So, as advised in my dentist review - I am scared of Doctors. Yeah... laugh it up.. For me, there…read moreis nothing worse than cold, clinical rooms where you might get bad news. Not so weird now, is it? I have lived in town 6 years now and was chuffed to bits when I finally got a Doctor's surgery open up within walking distance. Located on the downstairs floor of Boots, from the moment you walk in you can sense the efficiency. You MUST book an appointment, however, if you are desperate and there are no appointments available - there is a walk-in clinic right next door. I have been going here for several years now and have only been delayed for an appointment once. The appointment times are pretty convenient, but as you can imagine; it's a very busy surgery. If you don't require an emergency appointment, it's best to call after 10am - if you do, call as early as possible. I've regularly had appointments the same day or the next day. The worst thing is not having a dedicated Doctor. The Doctor's and Nurses have always been great, but it would be nice to have someone you have dealt with before when you revisit. That being said, I've found this surgery to be clean, reliable and accommodating in terms of opening hours.

It's fine. That's as much as I can say so far…read more I was attracted to this surgery because of the extended opening hours and because, basically, they were close to me and taking patients. The staff on reception are very pleasant, although the morning I went to register there was only one so the wait was long. Intake assessment is a few forms and measuring your own height, weight and blood pressure. I gave myself 3 attempts at getting a nice BP measurement as the horrific prospect of knowing my weight after over a year of avoidance had sent my systolic sky-rocketing. I returned the following week to see if I was set up and had been given an NHS number and was told I was good to go. I asked to be set up for the online booking. First of all they gave me the wrong details, so I had to go back. When they gave me the proper ones, my account had the wrong address and they'd misspelled my name. I also had no option to book appointments. They fixed the errors when I emailed but told me to call about the booking. After 15 minutes on hold I was cut off and gave up. Multiple emails went unanswered. Eventually went back on and they reset it or something so could book. At last! It's not too easy to get an appointment if you work. The extended hours don't really seem to translate to appointments at those times. You could definitely be waiting weeks. On arrival for your appointment, you check in using a touch screen which saves time. It gives an estimate of the time to wait but that was actually wildly inaccurate when I went. It claimed things were running to schedule but there was actually a 20 minute wait. I occupied myself by almost getting trapped in their bathroom which has a very dodgy lock and using the Boots free WiFi. Actual consultation was adequate. I kind of missed the pleasant GPs in the random walk-in clinics in Canada or my lovely one at home. This definitely feels more like a walk-in effort. All in all, it's alright. Reception are friendly and it's nice to book online, even if it ends up being for the far distant future.

My one and only experience of this walk in centre is a positive one. Having returned from India…read moreover Christmas I was plagued with sinus and ear problems. I'd been to my local surgery for the first ear infection but when it returned I really didn't have time to go back to the doctor. It also returned during a Friday evening and there was no way I was going to wait until Monday morning with the amount of pain I was in. So I took myself off to this walk in centre on a soggy Saturday afternoon with very little hope of a good outcome but I was totally wrong. I didn't have to wait too long to see a very professional and knowledgable nurse. She diagnosed the problem immediately including the fact that the condition kept reoccurring. She offered some good advice to stop the infection coming back and a nice ear spray. Job done in super quick time.

Fine if you don't mind being treated like a an absolute fool…read more Located on the lower ground floor of the High Street branch of Boots in Birmingham, the NHS Walk-in Centre may seem like a godsend to those of you with minor emergencies such as getting a small girl's eagle-shaped fashion ring stuck on your large, male finger when browsing in Forever 21. But, to some of us it's a dreaded place as we just know that we are going to be made to feel like the world's biggest hypochondriac and liar for asking them to check out something as trivial as an infected insect bite. To have 6 or so batty old nurses clawing at you like you have herpes when you know for a fact you were bitten by an angry spider which was caught in your bed sheets is not a pretty sight. I also went there recently as I'd ran out of contraceptive pills and they turned me away. Both my doctors and the clinic, which are also in Boots, were closed as it was a bank holiday. I ended up having an argument with a difficult female pharmacy assistant upstairs before a younger, male pharmacist stepped in and told her that they could issue me with the pills if I bought them and then brought my prescription in at a later date. Thanks for that lady, now everyone in the queue knows my personal information! They should have just seen me at the NHS Walk-in, which is next to my doctors, which is next to the family planning clinic! There needs to be better correlation between these three. It's ridiculous and I am hesitant to go back again.

