Feedback from Patient Meeting 23/11/16 – Durrington SurgeryThank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the meeting. We appreciate you having taken the time to share your opinions with us.

You Said Our Response

Overall, you are happy with the care and services we provide.

A sincere thank you from us all. We are committed to making our services better still.

Sometimes it’s hard to contact us by phone.

We don’t like the repetition of recorded messages which might prevent us getting through and which cause frustration.

It would be useful to know where we are in the queue.

Sorry, we realise it can be difficult at times. Here’s an explanation, not an excuse!

On a typical day we can answer over 300 calls. Apart from first thing in the morning, it’s difficult to predict when calls peak.

We have several team members answering calls, many of which involve multiple and detailed enquiries.

It’s not feasible to employ extra staff to cover quieter periods. Where possible, by ringing later in the day you may find it quicker to get through.

We will reduce the frequency of recorded messages. Previously, we’ve had a mixed reaction to messages advising your position

in the queue. However we’ll conduct a survey and let you know the results soon.

Experience shows that patients are re-assured by messages advising them that receptionists only ask questions that have been agreed by the doctors.

Why not have team members who only answer the phone?

Realistically this only works at surgeries with more than 10,000 patients and would not be practical for a practice our size.

More significantly, it’s by maintaining a smaller, multi-skilled team that we can continue to provide the consistent, personal service you tell us you value and rely on.

Having access to shared, up-to-date knowledge of your circumstances enables us to better assist you as a team.

Why must we continue to accept new patients when the Practice is already very busy?

All practices have contractual obligations to accept new patients. An advantage of growth is that it enables us to expand our team and

facilities. This has already happened at Durrington where we have 3 new consultation

rooms plus an additional treatment suite. Without the rooms to see patients in, we are unable to increase our team.

Walk-in clinics work well. Can we have more, including Fridays?

We are encouraged by your feedback and will continue to include these within our appointments schedule.

Extra walk-in clinics have been held over the last few weeks and we would like to run more.

Right now it’s difficult to recruit GP’s nationwide, but if we can increase our team in the future, we’ll certainly keep Fridays in mind.

The availability of Nurse Practitioners is well received.

We’ve been fortunate to have 2 Nurse Practitioners to date and are doing our best to keep it this way!

Alison O’Donnell will be joining us on the 1st February and will undertake similar duties to what Lindsay used to do in time.

Cathy will continue to specialise in long-term conditions.

Will Avon Valley Practice be open at weekends?

Not immediately but weekend opening will come. However this will be locality, not practice based – there simply isn’t the

capacity for individual surgeries to open at weekends.Before this can happen, the infrastructure which supports GP services will need to be improved.

Occasionally things go wrong, but when they do you know what to do and who to contact.

You are satisfied that we respond to your complaints in a prompt, thorough and fair manner.

We do our best to get things right but it’s important you tell us when things go astray to give us the opportunity to put them right.

Don’t forget, information about making a complaint can be found on our website or please ask at reception for more information.

Formal complaints should first be made in writing to our Practice Manager, Mrs Anna Morton or, for a verbal chat, you can speak to Mrs Nina Hammond, who can be contacted via reception.

Our surgeries have the facilities you need.

Good and don’t forget to let us know your suggestions when you think of them.

Whenever you have an idea or suggestion you know we are eager to hear.

Excellent, it’s by working together that we can continue to make your Practice the best it can possibly be.

Suggestions and feedback can be made by replying via text to our Friends & Family survey but you don’t have to restrict it to that – e-mails, notes through the letter box and of course a quick word with one of our team work just as well.

You like to be kept informed about what’s going on.

We agree, it’s essential. We will produce seasonal newsletters to keep you up-to-date. These will be up-loaded onto our website and electronic notice boards, as

well as copies placed on reception desks.

Don’t forget, if there’s something you would like to discuss – we are all here to help.