I have been visiting Dr. Sammarelli for a few years. She is a very kind capable doctor and doesn't rush the appointment. I have appointments regarding physical and mental health. My only criticism is that it would be better if the office phone was set up in a way that made it easier to contact the offices. She has switched to electronic records and it has been a night-and-day change in how easy it is for her to get things out of your file.

Submitted April 16, 2013

Dr. Sammarelli has remembered personal issues about myself and my toddler and always asks to be updated. Her attention to detail is great. She doesn't support subscriptions unless absolutely necessary and I feel during a time of great personal illness and distress, she really saved my life. Thanks Dr. Sammarelli!I definitely agree about the comment of going the extra mile. Absolutely true on more than one occasion and definitely on top of things. Great office staff at the new place too!

Submitted Sept. 5, 2012

I'm so glad Dr. Sammarelli moved to a new office. I think the old office, Herald Street Health, was a toxic place for her - she was over worked and most of the reception staff were horrible and nasty people. I've been to see her multiple times since her move and I am super happy with her. It's easy to get an appointment, she sees me on time, and I never feel rushed when I'm with her.

Submitted March 23, 2012

Poor staffing, rarely answered the phone or called you back. never punctual, not very knowledgeable at all. i have a mental illness and s i need a regular doctor. she had to check with my psychiatrist to see if it was ok to ween me off of effexor etc... i got a letter in the mail stateing she had to downsize and couldnt be my doctor anymore. that same day i had an appointment to start m y med change, i got a month notice....it takes a month sometimes to get an appointment and i couldnt get a new doctor. what an idiot of a doctor to let me go in the midst of changing major medications. thanks dr sammarelli for many sleepless tear filled nights

Submitted Jan. 12, 2012

Best doctor I have ever had. Goes the extra mile. I have never had a doctor who made the extra effort to help and am so happy to have Dr Sammarelli as my doctor. Never misses an item that needs to be carried fwd from previous appointments. Right on top of things.

Submitted Sept. 30, 2011

The staff are very efficent and call with results of tests etc. Doctor has been our doctor since we moved to Victoria - we have found her to be extremely knowledgeable and caring. If she has a concern she spends a great deal of effort following up with whatever necessary tests are required by outside services to ensure proper and accurate information is available to her in order to be able to prescribe the appropriate medication or treatment available. Based on our past experience with doctors, Dr. Sammarelli, although a little difficult to understand at times, has been once of the most supportive and proactive doctors that we have ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

Submitted Sept. 28, 2011

This doctor is never on time and pays no attention to your issues. She makes mistakes in documentation and never explains or apologizes even if she is an hour behind schedule. The reception staff are next to useless and barely civil

Submitted May 5, 2011

Dr. Sammarelli is cold and uncaring. Health care practitioner, I think not. She comes into the room and you have roughly 5 minutes to discuss the one issue that is allowed per appointment. After the time has elapsed, she has walked out the door while I was still talking. This behavior seems to be the “norm” in this office. I try my best to be a fair person and I have based my opinion on a number of appointments that all went the same way. Pair that with incompetent, terse, cold, uncaring MOA’s; a poorly run office, and you will get an idea of the horrible experiences a great deal of us patients are going through. For those that need real assistance with serious issues, they are out of luck. I just hope and pray that no-one ends up having a condition (like cancer) worsen because of the inaction of this person. I do not know how Dr. Sammarelli can look herself in the mirror and think she does a good job.

Submitted March 13, 2011

As a new doctor to Canada, she is unfamiliar with the paper work or system for submitting forms. She has no interest in learning it, is easily overwhelmed and cannot remember from one appoitment to the next what was agreed to or discussed. Concerns about punctuality, missing paper work, lack of movement in sending off paperwork, gathering medical information is blamed on staff or workload. I had to meet with her every two weeks to ask her how she has moved your file along, only to find she hadn't and she consistently blamed staff for the inaction. Zero professional accountability. My 8 appointments with her were spent reminding her what we had discussed last time (rather than her reviewing my file), providing her with my self-diagnosis (as she seemed reluctant to provide any medical opinions) and advising her what treatment I needed (rather than suggesting anything herself). Her only value added was that she could fill out perscriptions.

Submitted March 11, 2011

Cold front desk and cold Doctor. It appears that due to the shortage of Doctors they are taking advantage of this fact. One question per visit? What a joke. You have to wait so long to see her then when you do you are limited to what you can talk about and if you even need your pulse taken (extra) you have to make another appointment for. Whatever you do don't let her know that you are also seeing alternative practitioners or she will shut you down she is not open to this. She hardly lets you speak and not a good listener if you ever get the chance to be heard. The first meet and greet appt was great. Once she has you forget about that nice feeling you once had with her. The front desk has a major attitude and you always feel like you are putting them out. I would switch but to who? There is such a waiting list and it took me a year to get a doctor that no one else wants. Good Luck!

Submitted Feb. 26, 2011