hard work of the medical professionals. Please restore the app to how it was before the NHS booking changes—it worked so much better.

Terrible patient experience and impossible to book an appointment since they moved from the Babylon app. The customer service was useless and I’m still unable to get an appointment for my toddler and his vaccination. GP at Hand used to be amazing what has gone wrong? As a family we’re now decided to move to a different NHS GP.

GP at hand was relatively good until fairly recently when they still used the Babylon (then eMed) app for appointment booking. They've now abandoned that and use a web based so-called "smart triage" system. Clue: it's not smart at all. The entire system is a disaster. Getting a phone appointment is difficult and cumbersome but possible. Getting a face to face appointment is now a complete nightmare. If you try to book a blood test through the "smart" system (that's what their phone line TELLS you to do) it gives you a phone appointment - that's how smart it is! In reality what you have to do is use their new system to raise an ADMIN request for them to send you a booking link which they will send within 2 working weekdays. The link is only valid for 5 days. Then you have to click on the link, fill in ALL your info AGAIN, and then let it tell you there are no appointments available. The phone staff tell you to keep trying multiple times each day "in case somebody cancels an appointment". You have to re-enter all your info every time you click the link (such a waste of time) because they have not bothered to link it to the NHS online system which already has all your data. When the link expires without an appointment being available (which it does) you then have to raise a new ADMIN request and wait for them to send you a new booking link!!! The system just beggars belief. The phone staff are NOT ALLOWED to book appointments any more so there is no backup option. You could spend weeks trying to book an appointment - and that's just to get bloods taken for a blood test or an injection (which obviously cannot be done over the phone)! The phone staff are told to tell you there are no supervisors or managers to complain to - just send an email. They have gone from being one of the better GP practices to the worst I have ever dealt with - deplorably bad. I used to recommend them - now I would say don't even think about it - stay well away. Even the worst other practice you can find is going to be better than this is now. They do not even seem to care at all that it has got this bad and if you try to complain over the phone they just hang up the phone on you.
ps: just been reading the other recent reviews and see I'm far from alone in this experience. You'll note that the 5 star reviews are (almost) all a few months old - this is a recent development. They've gone from 5 star (minor but manageable issues) to 1 star (complete and utter disaster) in a matter of months. They refused to answer when I asked whether this was a deliberate tactic to force patients to leave their service but I honestly suspect this is what they're doing to get rid of patients and they obviously don't mind if they kill a few people along the way as others have pointed out because the service is now so bad that it WILL endanger lives. I've raised a formal complaint (via email) but doubt I will get any significant or meaningful response. Next steps to raise with CQC, MP and Wes Streeting ... (since they were supposed to be a government flagship scheme)
I'll just add that the clinical staff are generally fantastic when you actually get to speak with or see them - this is a management/admin disaster that's designed to prevent you getting to the clinical staff.

I’ve been with GP at hand - Babylon for over 5 years since they started up before they sold it to EMed 2023. Everything before was beautifully streamlined & efficient.

Since the transfer over to this rapid health website I have severely struggled with the incompetence of this new system. The first thing that is really silly is when you request a medical request on the website it goes through a triage and doesn’t even allow you to know what type of practitioner you are going to visit.

I think this is a waste of NHS funds and confusing for the patient/service user before the appointment all that’s listed is the name of the practitioner not their speciality. On the old end app you would be able to see what type of practitioner before you select your appointment time to ensure they are relevant to your symptoms & needs such as GP, physio, mental health practitioner, advanced nurse practitioner etc. You could also view the name of the practitioner (so you could have a preference for next time) and all the in depth notes from your appointment. There was even a great feature on the Babylon app where you could see referrals and their progress.

I find this highly important for myself as sometimes I may need to discuss a prescription increase with the GP and I don’t even know prior to the booked appointment who I’m even going to see? Then I’ve waited for the appointment time to come and speak with them and they don’t even have the capability or authority to help my health needs.

