Dear Sir,
Has anyone else noticed that the ‘service’ provided by Bewick Crescent Surgery seems to become more abysmal by the month?
The very useful and convenient repeat prescription phone line has been closed. If one does not have access to a computer, the only alternative, unless housebound, is to make an, often inconvenient, detour to the surgery and leave the request in the box provided. A request sent by post is equally unacceptable. Evidently, opening an envelope is too onerous a task.
I had reason to try and contact the surgery by telephone recently. It took from 9.00 a.m. until 12.10 p.m. I tried from 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. and then from 11.00 a.m. to 12.10 p.m. It should also be remembered that the surgery number, not a ‘free phone’ line.
Several times I was told by an automated message that the maximum number of callers were waiting, and my call was being disconnected. After each redial, I was treated to an automated lecture from Dr. Lund as to what should and should not be done to not make, but be ‘considered’ for, an appointment. Then another message warning of dire consequences should I lose my temper with the receptionist. By the time I got through, I was totally in sympathy with those who do.
While waiting to be connected, I was repeatedly told how much more convenient it would be to do it online. Convenient for whom? Not for me. For the last ten minutes of my call, I was told sixteen times that my call was important to them.
I have not seen my GP in person for four years or so. In fact, I am no longer sure who it is. On the odd occasion I have visited the surgery I have had to see a nurse or health care assistant. Why can I not make an appointment to see my doctor when I feel I need to? I have never been a person who visited the doctor for trivial reasons, but I am now at the point when, unless I am asked to make an appointment for a routine test, flu jab etc. I just do not bother trying. There appears to be an arrogant assumption that patients should simply accept whatever dictums the surgery chooses to introduce any be duly grateful for a service going downhill increasingly fast.
When I consider the superb treatment received by my elderly cat from his vet with that meted out to me by Bewick Crescent Surgery, I am wondering if I can reassign as an animal.
Name and address supplied
Response from Bewick Surgery
Dear anonymous patient,
Thank you for your comments relating to our service provision. We would like to take the opportunity to respond to the specific concerns that you raise.
Prescription Line. It was a difficult decision to restrict our prescription line’s eligibility to clinically housebound patients only. The service was restricted as online user requests significantly increased which we are obligated to process by NHS England. Whilst we understand the prescription line was convenient this is not a contractual requirement to be provided and we do not have sufficient staff to sustain both services. In addition, we feel that sending repeat prescription requests via post increases the risk of loss, which we do not want our patients to experience. Currently all patients have 24-hour services to order repeat medication either online or use the repeat medication post-box in our foyer; this conforms with NHS England’s governing standards. We hope this offers context to our repeat prescription strategy.
Calling the surgery. We accept that accessing our surgery by telephone during peak times can be difficult and the frustration that may be felt. As we take more details from patients during calls for GP triage reasons naturally calls take slightly longer; this is also another reason why we urge patients to use our online consultation service in the first instance. To mitigate this frustration, last month, we commissioned a new upgraded telephony service which offers a patient call back feature. Our new system will retain the patient’s place in the queue and calls them back when they reach the front. Originally we planned to go live with this last month but, sadly, our service provider has experienced delays in acquiring the required equipment. We hope for it to be active in the next six weeks. Furthermore, we can increase the length of the queue so more people can benefit from this feature. I hope this assures patients we are doing as much as we reasonably can to address this concern.
Appointment Model. Rather than continuing to say, ‘call back at 8am tomorrow’ or having to advise patients ‘all appointments are gone’ we took a scientific approach and analysed what is actually happening and what we could do about it. This is where the current total triage appointment model came from – this means nobody is turned away. A doctor reviews and decides on every single request for an appointment from patients, ensuring you are given the appropriate care by the appropriate clinician. We compared six months’ data from the two models which showed that the current model has given an additional 7,700 patients care from their GP, something our old model could not support. As a practice, we offer the most appointments per 1000 patients than any other surgery in the Sedgefield constituency, meaning we are the third highest provider in County Durham as a result of these changes made. We are currently delivering the most home visits, by a significant margin, more than any other practice in the County Durham.
We were happy to read that your cat received the care it needed, but comparing for-profit private pet care and non-profit public healthcare is farcical. To conclude, it has been widely recognised in the media, including the British Medical Association, that GP surgeries nationally have an ongoing, arduous challenge to provide suitable care with limited resources. We have been touched by the many kind messages of support regularly received and we will continue to try to provide you with the best service possible. We would like to offer an opportunity to this patient to discuss their concerns directly with the Practice Manager; please use the contact us page, via our website, to arrange this.
Kind Regards
Steve Lucas | Practice Manager
