East Norwich Medical Partnership

Feedback

• Been waiting for my medication for 9 days

  2

  Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 15th August 2022

  I got discharged from hospital on the 5th August and brought in a letter from my consultant about the medication I needed to doctor to prescribe me but I have heard nothing and the pharmacy have not got any record of it. I have come in today to try and sort it out. The receptionist was good because they went off to check for me and have arranged for the doctor to phone me in the morning, but that is another day without my medication. I know they are short staffed but there always seems to be people off sick. They do med reviews over the phones which when it comes to something they need to check your chest for that is of no use.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for spending time with our colleagues from Healthwatch and for your feedback regarding the recent service you have received. Please accept my apologies that your medication changes were not actioned in a timelier way. In general, the hospital will supply the patient with 2 to 4 weeks of medication. The outpatient clinic would then advise the patient to hand the medication changes letter to the surgery within 7 days of being seen to enable a prescription to be raised within normal practice procedures, it generally says on the letter within 72 hours. The pharmacy would have no knowledge of any medication changes until they have received a prescription from the practice, the pharmacies adjacent to both surgeries are not part of East Norwich Medical Partnership. With regard to your comments ‘there always seem to be people off sick’ some practice staff have recently been off after contracting COVID, however the administration team is short staffed due to problems with recruitment. We have been advertising and still are advertising for new members of the team, currently without success. Also, this is the main holiday season therefore staff will be on annual leave. Please be assured medication reviews are completed according to the protocols in place, and patient are seen face to face should the clinician thinks it is appropriate to do so. Our nursing team have continued seeing patients face to face for chronic disease management throughout the pandemic. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• It would be nice to see a doctor face to face

  3

  Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 15th August 2022

  I have not really seen anyone one here apart from a nurse to do a blood test. It would be nice just to see a doctor face to face. They should get back to working normally like everyone else is.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your feedback which came via the Healthwatch team when they visited our Sprowston Surgery recently. Please be assured should a clinician need to see a patient face to face the patient will be offered an appointment at the time of the telephone consultation. All through the pandemic the practice has been continuing to see face to face patients. The initial contact with a patient from a clinician is via a telephone appointment, this is to enable the practice to continue to run a service. The patient will be offered a face-to-face appointment should the clinician feels there is a clinical need for the patient to be seen. We are working normally, we are seeing patients for chronic disease management, cervical smears, coils and implant removals, routine blood tests, dressings etc. We issue approximately 3000 prescriptions per week, if we had to close due to all staff contracting COVID we would be putting our patients who are on repeat medication at risk. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• The Doctors are all 5 star

  5

  Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 15th August 2022

  The GPs here are great. Dr Bastable, Dr Rattner and Dr Amarawickrama are all 5 star, Dr Bastable and Dr Rattner have looked after me for 35 years! I have nothing to complain about, they all are hard working and the receptionists are nice.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your positive feedback regarding the practice partners. I am also happy to hear you have no issues with the reception staff. Thank you and thank you for speaking with our Healthwatch colleagues. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Poor service as usual

  1

  Submitted by Lea 29th July 2022

  I’ve never known such a poor service from a medical practice. When someone is sick your expected to email and wait 2 days for a phone call. If you miss that call your simply out of luck ? Why do we have access to a GP if they don’t respond when they say they will or you can’t get through on the fall even if you tried. It’s at the stage that you dread being sick as the service is poor to say the least This is terrible and something needs to be done at this surgery: I can take myself to the walk in or hospital but what if I had a learning need or disability. I really feel for the people of Norfolk if this is the offer I am totally shocked and disgusted by this service. It’s a total utter disgrace It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review however this has to be the worst surgery I have EVER registered with

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Anonymous, Thank you for taking the time to highlight the problems you have experienced with the telephone system. The practice works an appointment system the first contact with the Doctor would be via a telephone consultation, should the Doctor wish to see a patient they will arrange a face-to-face appointment for either the same day or a day/time to suit the patient. When the telephone appointment is arranged the receptionist does advise the patient to expect the call to come through on an unidentified number and the Doctor will try ringing once. If the doctor is unable to speak with the patient and if workload/time allow the doctor will try to ring the patient again. If you would like to contact me at the surgery, I would be happy to look into the points you have raised in more detail as we have specialist telephone software which allows the practice to monitor all calls to and from the practice. With regard to requesting support via the website, this is for non-urgent enquiries, should you feel your need is urgent it is always best to contact the surgery by telephone. Once the patient has completed the form on the website it cannot be submitted until a box has been ticked stating the enquiry is not urgent. The practice is not an emergency service, if we are able to help, we will, however once we reach capacity patients may be referred to other services such as 111 or the Walk In Centre. Please be assured patients who are in care homes/supported living and/or have a learning disability do have specialist care and support from members of the East Norwich Partnership clinical team. I am sorry you have had cause to make a complaint and I can be contacted via the practice complaints email address norwichccg.ENMP.complaints@nhs.net should you wish to discuss your concerns further. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• New patient

