Thorpewood Medical Group

Feedback

• Waited 4 days for a call back

  3

  Submitted by Collected at a Healthwatch Norfolk event 10th February 2022

  It's a long time between messaging and getting an appointment. The last time I waited 4 days for a call back. It takes me 30 minutes to fill in the E Consult form. Sometimes it can be difficult to take the phone call from the doctor if you don't know when they are going to call. I think all should go back to normal as all other keyworkers are working normally. I am happy with things once I get in the surgery.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Thank you for the positive comments and not so good feedback, it is appreciated. I apologise if you have some frustrations with E Consult or when a GP will call. If you waited four days for a call back, this would have been a Dr decision in that you did not need attention earlier. If you would like to have some help on how E Consult works, please make yourself known and you are more than welcome to attend here and I will show the system in depth. This might hep you. We have had to leave a long period of the day for patients to expect a call from the Doctor. If we narrowed this and Doctor was absent, re-distributing appointments throughout the remainder of the Surgery, there is a high possibility we will not meet the time we said we would. This prompts more discontent and bad feedback. Thank you again. Andy A Cutting Practice Manager

• Before Covid it was okay

  4

  Submitted by Collected at a Healthwatch Norfolk Event 10th February 2022

  Before Covid it was okay, it's alright now but you can't get face to face.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Thank you for the time and comment in feeding back to the Surgery, it is appreciated. Whilst we have been offering Face to Face all through Covid, this has been limited based on GP availability and risk of infection. We have been reviewing the Covid situation and our appointment set up with a view to increasing Face to Face from Sept 22. Thank you again. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• They have Closed Dussindale

  1

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 10th February 2022

  The staff are good and friendly when you see them. E Consult is not helpful and I have had admin errors and referral delays. They need to improve the telephone waiting times and I feel they are reluctant to offer face to face appointments. They have closed the Dussindale surgery which is nearer to home and as I do not drive is more convenient. There has been no information put out about when or if it will reopen. At the moment I prefer the walk in centre.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry the standards of service do not meet your expectations. Dussindale has been closed over two years based upon the possibility of having problems at Thorpewood over Covid, necessitating closure. We have kept the branch in reserve to ensure we can carry on providing services if this ever happened. The situation will be reviewed later in the year. You mention many other problems, all of which I am happy to invite you in and discuss each. Make yourself known and we can meet, you are more than welcome to attend here and go through each item raised. Thank you again. Andy A Cutting Practice Manager

• They have really looked after me

  5

  Submitted by Collected at a Healthwatch Event 10th February 2022

  I avoided coming through Covid and wasn't expecting much from the surgery but I had to come in for a medication review and they found out I had high blood pressure. They have really looked after me since and got back to me when I needed them to.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Dear patient. Thank you for your positive comments. Such thoughts lift the spirits of everyone working at the Surgery. I am pleased you were able to avoid coming in through the height of the pandemic. My regards. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• Can't get us an appointment

  1

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 10th February 2022

  I just can't get an appointment. I have had to use the walk in centre and most of the time just go straight there. I think it is time for GPs to open normally and take the pressure off the Hospitals, Covid is here for life so we need to get on with it. My condition makes me have breathing problems which is part of the condition but when I put that in the E consult website it will not let me go any further and tells me to ring 999 which is not needed so I then have to start again and almost lie to get an appointment.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Dear patient Thank you for your feedback. I apologise you have problems making an appointment and using EConsult. Please make yourself know by emailing the Surgery E mail Address thorpewood.d82048@nhs.net State for my attention and I am happy to invite you to the Surgery where I can show the E Consult system and explain why you experience being diverted to 111 or A&E. My regards. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• Frustrated with econsult not working

  1

  Submitted by Sarah Warren 9th February 2022

  I do everything online and it works brilliantly except Thorpewood's econsult! My husband used econsult and it took 5 weeks with 5 appointments to get help. I had to use econsult for my daughter and neither Asthma or back pain were listed under the conditions. I did 'ask a receptionist' as the option instead and was then asked to call the surgery. I called the surgery and was then asked to use econsult. In the end I had to list 'hip' since it's the closest option to back because you can't use econsult without picking a body part or condition. It's frustrating because econsult could work so well but I haven't found that. It if worked it would be fabulous! I did mention the issue 2 years ago and nothing has changed. When you actually speak to someone they are brilliant and I love Thorpewood! I've be coming here for years. I would prefer to do it online and on econsult, it just doesn't work well enough.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Thank you for your feedback. It is appreciated. Please make contact with the Surgery E Mail address for my attention - thorpewood.d82048@nhs.net I would be happy to show you the system. Currently 5,200 Surgeries across the Country use this on line system and over 80 million E Consults have bee completed by patients. I appreciate your positive comments thank you. I have not been here two years yet, so would appreciate your input. My regards. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• Organisation of practice is terrible