As someone who is technology savy, it feels like I have to go through so many loopholes and I still don’t even understand if I’m going to get the service required it’s also is really difficult to see my medical history and understand it. I can’t see my notes only the admin on NHS App through GP records and it’s all very overwhelming.

I have a friend who is 56 (who uses this service) and she tries to ask me for help with this new transfer over to rapid health and it’s even attempting to help her is overwhelming. I can’t understand hers yet alone mine.. I hope there is some way that they can integrate the old system which was more streamlined and helpful - even just reminding us to check into the app so we don’t miss an appointment as a feature isn’t even possible now?!

In addition making somebody log into the NHS app every time they need to make an appointment is horrible & sometimes it doesn’t even allow you to make the appointment. Before you could book an appointment on the app 24/7 for the follow day or even the same.

Now it is closed after evening times the website won’t even give you the option & it’s AI generated with generic questions that don’t even fulfill your actual needs once you’ve completed. I’m afraid I’ll be leaving this GP as it’s a total waste of time & inefficient.

I used to be a big fan of GPatHand when they still used the Babylon/eMed App. It was so handy to make appointments and see or speak to clinicians you have already seen in the past, and I also found it way more transparent compared to the new version. They do praise their Smart Triage system but patient service from the admin side went down very much for me. They don't seem to appreciate the human level of patient care very much that it is a relation of trust as well as providing a speedy service. There are so many things that are not transparent to me anymore, you don't have any information about the clinicians anymore, not even whether they are a pharmacist or nurse or GP, they don't even give you the gender of the person, you have to take what is available. Feels very much like a two class system now.
I have a background in hospital chaplaincy and I understand that trust is important, and some people for various reasons prefer to see a same sex doctor. A couple of weeks and months ago I still had the impression that the receptionist on the phone do care about you and want to be helpful but this week I had one phone call with a receptionist in particular that made me cry afterwards. No showing of understanding and resistant to connect to you on a human level even though healthcare is something so intimate and important. I wonder what training they have. Now when you call they say they have the guideline and cannot book you with a specific doctor you have seen many times before if they don't come up online. It's more about efficiency not patient care. The doctor's are usually lovely and helpful, but I might go to a local GP now. From my latest phone calls I don't have the impression that anyone cares if you actually go.
A sad development in my opinion, and I can see that I am not the only person that thinks this.

Here's a more emotionally charged and distressing version of your review:

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GP at Hand has become an absolute nightmare since moving away from Babylon. The service is beyond unusable—it’s a chaotic mess designed to confuse, frustrate, and trap you. The UI/UX is atrocious, making even the simplest tasks feel impossible. Trying to leave? Forget it. There’s no clear way out, and complaints are completely ignored.

But the most dangerous part? They call from withheld numbers—so if your phone blocks unknown callers (which most do), you’ll **miss your own appointments**. What kind of medical service does that?! At this rate, I’ll be dead before anyone actually fixes this disaster of a system.

As someone with over 20 years in tech, I’ve seen bad digital services—but this is beyond unacceptable. GP at Hand is a disgrace, and I **strongly** urge everyone to **stay far away**.

Was conned into registering for this online practise with the promise of 24x7 online appointments, 100% triaged same 100% urgent appointments same day. 75% same day consultantions and 50% reduction in waiting times.

None of those claims are True!!!

The earliest urgent appointment I could get is 7 days away and the triage is just a basic questionnaire which is flawed

poor service and no one to talk to

AVOID

I will be registering with my local GP

misleadig online advertising which should be investigated by the advertising authority

Absolutely Disgraceful!

Website says 24x7 - and is closed all saturday and sunday. The virtual appointment you get during the week is over a week away - useless. Don't even think of registering with these guys.

No Appointments, no service whatsoever!

This this should be shutdown.

The clinic was empty for 30 minutes after I arrived with the delay and sick, no patients at all, which means that the doctor had plenty time for the urgent 15 minutes appointment. Instead I was turned away.