The Family Practice

The Family Practice 2016-12-22 Person 3 5 0

This surgery is good but it could be great, the doctors and the nurses are very good, never had an issue but it is close to impossible to get an urgent appointment or even a regular appointment, it's either too soon or too late, I have tried to call 47 times once before I good get through one morning and when I got through, there was no longer any appointment. Some of the receptionists are really unhelpful, this is such a shame as everything else is great.

The Family Practice 2016-11-28 Person 4 5 0

The receptionists treat me with great kindness but seem unable to make appointments after about 1030 am and say that you must try again at 8.30 the next day which is most frustrating, because if there are vacancies the following day why can they not make them there and then

The Family Practice 2016-01-18 Person 4 5 0

Once you get an appointment the care is excellent. The main problem is actually getting an appointment It appears that emergency appointments can ONLY be booked in the morning (if you can get through that is) and non-emergency in the afternoon. However this has never been clearly explained. There is no way to submit ideas or contact the practice management. For instance they complain about the number of missed appointments BUT there is no easy way to contact and cancel an appointment. Why don't they have a dedicated phone number you could call and know you will get through and either tell someone you cant come or leave a message? Simple solution that would free up appointments and cut down no-shows. Why not have a sort of wait list when you can't get an appointment but would be willing to come in at say 30 mins notice if there was a cancellation received. Just wish there was a way they would be receptive to ideas that would help everyone! Why don't they say have a suggestion box saying do you have any ideas how we can make the surgery better for all of us. If there is such a way to give positive suggest - it seems a closely guarded secret. Why not a sort of open evening - meet the managers sort of thing where there could be an exchange of ideas/problems and seek ways to improve things. Instead there is a constant problem trying to get appointments which makes it frustrating for patients and staff alike.

The Family Practice 2015-09-17 Person 4 5 0

This morning I had tried to ring the surgery for an urgent app't but unable to get through so I decided to go there instead. The receptionist was very helpful when I explained why I needed to see a doctor urgently and luckily Dr Sumner had a space in 10 mins. I had not seen this doctor before but she listened attentively, took pulse, blood pressure etc and arranged an immediate ECG with one of the nurses whose name I didn't catch but she is a phlebotomist. Again she was very helpful and sympathetic while taking the ECG. I only waited a few mins before seeing Dr Sumner again to hear the result - atrial fibrillation. At last I know what has been causing me anxiety because it has never shown up before on previous ECG's. Thanks to everyone concerned in finding the diagnosis this morning and I look forward to an improvement in my health and well-being after further tests at St Peter's hospital.

The Family Practice 2015-05-27 Person 3 5 0

I came in to arrange an appointment for my 18 month old child who I was holding at the time. No one else was waiting to be seen by reception so I went straight to the desk. I had started to ask about appointments and the receptionist was looking on the PC when the phone rang. The receptionist asked me to wait for a minute while she answered the phone. I wrongly presumed that she was going to ask the call to wait a moment while she finished dealing with myself, but it soon became apparent that the caller was going to be dealt with fully and, while I could work out the caller was after an appointment like myself, I failed to see why just because they had called the practise, they should be a higher priority than someone being dealt with in person, considering I was being dealt with first. While the person calling was trying to book an appointment just like myself there became some complications with the diary. This resulted in the receptionist now having to speak to a colleague behind the main desk all the time while I continued to stand there waiting. This didn't resolve the situation so the receptionist then went off to speak to one of the medical staff in a different area of the building, all the while I was waiting to finish arranging my appointment. With a clock on the wall by reception, once I had been there with my son for a full 5 minutes with the receptionist still not back I left. I was extremely disappointed to have been treated in such a way. In summary - by all means answer the phone but then ask them to wait while the current patient is dealt with. Just like a normal queue in the practise would work.