The Hyman Practice is on the second floor of the fairly new Attwood Green medical centre. The whole…read morebuilding is very modern and clean. The Hyman Practice is also very modern and clean with a spacious waiting room with lots of seats so you don't feel like you're catching anyone's bugs! As you walk in you can speak to the receptionists or use the self check in machine on the wall. I always find the reception staff kind and efficient. Reception staff often get a bad rep but they are lovely here. I visited different nurses at the practice several times last year as I had a burn that needed changing and checking. They were incredibly kind and gave excellent advice. I've only seen a doctor once and she was also very kind, efficient and helpful. Handily there is a pharmacy downstairs so you can pick up prescriptions there. There are just two issues. Firstly, it can be difficult to get an appointment with a doctor. You can sit on the phone ringing and ringing for ages. Secondly there is often a delay when waiting for your appointment. However I think these are problems across the NHS rather than with the individual practice.

I've been seeing Morgan at Guildhall for a couple of years now. At first it was a bit more…read moreintensive, now just maintenance. Morgan is a brilliant Osteo but she's also great fun. This really puts you at ease and it means that you are really relaxed and she can do her stuff. Nobody likes to be cracked without a bit of distraction!

I have been using The Guildhall practice for myself, friends, family and members of staff for many…read moreyears now. They have always offered a well-priced, professional service and with practices at 4 locations Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield, Kings Heath & Monmouth, they have always been able to fit me in with relatively short notice, which is what you need cause let's face it who plans to hurt their back?? I have always booked with Andrew Leask who in my opinion is highly skilled and always tries to look for the bigger picture, the source of the problem. Rather than looking to just stop the pain he looks to what you can change yourself that might prevent such an injury from reoccurring. Andrew has been able to put right any injuries or back problems I have had on the first visit the majority of times and only on a couple of occasions when the swelling has been too bad / fresh for him to manipulate have I need to return for a second visit. I would highly recommend this practice to anyone.

After trying my luck at the SK:N near Five Ways, and not being happy with the service, I took a…read morechance with this branch. The staff here are much more friendly and helpful. The salon is fairly new and well maintained with a clean and fresh look. I bought a course of treatments, which were conducted by various staff members each time I attended. I think it would have been more helpful to have been treated by one consultant consistently so that they would be familiar to me and the area I was getting treated. They sell Jane Iredale make-up, which is fantastic for your skin. It's mineral-based so does good to your skin whilst making you look good! However, when I brought a friend in to sample it she was told that they don't try it out on people, which defeats the purpose of trying to sell it.

Phone "service" is atrocious! "Your call is in a queue - and will be answered shortly" is all you…read morereceive when calling. It goes on for an eternity without anyone actually answering. Extremely infuriating. It took over 3 hours to get though!!!!! This is NOT a public service.

Ok then. Sexual health isn't the preferred topic at dinner parties, and visiting sexual health…read moreclinics is even more taboo. However, if we're honest, a big portion of us will need to visit one at least once in our lives. Whittall Street clinic is a free, one stop service for all your sexual health needs, offering advice, contraception, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, as well as some treatment and counselling. As you can imagine, such a free service in an age of government cut backs is in great demand, so either booking in advance or arriving well in advance of the start time of the drop in service is recommended (some folks turn up at two o clock for the afternoon drop in service that starts at 4.15, so great is the demand). Despite being rushed off their feet, the staff at Whittall Street Clinic maintain a cheerful and professional commitment to doing their jobs as well as possible with admirable tact and patience. Confidentiality is assured, so if you have got any worries about your sexual health, I'd advise you go and see them as soon as you can.