Dear Patients,
Throughout the months of April and May (and we do this each month) we sent our Friends and Family Survey out and here are some of your comments and our respective actions here at Mickleover Medical Centre based on your feedback.
April 2023 Very good 368 79.7% Good 67 14.3% Neither good nor poor 11 2.4% Poor 8 1.7% Very poor 8 1.7% Don’t know 0 0.00% May 2023 Very good 180 77.3% Good 40 17.2% Neither good nor poor 5 2.2% Poor 2 0.08% Very poor 5 2.2% Don’t know 1 0.05% You said…“Telephone systems need an upgrade”
“Improve waiting times when ‘phoning to obtain appointments”
“Often very difficult to get through to surgery on the phone.”
We have done this:
We have upgraded our phone system and have employed more staff to answer them. We have also introduced Medicines Order Line for all prescription queries, this is to try to reduce the footfall coming directly to the Practice, enabling us to have more care navigators to answer your calls and concerns. All the team are able to be called into action by taking calls when we have a backlog due to a new system that shows how many people are waiting. When we say all staff, we have Nurses and Team Leaders/Managers answering enquiries at peak times.
You said…Make GPs More accessible
We have done this:
We have enhanced hours on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday AM by appointment only to combat the accessibility issue for those people who are not able to attend during the day, we offer three different ways to make an appointment, by telephone, digitally through the website on ‘get help for any help problem’ and in person. Please speak to one of the team who will be happy to talk you through our accessibility for all. Our top tips are to use the internet forms instead of ringing, leave the phones to those who cannot.
You said…More privacy in reception area, all conversations with receptionist can clearly be heard by waiting patients
We have done this:
We are restricting the number of the people we allow into the building at one time to maintain privacy and dignity for all. If you want to speak in private, please ask our team as they may not always be aware that your matter is private. If you see someone at the desk, please give them space and do not come in or wait at the door.
You said…We have trouble making appointments.
Our response:
We recognise this is an issue for everyone, including ourselves as patients at other Practices. What we can tell you is that we have a very hands on, responsive system to try and maximise what we can offer on a daily basis and for forward booking. We’d like every one to understand that we spend a lot of time trying to balance this as much as possible with the resource and space in the Practice to optomise the demand vs capacity situation. And we do this by triaging and signposting patients to the most appropriate service or clinician.
A lot of our patients are reluctant to see the other Practitioners available as they feel that they cannot trust that they will handle their issue. What we can do to reassure you is, that all of the PCN staff and Practice Staff know when to escalate an issue for you. You can rest assured that if the care navigator offers you an appointment with the most appropriate clinician based on your symptoms, that they will fulfill your needs and if they cannot, they will pass you to the GP quickly.
Some of our extra clinicians work remotely, or at another Practice due to space being very limited in the Practice. Our team will let you know who you will speak to, what they do and where they are situated.
And lastly,
We are working closely with the PPG and need to let you all know that we would like to invite those of the demographics that are under represented such as females and those of working age. If you are interested please fill in the form online.
Your Team at Mickleover Medical Centre