Poor service at Near East Medical Centre

[muffin1]

I went to the Near East Medical Centre in Girne to make an appointment to see Dr. Turk. I was told that there were no appointments available until Saturday - this is not good enough. There should be an alternative doctor available at no more than a 24hour waiting period. If they are this busy then quite simply - they need additional staff.

When this practice was originally set up as VIP Med, the service and attention was first class. It has deteriorated to NHS standards - which we are paying for as private patients.

If I could find a satisfactory alternative then I would move elsewhere for medical attention.

Many people out here are aged seventy plus and when they want to see the doctor it needs to be today - NOT in 4 days time.

[Panchocat]

I speak as I find and I have had exceptionally good care from Near East Med centre.
I think you will find that VIP med centre is now the Kolan in Girne.
Both Dr Turk and Dr Silem are wonderful doctors and in an emergency you will be seen.
Perhaps when the Near East centre is enlarged there may be more doctors.
They are often busy as they accept the Turkish insurance patients from the mainland, many of whom are students.
They continue to have my full support and confidence.

[cyprusishome]

Agree with panchocat.

Any health care facility only has finite resources and sometimes they get stretched to break point. It is not possible to staff a facility to a maximum use number they must be staffed effectively to match a normal use.
Found that normal appointment lists may be full but in the event of a genuine emergency you will always be fitted in. Done this both at Near East clinic and at our dentist.

The health care here is excellent and I am sure that wherever the original poster went at some point they would possibly find a problem.

Personally cannot praise Dr Turk and Dr Silem highly enough, even when busy they give you 100% every time.

[sophie]

We have always received excellent service from NE Med Centre, HOWEVER (and it is a very big HOWEVER) they now appear to be victims of their own success. On the last two occasions I have had to see Dr Turk I have actually made him sit down and take a few deep breaths and calm down. He was so stressed out running about like a headless chicken. Sadly the nurses who are lovely but not trained enough, do not perform, what in the UK a Practice Nurse would perform (I know because I have a daughter who is a senior Practice Nurse) She is astounded when I tell her what Dr Turk and Dr Silem have to do, and what in her opinion a half decent Nurse should be doing.

[trooper]

My wife has seen Dr Turk several times recently. No problems with appointments and he takes a great deal of time to deal properly with his patient.
Wish there were more like him, in the UK, never mind here.

This gentleman punches well above his weight. Thank goodness for him.

[Fesenjan123]

My partner saw Dr Turk last week and was so impressed with his knowledge, attention to detail and kind manner. He takes great care to explain everything and does not rush you out of the room in 5 minutes. Sadly, there are so few Dr's of his calibre here, so the poor man is in much demand.
Nursing training in the TRNC seems to be sadly lacking. Proper training would enable them to take some of the work off Dr Turk and Dr Silem, enabling them to see more patients. Can't see it happening though.

[mrsgee]

I have been treated in the past by Dr Silem, who is wonderful, and diagnosed my Lyme disease perfectly, gave the right treatment, which was confirmed when I went back to UK and saw a specialist, who was very impressed with the tests and treatment I had been given. Dr Turk I have seen over the past few months, and cannot fault him at all, he is equally caring and an excellent Doctor. Both Doctors gave their personal mobile numbers so that if I had any problems I could call direct at any time. Muffin, I can assure you that in the UK the wait to see a Doctor, unless it was an emergency can be much, much longer than 4 days! In actual fact, I am sure that if you had told them it was an emergency....if that's what it was, you would have been seen that day! I really do not understand your complaint.....but, yes maybe if you can find a walk in clinic that is not busy (and maybe that is because everyone wants to see those particular doctors) then good luck and you should go there.

[muffin1]

I think that all the people who have replied to my post have totally missed the point that I was making. - this being that the practice has been extremely successful and as such has failed to staff the place accordingly. The result being that if you urgently need an appointment it is not possible to see the doctor of your choice in under 3/4 days which I feel is too long to wait.

They are unable to offer a satisfactory alternative and twice quite recently I have had to resort to consulting the pharmacist which is not an ideal solution. Whilst the pharmacies here are good it is not the same as seeing a doctor who will usually want to do further investigation such as blood tests etc.

I was certainly not calling the expertise of the doctors in the practice into question - their knowledge and dedication is excellent. It is the overall management of the centre which is questionable as they are failing to keep pace with the increased volume of patients.

[mrsgee]

A few weeks ago, I suspected I had high blood pressure. I checked it myself and then went to the pharmacy for them to check. Pharmacist said I should see a doctor immediately. Phoned the Near East and was offered an appointment in a few days but told them what the pharmacist had said. They told me to come immediately then, and they would fit me in asap. Went straight there, waited about 10 mins, saw Doctor Turk, who took my blood pressure and then immediately gave me a tablet to put under my tongue. I was taken into the back room, laid on a bed, angiogram was done, and blood pressure monitored for about an hour. Once it had come down, I was allowed to leave but told to come back first thing next morning for blood tests. Results were back the following day, and I was prescribed blood pressure tablets.......I had absolutely no cause for complaint, they treated me with the utmost efficiency because it was an emergency......

[Panchocat]

I have always been able to see a doctor at the Near East in emergency situations and twice I have been taken from there to be hospitalised.
The Near East clinic is successful and they know the facilities are too small. That is why a new building is being built.
Dr Silem only works there two days a week but I have always been able to see Dr Turk in an emergency.
You quoted the VIP in your first post why don't you go to the Girne clinic and see Dr Johnson there as possibly they are not as busy as the Near East.

[squashmad]

If you tell them it is an emergency (as I did 10 days ago!) you will get an appointment very quickly but if you just go in to make a general appointment then yes you will have to wait.

Also as some else has pointed out to you, they have been overwhelmingly successful and as such are in the process of moving to larger premises of which there will be more doctors available in specialised areas.

You can always go to the UK and try and get an appt in less than 3-4days!

[tomsteel]

Or you can go to Ankara or Istanbul and be seen the same day by an English-speaking specialist. If the situation is a non-emergency, surely a 3-4 day wait is manageable and reasonable?

[rowan]

I visited the practice recently and asked to see Dr Turk. he was not there, so I asked to see another Dr. I was asked to wait, just a short while and I saw another male Dr who deal with my problem in a totally efficient manner. From my experience, if you ask for someone else, you get someone else. I think the service this medical centre offers is extremely good.

[kedikat2903]

Where is the new building going to be?

[Panchocat]

East side near the Girne University fairly near the Cratos.