East Norwich Medical Partnership

Feedback

• Time of day you call makes a difference

  4

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 19th October 2022

  I find it difficult to ring up and get through, but when I am through I am sorted. I can come in and book at the front too - the time of day you call makes a difference. The staff here are all good.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for speaking with one of the Healthwatch team when they visited the surgery. I am sorry you have experienced difficulties with getting through on the telephone. First thing in the morning at 8am the GP appointments are released which does mean your call will be in the queue. Since becoming aware of the difficulties patients had last year with the telephone system, the practice worked with the provider and streamlined the phone system. This and training more staff to answer the phone between 8 & 9am has meant the average wait has come down to 15mins quite often less. For general enquiries and nurse appointments it is better to ring the surgery later in the day. Thank you for your feedback. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Very efficient

  4

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 19th October 2022

  I think they are easy to access, the website is good. I never use the phones because the website works for me. I don't think they have anything to improve on, they are very efficient

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your feedback given to one of our Healthwatch colleagues when they visited the surgery. It is so lovely to read your positive feedback, thank you. Please be assured your comments will be shared with the wider practice team. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Been trying to get an appointment for months

  1

  Submitted by Collected by a Healthwatch Norfolk member of staff 18th October 2022

  The wait is so long on the phone that I give up, I have been trying to get an appointment for months but I can't sit on the phone for that long. I feel discriminated against as I do not have the internet so can not go online and get appointments like others can. The staff and care is good when you get in, it's just a struggle to get in!

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, I am sorry to hear of your frustration with the phone service. The telephone system was reviewed and updated this time last year, this brought the call queue wait time down to an average of 15 mins at peak time. If your enquiry is not urgent a good time to ring is late morning or mid to late afternoon when the lines are quieter. At times there may be a longer wait this is usually happens when we have staff off unwell and/or on annual leave. Thank you for taking the time to speak with a member of Healthwatch and for your kind words regarding your care. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• St Williams Way not staffed

  5

  Submitted by Collected by a Healthwatch Norfolk member of staff 18th October 2022

  This branch of the practice is great, it is well staffed and always open. But the branch at St Williams way is not always staffed. This one is further for me to come which is fine at the moment as I can still drive but at 92 this is not always going to be the case and I worry what I will do when that time comes. the staff are all fine and I have no complaints about them, just wish they would staff St Williams way. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004 and an still going so they must be doing something right.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your kind words regarding our Sprowston Surgery. The clinicians have been seeing patients at Thorpe Health Centre since the beginning of lock down, either face to face or telephone consultations. Unfortunately, we are struggling to recruit new members of the reception team which does mean the reception desk cannot always be open. Patients are booking into the clinics via the self-check-in by the main door. To arrange a consultation with a clinician please telephone the surgery and if you require a face-to-face appointment, please request Thorpe Surgery. Thank you for your feedback via the Healthwatch team and we are pleased to hear you remain in good health. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Once see someone they provide a good service

  4

  Submitted by Collected by a Healthwatch Norfolk member of staff 18th October 2022

  If you can get to see someone they provide a good service. But it can be a struggle to get an appointment. During Covid my wife ended up going private for a heart condition as we could not get to be seen. I miss the face to face appointments I find them a lot better and easier to understand then a phone call. I understood it over Covid but I think it should go back to normal now. Once you are in I feel looked after and the staff are very nice.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your kind words regarding our Sprowston Surgery. The clinicians have been seeing patients at Thorpe Health Centre since the beginning of lock down, either face to face or telephone consultations. Unfortunately, we are struggling to recruit new members of the reception team which does mean the reception desk cannot be opened all the time. To arrange a consultation with a clinician please telephone the surgery and if you require a face-to-face appointment, please request Thorpe Surgery. Patients are booking into the clinics via the self-check-in by the main door. Thank you for your feedback via the Healthwatch team and we are pleased to hear you remain in good health. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Never had any problems

  5

  Submitted by Collected by a Healthwatch Norfolk member of staff 18th October 2022

  I have never had any problems at this surgery. It can be difficult since Covid to get an appointment but once you are in the staff are polite and helpful. It's better with the introduction of the coordinator, you have the option of telling them what is wrong or waiting for the doctor to phone you. When it was urgent I was seen on the same day.

  
  
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• People are lovely

  3

  Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 18th October 2022

  The people are lovely, but it is hard to get an appointment, you phone dead on 8am and by the time you get through all the appointments have gone. It can be a 30-45 mins wait on the phone. It can put you off trying to be seen and things could get missed. The care is very good once you are in.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, I am sorry to hear of the wait you have experience when phoning the surgery. Since reviewing and changing the telephone system and having trained further members of the team to answer the phone at 8am; our phone statistics show an average call queue length at 8am as 15 minutes, often shorter. Calls can be delayed in answering due to staff sickness and annual leave, these are out of the practice control. We appreciate all feedback and thank you for taking the time to speak with a member of the Healthwatch team. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• I think they\'re brilliant

  4

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 18th October 2022

  I have been here for years and they are kind to me, I think they're brilliant. Sometimes things go wrong but everywhere does, everything does at times. I speak as I find. I think being able to get an appointment would get them more stars, they just haven't got the staff they need more.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your lovely words and understanding of the pressures the Surgery is currently working under. The practice is following the guidelines of NHS England and the Department of Health and Social care and will be for the foreseeable future. This means all GP appointments are telephone consultation in the first instance, the Doctor will assess the clinical need, and should the GP require to see the patient, a face-to-face appointment will be arranged either the same day or a day to suit the patient. Nursing appointments are available up to eight weeks ahead. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• The reception girls are very good

  3

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 18th October 2022

  I only come up here for warfarin really. The long message on the telephone puts me off. I have to wait until I have been and visited my husband so often call at 5-5.30 and it is not so bad then. The reception girls are very good. I tried to call one morning you can be 17 or 18 in the queue. Once I got down to 1 in the queue and it just cut me off and a message came on to say we are now closed for lunch! The staff and nurses I see they are all great, but I think they are short on Drs. I have been a patient here for years and there have been no problems until Covid hit and I know and understand the problems but feel fed up. My husband has been in hospital since February and the surgery called recently to book him an appointment, like they didn't know. Surely they should know?

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient, Thank you for your feedback, received via the Healthwatch team. May we advise if your call is not urgent for a same day appointment to call later in the day. This would save you having to wait as in the call queue when patients are ringing for a same day GP appointment. We do have additional staff answering the telephone first thing in the mornings which has proved very successful. With regard to your comments regarding your husband’s treatment I am very sorry to hear he is unwell and is in hospital. We do not always know when a patient has been admitted, I am sorry if this upset you that was not our intention. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager

• Staff friendly and helpful

  4

  Submitted by collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 18th October 2022

  I think they have improved most recently, the staff are friendly and helpful. Online booking was only accepted for a while then the surgery opened up again. When I'm in the mind set and have to wait I avoid peak times on the phone. The unmanned desk at the other surgery is strange but all good.

• Reply from East Norwich Medical Partnership

  Dear Patient Thank you for taking time to talk with our colleagues from Healthwatch when they visited the surgery during one of our flu clinics. We have been successful in recruiting new members of the reception team however we still have vacancies which are proving difficult to fill. This has impacted on the service we provide at our Thorpe Surgery as we are not always able to open the reception desk. Clinicians are continuing to see patient at this surgery and patients are requested to use the self-check-in at the entrance. Last year we made significant changes to the telephone system, this enabled the calls to be answered in a timelier way. If your enquiry is not urgent, please ring after 10am or in the afternoon. Yours sincerely Carol Postle Compliance Manager