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Dear Patient, Thank you for your comment placed on the Healthwatch website. As with most GP practices we have had to change the way we help our patients, we found during COVID 19 we were able to assess and treat more patients via a telephone consultation, and once the pandemic was over, we decided to adopt this way of working. Most GP appointments are telephone consultation in the first instance, the Doctor will call the patient back and if due to clinical need they require to see the patient face to face the Doctor will arrange an appointment usually for the same day. I am sorry you are not aware when joining the practice of the systems in place to support patients. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient Thank you for your feedback. We wish to advise we do not have a call queue length of 45 the longest call queue is at 8am in the morning when patients are requesting same day appointments the maximum length of the call queue currently is 30. To enable a faster answering of calls we have trained more staff to answer the phone first thing in the morning. We do advise if you are ringing for a routine appointment or enquiry to call later in the day. When contacting the surgery, you may be offered an appointment with a Nurse Practitioner or a GP. These appointments are based on clinical need and will be triaged by telephone in the first instance. Should the clinician require to see you face to face they will arrange an appointment at the time of the call. Once the practice has reached capacity or you may be better served to attend another service the receptionist are trained to advise you to contact one of the following; the Physiotherapist directly, for medication queries your local pharmacy, general health advice 111 or for minor illness to attend the Walk In Centre. We are unable to comment regarding the provision of medication from a pharmacy as this is not part of the service we offer. You would need to take this up with the Pharmacy concerned. We have had a very good take up of flu appointments we currently have administered 2518. Appointments are being made available for online booking on a regular basis. We are unable to offer COVID vaccine as we do not have the correct storage facilities to enable a safe cold chain. However, we have been and still sending out the links to the patients entitled to these to book on online. Thank you for your kind words regarding the nursing team. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient Thank you for your feedback regarding your experience with Thorpe Health Centre. Thorpe Health Centre Surgery is part of the East Norwich Medical Partnership which covers both Sprowston Surgery and Thorpe Health Centre. Patients can be seen at either surgery. All services provided by the practice are the same at both sites, Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses, and Phlebotomists are based at Thorpe as well as Sprowston. Appointments for either surgery can be booked via the main telephone number just request your preferred surgery. Doctors’ appointments are telephone consultants only in the first instance. We found during COVID this enabled the practice to look after more patients, should the clinician wish to see a patient face to face due to clinical need they will arrange an appointment at the time of the call. Occasionally the reception desk at Thorpe is closed due to reception staff shortages. On these occasions patients are asked by signage to use the self-check in on arrival. The clinicians will always check to see if the patient is waiting if they have not checked themselves in. Currently no patients have been left sitting in the waiting room unattended. Booking of flu appointments via the messaging system has worked very well, to date we have administered 2518 vaccines the majority of which have been booked this way. Thank you for your positive comments regarding the prescription line. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient, Thank you for your feedback to Healthwatch given at the time of your flu vaccination. I am disappointed to read of your experiences with members of staff working at Thorpe Health Centre. All staff employed by East Norwich Medical Partnership work at both Thorpe and Sprowston Surgeries, should you continue to have difficulties with members of the practice team please contact me via the complaints email address nwicb.ENMP. complaints@nhs. net Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to speak with a member of the Healthwatch team at the time of your flu vaccination. The practice has experienced recruitment difficulties regarding the reception team. This has impacted on the opening of the reception desk at Thorpe Health Centre particularly with staff illness/holidays. On occasions we have had to make the decision to close the reception desk. We do advise patients via text messaging when this takes place. When the reception desk is closed the clinicians continue to see their patients, on arrival for their appointment the patient is asked to use the check in at the entrance to the waiting room. Should a patient not be able to check in the clinician will always check the waiting room to ensure they will be seen. Appointments for the Doctors at the surgery are telephone triage, this worked well during the pandemic allowing the Doctors to treat more patients therefore the decision was made to continue with this service. Should a clinician wish to see a patient face to face an appointment will be made at the time of the call. Thank you for your positive comments regarding the flu clinic. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient Thank you for your feedback given to a member of the Healthwatch team when attending for your flu vaccination. I pleased you are happy with the service provided at the flu clinic. Thorpe Health Centre has continued to remain open with clinicians calling patients on the occasions we have had to close the reception desk due to shortage of staff. Recruitment has been a challenge since the pandemic however we have been fortunate to employ an additional receptionist this should allow for the reception desk to be open on a more regular basis. Recently we have has staff off ill with COVID which again impacts on the reception service provided at Thorpe. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient, Thank you for talking with our colleagues from Healthwatch regarding your experiences at Thorpe Health Centre. As you have probably heard on the news there are challenges facing the NHS regarding staffing, this has impacted on the service we have provided at Thorpe Health Centre. The doctors and nurses are holding their clinics as normal. When the reception is closed, patients can check in using the check in screen available by the main door. The reason for the reception desk closure is usually due to challenges within the reception team with both planned and unplanned leave. We are in the fortunate position of having just recruited a new receptionist which will enable the Thorpe reception desk to be open on a more regular basis. On the occasions we do close the reception we send a text message to patients informing them. The first contact with the doctors and nurse practitioners will continue to be by telephone triage, should they wish to see a patient face to face due to clinical need they will arrange an appointment at the time of the call. Using this system has enabled the practice to treat and care for more patients. If you would prefer to see a clinician at Thorpe Health Centre, please let the receptionist know when booking an appointment. With regard to your blood pressure and weight, it may not have been offered at this year’s flu clinics as we may have already had a current record of these. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient Thank you for taking time to post your experience on the Healthwatch website. It's great to receive positive feedback regarding the staff at the practice, please be assured I have passed your comments onto Sharleen. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Patient, Thank you for making time to talk with our colleagues from Healthwatch. I am sorry to hear of your experiences, I would be more than happy to look into the concerns you have raised. If you would like to contact me on the following email address norwichccg.ENMP. [email protected] I would be happy to contact you to discuss further. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

Dear Miss Claxton Thank you for taking time to post you thanks on the Healthwatch website. I shall ensure your message is shared amongst all the staff as well as Dr Himan. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager