YOU SAID

WE DID

DATE

I would rather come into the surgery than use a mobile wifi at home slow

Patients can still request face to face appointments however we are still operating under Covid conditions and need to limit the number of patients coming into the surgery at the same time. This is for both the safety of patients and the staff. Vulnerable patients come into the surgery to see the doctor and we need to continue to protect these patients and limit any spread or encountering patients that may have Covid and are unaware.

On-going

Would like to see doctors go back to normal working

The practice has been open during the pandemic, however following government guidance and information from NHS England. The surgery had to adapt to protect both staff and patients and limit the spread of Covid.  All the Gps at the surgery were working normally however adopting a different approach such as telephone consultations, video, online including Face to Face. Working through Covid Pandemic has identified that not all patients need a face to face appointment depending upon the reason. Using other methods listed above has enabled the Gps to deal with more patients and offer more different types of appointments.

If the surgery reverts to all face to face appointments patients need to understand that they may have to wait up to 2-3 weeks for an appointment. Prior to Covid the national average for patients waiting for an appointment with their GP was 3 weeks.

On-going during Covid Conditions

I think some patients abuse the system and want an appointment for no reason.

Many patients turn to their GP surgery for advice / information which is not always a medical issue. The Primary Care Networks have invested into the GP Practices new roles of "Care Navigators", "Social Prescriber link workers". Their role is to navigate patients to the correct services they require therefore reducing the unnecessary time placed on the GP practice.  We are also encouraging patients to use our website, econsult and to visit the local pharmacies. National campaigns advertise on the TV the use of others service to help with health conditions. The practice will continue to promote and direct patients to other services.

On-going

Cannot ring for enquires until after 10am most people work.

There is a reason why the general enquiry line is only available after 10am as we must give priority for emergencies and appointments from when the practice opens at 8am. The practice appreciates patients work therefore there is an option available on eConsult 24/7 to email over the enquiry instead. We also have enquiry forms situated outside of the practice which can be filled in and posted through the letterbox.

I would like to see the same Doctor that understands

As a patient you can request to see the same doctor, however most of the doctors work part-time and get booked up a few weeks ahead. Therefore if you want continuity with the same Doctor then you may have to accept that it may be a few weeks before you can get to see them for an appointment.

When did the receptionist become GP's

The Partner Doctors of the practice have instructed the reception staff to get information from the patient regarding their issue or condition. This is to ensure that firstly the patient is offered the most appropriate clinician to deal with their condition and that they the patient is dealt with quickly and efficiently.

The hardest thing about the surgery is the receptionist I am not able to get a face to face appointment or even phone with my own doctor.

During the covid pandemic the surgery has operated a triage service which was instructed by NHS Guidelines. The Clinician initially would speak with the patient then  would decide if the patient was to be seen face to face. Again this was to limit the exposure to the virus and to ensure both staff and patients health was a priority. We appreciate patients frustration however these decisions were made by NHS England and on instructions from the partners therefore reception staff were only following guidelines.

March 2020- ongoing

Online consultations require a drastic overall.

This information has been feed back to eConsult and the Clinical Commissioning Group are working closely with them to make changes to the system.

On-going

The doctor told me to ring back about my test results, but it was going to be a week before I could see the doctor.

If test results are urgent the Doctor would make an appointment within 24 hours to see the patient following receiving the results. If the results are not urgent the GP will inform the reception staff for the patient to make a routine appointment which could be up to 2 weeks ahead.

I want to get an appointment with my doctor when I need to not have to wait weeks.

The demand for appointments has steadily increased. Most of the feedback from patients assumed that during covid the GP Practice has been quiet. Unfortunately, this is not the case during Covid Pandemic the practice seen a 12% increase on the demand for appointments from the previous year

Jan 2020 to March 2020 total number of attempts of calls through for appointments requests 205718

Jan 2021 to March 2021 total number of attempts of calls through for appointment requests 232169

The surgery seen an increase in the demand for appointments which outweighs the number of appointments safely available to offer to patients.