You said...we did!

April 2022- April 2023

You said:

When are you unlocking the surgery door

We did:

Since October 2022 the surgery s fully accessible and the doors have been unlocked

August 2021- April 2022

You said:

Why are the doors to the surgery still locked?

We said:

We need to make sure that no infectious patients are brought in to the waiting room, but gain entry through a different route. Also to try and prevent cross infection for patients by touching the door handles. 

November 2020 - August 2021

You said:

Please answer the 'phone!

We said:

Apologies for the delay in 'phone answering.  Sometimes we have a huge volume of calls which as you can appreciate, has increased over this period. Please save some queries until the afternoon such as receiving blood test results or to book non-urgent appointments. This frees up the lines in the morning when we can be very busy taking urgent calls. We constantly monitor the 'phone lines and try to pick up quickly. We will try harder!

July 2020 - October 2020

You said:

That you were having problems accessing the surgery by telephone.

We said:

Although we have had a new telephone system there have been some teething problems which has results in some odd technical difficulties. Although these have been ironed out the lines remain incredibly busy as patients are ringing for many things that they would have previously popped in to see us about. We are opening on Thursday afternoons now which is a quieter time as are most afternoons, so if your query is complicated, or you are asking about results then try and avoid morning calls. We are keeping an eye on telephone demand to see if anything further can be done about improving access.

April 2020 - June 2020

We have not reported any comments during this period. Many of our appointments have been telephone calls or video consultations so it is quite difficult to pick up comments etc during this difficult time for all. We hope to get back to more complete reporting from now on.

January 2020 - March 2020

You said:

That we were being very helpful to an elderly patient and the relatives thanked us for all that we had done.

We said:

Thank you and that compliments were much appreciated by all the staff.

October 2019 - December 2019

You said:

That you wanted to see hand sanitiser at reception.

We said:

Hand sanitiser is available in the porch as you walk into the surgery - this is in a proper dispenser and is more suitable than smaller bottles as it is less messy. We will consider another hand sanitiser dispenser actually within the waiting area.

July 2019 - September 2019

You said: 

That you had had problems getting through on the telephone.

We said: 

We have had our telephone system changed recently to a more modern WiFi linked system which is supported through the NHS IT service. We reported your incident but it appears that there was some sort of error on the system, which was quickly rectified. We are very sorry you had problems getting through.

April 2019 - June 2019

You said: We had not given you the correct travel immunisation information at the surgery.

We Said: We had carefully considered your travel form and looked at the latest information in regard to the necessary immunisations for your destination. You then went to a private Travel Health firm who gave you other immunisations for which you had to pay. Some immunisations we do not stock as they are very specialist i.e. yellow fever immunisations. We do not offer immunisations you do not need and always follow the latest guidance which changes from time to time dependent on the risks within a particular area. It is important to let us have your travel details in plenty of time at least 6 weeks if possible and if necessary you may have to visit a Travel Health firm in order to complete the more complex immunisations.

January 2019 - March 2019

You said:  That you were particularly happy with the practice as it had plenty of pre-bookable appointments. You reported this on NHS Choices.

We Said: Thanks. We have a policy of supporting patients to book up to a month in advance as it is less frustrating for both patients and staff. Great comments like this on NHS Choices really support the practice.

You said: That a member of staff had been less than helpful at reception.

We said: Apologies for this. We aim to provide a friendly and welcoming service and the staff member has been alerted to your complaint and additional support and training has been provided.

October 2018 - December 2018

You said: That you were having problems with getting a repeat prescription through to an on-line pharmacy and this was really annoying as work commitments meant that getting to a local community pharmacy was difficult.

We said: Sorry. We will not alter people's preference for on-line prescriptions without their express permission and we had not sought this from you. We will try and be more enquiring next time a request comes through.

You said: That two members of staff had been particularly diligent about pursuing a missing hospital letter.

We said: Thanks. The praise was passed through to the staff involved.

July 2018 - September 2018

You said: That you had had problems getting through on the telephone and the line was faint.

We said: Sorry, sometimes the telephones are extremely busy. We have just commissioned a new telephone system which we hope will alleviate some of the connection problems. It does help if patients could call for results and queries after 10.30 am when the lines are not so busy. We use mobile phones from time to time to ring patients rather than the land lines so they remain free. On-line services might work for you so you can remotely book, organise prescriptions etc on-line.

You said: Why do the receptionists ask about what is wrong with me when I try and book an urgent appointment?

We said: We have a nurse here who can prescribe so sometimes a nurse appointment rather than a GP appointment is more appropriate. Sometimes a call can be really urgent and the patient might not realise their symptoms are very serious. We ask so we can direct to 999 if more appropriate. For nurse appointment requests we need to make sure that the nurse has the equipment or is in the treatment room for certain procedures. Asking you what you need to see her for helps plan her daily workload and ensures that you get what you need.

April 2018 - June 2018

You said: That there were opportunities to book urgent appointments throughout the day and you appreciated the service.

We said: Thank you. There are always the possibility of urgent appointments at each surgery session but it is really helpful to book these by phoning at 8.30am for a morning slot and at 2.00pm for an afternoon slot. These urgent slots are for genuine same day requirements. Also any requests for home visits should be made as early in the day as possible so the GPs can allocate the visits for the lunchtime period.

January 2018 - March 2018

You said: Some of the links on the website did not work.

We said: Thank you! It is sometimes quite difficult to always check these promptly. We are attempting to sort out the links and add new ones.

You said: That a member of staff had been helpful when you were anxious about an appointment.

We said: Thank you. The compliment was passed onto the member of staff.

You said: That the later evening appointments which started in January 2018 suited you well because of work commitments.

We said: We are continuing these until the winter pressures ease and will carry on until the end of April 2018. We will then review.



 
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