  2

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 9th February 2022

  They cancelled our appointment today because the nurse cannot do it because she's pregnant. They cancelled it two hours before the appointment. Why wasn't it done before this and now we've got to wait until the 2nd of March for this procedure. In terms of people we've never had any problems but the organisation is terrible. My mother's prescription has not been changed in the wrong way. So I've got to go over to the pharmacy and get that changed back. It's not the people it's the organisation. My surgery is Mile End and it's much better there. It's so difficult organising care for someone else as well. You can be listed as a 'parent' on their website but you can't be a 'carer'. The menu on the website is also really unhelpful. It's taken 1hr to contact someone and that's been the same using online. I trying to use online for memory problems and there was no options so had to almost lie on the form to get the appointment. It's just not suited to what people are needing. I can't really say if I'm satisfied with the appointment we were offered because we had two appointments today and only had one. How did this happen?

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Dear patient. Thank you for your feedback. I apologise if the service does not meet your standard. We have had a colleague commence maternity leave and where possible the appointments are being covered by Nurse colleagues. Without more details, I cannot fully investigate this, but I am aware that at the beginning of the nurse absence, we suffered further loss of team members through injuries and Covid. So for the original comment I believe we had the appointment covered, only to have to cancel on the day because of further absence. I apologise. If you would like to make yourself known to me, please feel comfortable to do so, in order I can look at the other items you raise. Thank you again. My regards. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• Really lovely nurse, professional and helpful

  5

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 9th February 2022

  I saw a really lovely nurse. They were very professional and helpful. Good at signposting to other services and good with people. You can always get an appointment even it's not especially convenient.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Dear Patient Thank you for this kind feedback. The comments lift the whole team on site here and it is appreciated. I will share this will all colleagues and thank you again. It is important to the Nurse Team that they realise they are appreciated. My regards. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• People are brill but online isn't easy

  3

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 9th February 2022

  With people it's brilliant. The only thing is to get an appointment online is not an easy task. Don't know how to do econsult and getting an appointment is really hard. The doctors and nurses are really lovely. They just need a new system for appointments. I have to just grab what's available when they offer me one so it's not a case of whether I'm satisfied with it or not. I also have kids so it can be difficult with some of the times they offer but I have to make it work.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Dear Patient Thank you for your positive comments it lifts the whole Surgery. I am really grateful you have tried using E Consult, it is appreciated. Using this does reduce the phone calls to the Surgery. I have hosted groups and individual patients here to show them how it works. You are more than welcome to attend here, where I would be more than happy to go through the system with you. Please E mail the Surgery E Mail address for my attention if you would like to do this. Feel welcome to invite someone to come with you. E Mail thorpewood.d82048@nhs.net Thank you again. Andy Cutting Practice Manager

• Staff are lovely, just getting hold of anyone

  3

  Submitted by Collected at Healthwatch Norfolk event 9th February 2022

  It's fine when I'm here but it's just trying to get hold of anyone. I call but get told to use econsult. I then do econsult and it say I have to call them. I don't have time to wait for an hour on the phone. I've occasionally called and been told they have nothing as well. The staff are lovely and I've had no issues when we do come in.

• Reply from Thorpewood Medical Group

  Thank you for your kind words of support. I am sorry you are frustrated with the phoning or E Consult. I believe the EConsult system is prompting you to call the surgery based upon the answers you are providing. This means we do not see the report you are making. We do not write back on receipt of an E Consult for a patient to phone us back. We notify if we will call you and when; or will update you accordingly to what actions should happen. We continue with the Covid Vaccine Programme and until this calms, we remain very busy on the phones, I am sorry. If you would like me to show you E Consult in more detail, please make yourself known and we can arrange to meet on site here. Thank you again. My regards Andy A Cutting Practice Manager