School Lane Surgery

Feedback

• A really good surgery

  4

  Submitted by Healthwatch Norfolk staff on behalf of patient 12th May 2025

  A really good surgery, really good doctors. It's just the phone thing, really. You have to wait. They will call you back but it's at their discretion. There is nothing wrong on the whole with the level of care. Also, the stairs. Today I had an appointment upstairs. I had to have help.

  
  
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• I'm happy with the surgery

  5

  Submitted by Healthwatch Norfolk staff on behalf of patient 12th May 2025

  I'm happy with the surgery. You've got to get in early on the phone to get an appointment. You can press number 8 and the phone system will call you back. Sometimes they refer me to Bury or I can get a same day appointment. The level of care is good. You get informed of what's going on. With luck my appointments are downstairs.

  
  
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• I wouldn't change surgeries

  5

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 12th May 2025

  It's good. They're polite and efficient. If you have a problem they're always helpful, it's never too much of a chore. Sometimes you don't get past the triage but I'm not a doctor! No problems at all with the doctors themselves, I wouldn't change surgeries.

  
  
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• Lovely doctors and nurses

  5

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 31st March 2025

  I have my yearly diabetes check there and they came out and looked after my husband when he had Alzheimer's. There's some lovely doctors and nurses, I really like Doctor Overy.

  
  
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• Good once seen but impossible to book non-urgent appointments

  3

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 31st March 2025

  It's generally good service however booking appointments is challenging, booking non-urgent things is impossible, I've tried for four Mondays in a row. I get on exactly as the form opens at 11am (which is an odd time) and it says all the appointments are taken. I don't know what you're supposed to do? Once you're in it's a 5 but it has to be 3 stars because of this problem.

  
  
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• Some helpful doctors but dislike new booking system

  3

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 31st March 2025

  They've changed the way they book their appointments, you can be up to 50th in the call queue - I've even had a shower in the time I've been on hold before. There are a couple of really good doctors and I recently had good service from the new one but generally it's not up to standard. You used to be only able to book online, now it's phone only and online is for booking appointments ahead which can take up to six weeks.

  
  
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• Called for same day appt for myself and my Mum. Got appt for myself and Dr call for my Mum same day.

  5

  Submitted by Anonymous 25th February 2025

  Very helpful receptionist on phone registered both of us for triage, though booking details onto us wrong way round this was immediately rectified in call back confirming Appts and apologies given. Dr very thorough with a good empathetic manner to us both confirmed what I had suspected with infections and issued prompt RXs. Greeted by receptionists for booking in. Whilst waiting noticed a few patients actively berating staff over things that not their fault and a couple not taking the advice given and behaving in a very rude entitled manner - the staff sat through this and engaged in a thoroughly professional & polite manner

• Reply from School Lane Surgery

  Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and for giving us a five-star rating. We're delighted to hear that you and your mum had a positive experience with our reception team and doctors. We apologise that you had to witness the rude behavior of a small minority of patients during your visit. Please rest assured that we take such incidents very seriously and actively enforce our zero-tolerance policy to ensure a respectful environment for both patients and staff. Your understanding and kind words mean a lot to us, and we truly appreciate your support. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the best possible care. Regards M. Rolph Business Manager

• I am not listened to when I do talk to a doctor . I filled in the form to speak to someone and no one has contacted me at all . I feel like my problem is just being ignored over and over again

  1

  Submitted by Anonymous 1st October 2024

  Not listened to at all been struggling with the same issue for over 2 years and still don’t know what’s wrong with me or had any help to stop it

• Reply from School Lane Surgery

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are very sorry to hear that you feel this way, as it is never our intention for any patient to feel unheard or ignored. We take all concerns seriously and strive to provide the best care possible to all patients. To better understand and address your situation, we kindly ask that you contact the surgery directly, so we can look into this matter further and ensure your concerns are addressed. We appreciate your patience and hope to resolve this with you as soon as possible. Regards M. Rolph Business Manager

• GP appointment

  1

  Submitted by Markus 15th July 2024

  I want to complain about my recent GP appointment and the service I received at SLS. I had a GP appointment on 05 July 2024 with one of the doctors - not on the list of regular doctors at SLS which raises questions about SLS's reliance on agency staff. I explained my flu symptoms in the form I completed the morning before the appointment. At the end of my 10-minute appointment, I asked the doctor about the status of my colonoscopy referral, originally requested in November 2023. I was concerned about rectal pain. The doctor responded that this topic was not on the list of my symptoms described in the form I submitted in the morning and he doesn't have now the time to discuss this issue and needs to treat other patients. He was unable to verify the status of my colonoscopy referral and suggested instead to speak to the receptionist. When I asked how is it possible that since November 2023 I asked about the same issue, he responded to leave the room, otherwise, he'd call the receptionist. I responded that I found his response unacceptable and unprofessional and felt after this experience treated like a number rather than offered medical support. This is not the first episode of very poor communication by staff at SLS. In January 2024, I was finally given an appointment for flu-like symptoms after requesting it several days in a row. I was told on several occasions by the receptionist that I was not considered an emergency and was referred to a pharmacist instead. Unfortunately based on my experience, issues of concerns raised by patients are ignored and not followed up adequately by SLS staff. Communication is very poor, staff is poorly trained unable to cope with mounting pressure when demand for treatment on the patient side can not be met by the supplied number of doctors at a time when patients face unprecedented waits for poorly founded NHS care.

• Reply from School Lane Surgery

  Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at SLS. We understand your concerns and apologise that you feel you did not receive the level of service you expected. We strive to provide the best possible care to all our patients, and it is disappointing to hear that your experience fell short of this standard. We would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns and encourage you to contact us directly, either through our website or by contacting the surgery, so that we can fully investigate the issues you have raised. You can contact the surgery via the website here: https://www.schoollanesurgery.co.uk/feedback-complaints/ Your feedback is valuable to us as it helps us identify areas where we can improve our services. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns and work towards a positive resolution. We understand your concerns regarding the use of locum GPs. We want to assure you that we use locums only when necessary to cover for sickness or holidays. We have also expanded our permanent GP team with three new salaried GPs since March 2024 and have a further two joining us in August and September. Our aim is to minimise the use of locums and when we do use them, it is often with the same GPs to provide continuity as much as possible. BR M. Rolph Business Manager

• Easy to book in and was seen shortly after appointment time when doctors that day were under pressure because of sickness and leave.

  5

  Submitted by W Boldock 2nd July 2024

  She carried out a detailed examination ruling out other conditions, gave me a detailed examination and diagnosed me with Bell's Palsy. She went into detail about this condition how it is caught etc and other symptom s to look out for . She prescribed medication and how and when to take it and what I should do if things don't improve or get worse. I was extremely impressed in her knowledge and kindness in my visit. Well done Dr Llewellyn

• Reply from School Lane Surgery

  Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to share your experience with Dr. Llewellyn. We are thrilled to hear that you were impressed with the thorough examination and the detailed information provided about your diagnosis. Dr. Llewellyn is dedicated to ensuring our patients receive the highest standard of care, and your feedback affirms her commitment to excellence. We truly appreciate your understanding and patience, especially during this challenging time with staff sickness. I will make sure that Dr Llewellyn receives this feedback.