Richmond Road Medical Centre — Local services in Waitematā

When I first joined RRMC I was not unhappy with them. It was frustrating that they couldn't assign a dedicated GP because it meant the standard of care you received was a bit of a lottery, but you could always get an appointment if you needed one. Unfortunately, that's simply not the case anymore. If you need an appointment, be prepared to wait 3 or 4 days or sometimes even a week or more.

While I consistently received very good treatment from Dr Fargher and others (all of who have since left) I have had big issues with the practice itself and its administration.

The biggest issue for me happened a few years ago when I requested notes be sent to Southern Cross in order to prove that the surgery I required was not a pre-existing condition. Firstly, they had a Doctor at their practice who I had NEVER seen before in my entire time with the practice — Dr. Gene Dillman — be the one to review my notes. He misinterpreted the notes and misinformed SX, sending them a letter telling them that it was indeed a pre-existing condition. Dr Dillman made no attempt whatsoever to get in touch with me as a courtesy prior to sending this letter. Not even a phone call to discuss. He bullishly misinterpreted the notes of a patient he had never consulted with and went full speed ahead to prevent me from getting the surgery I needed. Consequently, SX refused to pay for the surgery, even after the truth was later established. At the time, I spent some time on the phone with the owner of the practice, Dr Phyllida Cotton-Barker, who, while apologetic, was ultimately unable to convince SX of the dire mistake that had been made by her practice. This ordeal ended up costing me tens of thousands of dollars and caused me a huge amount of distress. Neither Dr Cotton-Barker nor anyone from the practice ever reached out again to make things right, or even so much as acknowledge the gravity of the mistake they made. I received a flippant apology from Dr Cotton-Barker on the phone at the time, but never received so much as a peep from Dr Dillman.

Additionally, while looking into this issue it came to light that when I first joined the practice, despite my having requested that RRMC have my medical history transferred to their custody, they had completely failed to do so! Meaning that my medical history prior to joining them is, it seems, now lost. Until then, I was under the impression that every time I visited a GP at RRMC they had my entire history to reference. Nope! Dr Cotton-Barker told me on the phone that they would follow up and try to find my missing notes, but this was never actioned and I have received no further communication about the issue.

Technically, RRMC is still my registered practice. But I do not feel safe attending. When I need to see a Doctor, I just... don't. Or if it's really, really urgent I pay a premium and go to a White Cross.

While it's clear that the entire health industry in this country is in the middle of a serious crisis and I'm sympathetic to how busy GP's are, if you are going to be in this business and charge what you charge then you have a responsibility to meet a minimum standard of care. When a patient no longer feels safe attending your practice, I think it's pretty clear that you have failed to meet that minimum standard of care.

It's a shame to see how dismissive Dr Cotton-Barker is in replying to other low-star reviews. Instead of being so quick to call them "fake" she would do well to reflect and consider that no one leaves a low-star review for no reason. People may be posting from accounts other than those they registered with at RRMC out of fear of retaliation. In fact, there are a thousand reasons why someone might post about their bad experiences anonymously or from a different account.

You hold a powerful place in society. You offer a service that people need, and you charge a lot of money for the privilege. The very least you can do is listen and put things right when you get it wrong, rather than dismissing us from your...

Would give a negative star if I could! Truly the worst service.

Had a phone appointment at 4:15 . Dr attempted to call me at 4:28 and for some reason the call didn’t go through and it went straight to voicemail and all I got was a miscalled notification on my phone.

Tried calling reception back at 4:29 and it just rang and rang for 5 minutes. Got through at 4:34 and they told me I missed my appointment.

Said I just need a moment of his time as my medical certificate is running out and I’m on ACC with a head injury. She said the dr was away on holiday for the past few months and had too much paper work to catch up on!!! Can you believe it!!!!!

The women at reception was rude and unhelpful. I mention a previous dr who I always saw would called twice and she yelled, “he isn’t...

My family and I were clients at Richmond Road medical centre for over 30 years. There has been a change in ownership recently and ever since the change, the service and manners of the place have significantly dropped and as a result all of the original doctors left.

I was looking to move doctors as mine left the practise but I had an unexpected medical mishap and needed to see a doctor and they refused to help!

I have a genetic condition so I grew up in this medical centre and used to consider it a second home, it's definitely sad to see it end...