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Friends and Family Test results

It is important to the practice that we receive the opinions of our patients and feedback so we can improve and develop the services we provide.

Part of this monitoring is through the Friends and Family survey. For this survey we ask patients to rate their overall experience of our services following recent contact with us.

The results between April and July are as follows:

  • 55.36% - Very Good
  • 22.62% - Good
  • 9.52% - Neither Good nor Poor
  • 6.55% - Poor
  • 5.95% - Very Poor
  • 0% - Do not know

Here are some of the comment's patients have added to reflect their response:

"The doctor listened to my concerns and put my mind at ease by getting mr checked over and calling me back quickly with results"

"Efficient reception staff, appointment made to fit with work commitments, very straightforward."

"After telephone consultation a very quick face to face appointment followed by a very quick USS appointment "

"Referrals sent promptly. Not too sure I like the phone calls I do prefer to see a doctor face to face."

"The nurse we saw was very efficient and helpful and passed us on to our next appointment without us having to go back into the waiting room to wait again"

"After having to contact 111 during the night I rang the surgery the following morning. After an initial chat with the receptionist I received a call shortly after from a doctor. As a result of this call I was asked to attend tithe surgery the same morning to have a general health assessment and to have bloods taken and I was then seen by a GP who took a very comprehensive history of what had happened the previous night and she then carried out a thorough examination. I was very anxious regarding what had happened to me the previous night but the professional way and speed in which I was offered treatment and reassurance helped to alleviate some of those feelings. At no time during this experience did I feel rushed or unable to ask questions. To top off my experience I received a follow up telephone call 3 days later from the GP that I had seen to check on how I was doing and to give me the results of my blood tests. A first class service from start to finish."

The following patients did not have such a good experience and we would like to respond to some of the issues they have faced.

"Appointment went smoothly with good outcome. The merger seems to have gone ok but the lack of access to my info on patient access is becoming tiresome. I use access to order my scripts and know when the next one is due. Apparently there is only one person working through the list and they are now on holiday with seemingly no back up."

It was unfortunate there was no easy way for us to transfer the account details of over 4000 patients whose online access needed to be reset following the merger. The practice had a team of administrative staff working on reactivating patients as soon as possible, but this was on top of their usual work requirements, most patients were back up and running within 4 weeks of the merger. There were alternative ways patients could order their repeat medications during this time including our dedicated prescription email.

"Disappointed I wasn't referred to have my ears cleaned of wax when other practices in the town do this free of charge."

Ear syringing is not funded or part of the NHS contracted services we are asked to provide, like many other practices we have had to make the difficult decision to stop this service due to the workload demands within the NHS

"Cancelled my appointment on the morning of the appointment via text with no follow up call."

The practice will only ever cancel an appointment due to exceptional circumstances, for example staff sickness. Before cancelling we make every effort to find an alternative clinician to assist you on the same day, unfortunately there will be times this is not possible, and we are left with no option but to cancel the appointment. On these occasions we will ask patients to contact the practice and arrange another appointment at their convenience.

"I rang for appointment with a doctor none available and was told we can get a doctor to ring you in 4 days was under the impression that the amalgamation of the two practices would increase the service."

Since the practice merger we have been working hard to try and get the balance of GP appointments correct to meet our patient requirements. There is a finite number of appointments we have to ensure GP and patient safety but patients can currently book in the following ways:

  • Pre bookable telephone consultations up to 2 weeks in advance (available to book online and over the telephone)
  • On the day telephone consultations
  • Face to face appointments available on the day and in advance (available to book online and over the telephone)
  • Urgent on the day face to face consultations
  • Minor Illness appointments on the day with the paramedic and advanced nurse

The practice continues to monitor and review the appointment system, making adjustments as required.

In July the GPs saw patients for 2177 face to face appointments and 2756 telephone consultations with an additional 199 minor illness face to face appointments with the paramedic and advanced nurse.

The clinical team of nurses and HCAs booked 3525 face to face appointments and 283 telephone calls.

With the increase in face to face appointments we are finding a steady incline of non-attendance of appointment including 170 for nurses or HCAs and 25 for GPs in July. To combat this rise we will be writing to patients who do not attend their booked appointments.

785 patients completed the survey between August - October, these are the results:

  • 51.71% - Very Good
  • 28.15% - Good
  • 9.68% - Neither Good nor Poor
  • 5.60% - Poor
  • 4.71% - Very Poor
  • 0.12% - Do not know

Here are some of the comments patients have allowed us to publish about there response.

"The process in place for triage followed by gp call and if needed a face to face appt followed by referral for physio was excellent and all within 2 weeks - thank you! Also, support with my type 2 diabetes over the last year has been great, and enabled me to finally get control of blood sugars while reducing insulin from 32 units twice a day, down to 8/10 units twice a day. I'm very happy with services and communication. The receptionists are also very helpful." "Excellent from start to finish Front desk staff polite and helpful website informative .Doctors and Nurses caring and efficient . Everything has continued since merger. I feel privileged to be a patient"__

"I managed to get a face face appointment but I was disappointed that you no longer offer the well-being service (where you weigh yourself and do your blood pressure etc)"

"I had an issue that needed diagnosis and treatment from a GP. The care co-ordinator arranged a callback from a GP who followed up with a face to face appointment all within the same day. I was very pleased throughout."

The practice is extremely pleased that the majority of our patient have a good experience when contacting the practice but there are those that do not go so well and here is some of the feedback from those patients and what we are doing to try and address the issues.

"Really hard to get an appointment or try and get through on the telephone. When you do get through you are advised no appointments and to ring NHS 111 or GP out of hours after 6.30pm. follow ups are never arranged following tests and as previously mentioned when you try to ring regarding getting a follow up you can't get an appointment."

There are alternative ways of booking appointments which does not include waiting on the telephone, these include online services or a text links (sent by the practice), if anyone would like further information about online booking you can ask at reception. Appointment slots are reserved for those patients who need to discuss results, these will not be available for booking until your results are back and the GP has indicated they need to discuss the outcome with you.

"Always offering phone appointments but it can be in convenient because I work in a school and can't have my phone on me . Also the prescription line is awkward times again because of my working hours."

The practice offer a mix of face to face appointments and telephone appointments with the GPs, these are available on the day and to book in advance, please ask the receptionist if you would prefer a face to face appointment. The practice is currently looking into an automated 24/7 prescription ordering line but until then there are alternative ways you can order you medication including online or by email "Since our booking in desk has gone we have to share another desk and there was a long queue. I am 86 and find it difficult to stand so long before being attended to"_

I am sorry you had a difficult experience at the reception desk, there are times it can get extremely busy if patients have complex issues they need to discuss with the receptionist. We have two self-check-in machines to try and alleviate the wait for patients.