  5

  Submitted by Mellissa Gale 1st June 2022

  I recently registered with this practice. The reception staff were very friendly and helpful. I’ve had two appointments and both the triage staff and the doctors have been extremely helpful and very welcoming with my problems. I cannot fault my experience. I’m so glad I registered here.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Mellissa, Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review on the Healthwatch website. We are so happy that you are having a positive experience of the practice. I have shared your kind words with all the staff at the surgery. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• This practice is rubbish, no option to email

  1

  Submitted by Stephen McLean 17th May 2022

  I have tried to email to inform them of an on going issue but the system does not allow this as the practice is closed.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Mr McLean Thank you for your comment regarding access to the surgery via the website whilst the practice is closed. We decided to remove live access when the surgery was closed to prevent urgent requests which would not be seen until the practice re-opened. Requests for help and support can be made during the practice opening hours of 8am – 6.30pm. For help and advice whilst the surgery is closed please contact the 111 service or for minor illness the Walk-In Centre. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Communication does not seem to be good

  3

  Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 29th April 2022

  When we saw the nurse that didn't tell us anything, there were no comments that helped us understand how I was doing. The nurse was not very communicative. Also when we were having our vaccines they said they would send a link and then they didn't. It meant I actually had to go to the surgery to get a link to book an appointment. It was all very confusing information particularly around having the second vaccine.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Anonymous, Thank you for your review, I am assuming rightly or wrongly that your comments are regarding the COVID clinics. It would be very helpful to have more information may I ask if you would contact the surgery via the following email address ENMP.complaints@nhs.net. I can then investigate your concerns in more detail, thank you. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Hard to contact

  2

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 29th April 2022

  I find it hard to contact them, getting an appointment can seem impossible with all the calling and waiting for a response. I find it hard to actually get to see a GP. I don't think I've seen any changes to the way things are being done since the covid restrictions were lifted. I do understand that covid has led us to rethink things, but I don't think there's any balance anymore. I think that the way the surgeries are handling things means patients are being wrongly pushed to walk in centres and A&E.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Anonymous, We appreciate your feedback regarding access to the surgery. If I may I would like to take time to explain the current working practices of the practice. The COVID restrictions have been lifted for most of the country, however this does not apply to the Health Service who are still working in a protected environment which is likely to continue for the next year. We work under the guidance NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care. This means that all NHS workers are wearing PPE and are continuing to test twice weekly for COVID symptoms. This is to protect the service we provide, our vulnerable patients and members of staff; we issue approx 3000 prescriptions per week, we see patients for chronic disease management as well as those patients who are invited to the surgery by a clinician after their telephone consultation. We have been seeing patients face to face for the past two years based on clinical need. Other long-standing services such as the 111 service and the Walk-In Centre have been set up to support General Practice, when contacting the surgery, you may be advised to attend one of these services who may be better suited to your requirements at that time. I do hope my response has enabled some understanding of the current working arrangements in general practice, we are helping and supporting our patients and will continue to do so within the guidelines set out by NHS England. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Impressed

  4

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 29th April 2022

  I am quite healthy generally, so I have hardly had to use the surgery, thankfully. I was very impressed with how they handled the flu jab clinic last year.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for you review, we are very pleased to hear of your positive experience at the practice. The teamwork at these clinics is fantastic, I’ll pass your comments onto all concerned. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Compassionate response at a stressful time

  5

  Submitted by Anonymous 5th April 2022

  At a stressful time, a particular doctor responded with compassion and kindness (which was not expected due to previous experiences with medical staff throughout the NHS) - I particularly want to thank the practice for their support and this doctor for his compassion.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Anon, Thank you for taking the time to post a five-star rating on the Healthwatch website. Your positive feedback has been shared with all members of the team and has been much appreciated by us all. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager