Abington Park Surgery - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
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Review titled Horrendous Phone Queues
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Fed up - Posted on 08 April 2024
Having received a text from Abington Park surgery, to book a blood test appointment, i phoned 3 times, between 11am and 1 pm. Firstly, 20 people waiting in queue.Hung up. Then 24 people waiting. Followed by 22 people waiting. After 1pm, decided to drive 15 minutes to surgery. All quiet, 2 receptionist were chatting. No phones ringing. Told them about, message from surgery to book blood test. No appointments available. Told to go to hospital. What's the blood test for, will I need a Pathology form, to take to hospital ? No , don't need anything. Back home i went. Phoned the surgery, guess what, 18 people still waiting in queue. You can literally spend hours on the phone, and in the end, still get No appointment. Who answer's the phone's at Abington Park Surgery ?
Visited April 2024
Abington Park Surgery has not yet replied.
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Review titled Serious mental health check
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 01 November 2023
I’ve had the most thorough and kind serious mental health check I’ve ever had. Did the whole lot and made me feel relaxed and listened to. Best one I’ve had.
Visited November 2023
Review titled Abington Park Surgery
Replied on 06 December 2023
Dear Patient Thank you so much for taking the time to write such positive feedback in relation to your Mental Health Check. Such feedback is so important to the staff that work within the Practice and I will certainly forward your comments to the nurse involved. Kind regards Lisa McKenzie, Practice Manager
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Review titled Breast Lump
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 05 April 2023
Over the previous weekend I was awoken with sharp pains from my breast. When I checked this the next morning there was a tiny lump there. I work in a surgery myself so Monday I myself was at work dealing with patients unable to call. I had spoken with a GP at my surgery where I work who advised to keep an eye on it and call my GP if it worsened. Upon arriving home from work I re-checked myself to find this had worsened and spread so I called the surgery that afternoon to ask if an appointment could be booked for the next day. I was informed to call back at 8am the next morning despite the member of staff being aware that I also work in a surgery so this would be impossible for me to do. I asked if an appointment could be secured for me for that next day and I was told to call back the next day or call 111. I called 111 and after hours of no call-back called to chase and was told they would email the clinical team of my chase call, I went to sleep having been up since 5am. This was on Monday 3rd April. Today is Wednesday 5th April and to date I have not had any calls or seen anyone. What will be will be. I work in a surgery where with calls of this nature we would put these on for the Duty GP as it is not our call to make such a decision in matters like this. I work with colleagues who when they require an appointment at their surgeries have advised me the reception staff shall book them some kind of an appointment knowing they can’t call back the next day at 8am due to the nature of their work. Clearly the reason for my call did not warrant any understanding. I hope the member of staff that took my call is not in that same position of worry to have to make such a call herself one day to receive that kind of response. Thank you Abington Park Surgery for the handling of that call knowing my background of struggles and issues known at your surgery. I have left the matter to come what may now as it was not deemed important enough to use some discretion over and help me with this
Visited April 2023
Review titled Abington Park Surgery
Replied on 24 April 2023
Dear Patient - we are aware of the problems you have been facing and we have been working with you to arrange a 2 week wait appointment which has now been booked. I apologise for the confusion that was caused and the distress that you experienced. Unfortunately once our 'on the day' appointments are booked (sometimes by 10.30 a.m.) we have no alternative but to offer other solutions so that you can be seen or spoken to on the day. You were advised to speak to 111 on the day and I believe they tried to call you back but were unable to connect with you as the call was unanswered. All members of our reception team are trained fully and are very compassionate with our patients and whilst we were not able to help on the day you were advised of an alternative solution to seek help. I would like the opportunity to meet with you as suggested in our email correspondence so that we can run through your concerns. Please contact me should you wish to do so or alternatively I can write a chronological log of the actions that were taken to support you during this difficult time. Kind regards Practice Manager
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Review titled Never any appointments
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 22 April 2023
I received a letter from this practice dated 1 March 2023. It states, "Following your recent hospital visit the doctor would like you to book a face to face appointment...". Since receiving this letter I have been trying to get an appointment, without success. It is now 22 April 2023.
Visited March 2023
Review titled Abington Park Surgery
Replied on 24 April 2023
Dear Patient - I am sorry to hear about the difficulties you are facing in trying to make an appointment as requested. The volume of calls from patients requesting appointments has increased dramatically during the past year which often means are 'on the day' appointments are fully booked by 10.30 a.m. This obviously does not help those patients that have been requested to book an appointment to see/speak to a GP and so we are currently reviewing the process of communicating to a patient asking them to book an appointment only to have nothing available. Any improvements made to this process will be highlighted under 'News' on our website.
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Review titled Not all bad in these unprecedented times:
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Debbie Tew - Posted on 15 April 2022
Yes t has been a nightmare, at times, throughout the pandemic to get through to the practice, I have experienced, a number of times, what others have said in their reviews especially regarding being held in a lengthy queue (No.17) and then being cut off when got to No.1 - extremely frustrating. Things seem to have improved significantly since the new phone system has been operational. Yes, there have also been times when I have felt the need to complain over the past couple of years however I must say my complaints were dealt with professionally and every effort was made to resolve my concerns. When I have got through to the 'right people' I am happy with my current treatment. I have used the surgery recently for myself and my mother which involved communication with receptionists, a nurse and a GP. To be honest I was expecting a lot of stress and anxiety trying to get appointments as I have experienced this in the past however all communication was far more positive than I expected from the onset. No long wait on the phone trying to get through, chirpy receptionist who was extremely helpful, as was the ones I dealt with when at the practice. The nurse was brilliant with my Mum who is deaf, and the GP I saw actively listened to what I said and followed up with a referral. So, all good and credit where it is due. I want to acknowledge the difficulties that all NHS services have had to endure throughout the pandemic, also the frustrations that ALL staff have undoubtedly had to put up with, having said that there are some staff at APS that really would benefit from additional training in customer service, I think it is such a shame if a service receives an overall bad reputation due to the few that let it down. I have been with this practice for 51 years now and as frustrating as things have got for me at times, I am still there. Thank you to those staff who continue to do their very best - You know who you are :-)
Visited April 2022
Review titled Abington Park Surgery
Replied on 24 April 2023
Dear Debbie Thank you for your detailed feedback regarding your experience of being a patient at Abington Park Surgery. As you highlight we were having significant problems with our telephone system but since changing to a new provider back in Feb 2022 we hope that our patients find telephoning the practice a much simpler experience. We can now offer the patient a 'call back' without losing their place in the queue which means at our busiest times patients are not holding for significant periods. In terms of your comments regarding staff training, all members of the team having a training afternoon once a month and therefore are constantly updated on all aspects of their role. If you would like to contact me directly with the names of any individual member of staff that you feel would benefit from further customer service training, along with a brief explanation of a scenario in which you felt unhappy I can deal with this directly. It has been a very challenging time for our team at APS but we still strive to offer the very best support to our patients. Thank you for taking the time to offer this feedback. Kind regards Practice Manager
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Review titled Cannot register my father as housebound
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 April 2022
A month ago I had to cancel my father's Covid-19 Booster Jab as he is now housebound, and asked them to arrange for the District Nurses (who visit him weekly anyway) to do it. I also asked for his 6 monthly cancer injection to be referred to the District Nurses to do on 3 May 2022. Just had a call from the surgery saying he needs an appointment to come in and have his cancer injection. Told them I'd already reported him as housebound a month ago. Apparently no-one bothered to action it. We'll see if anyone actions it this time. How do I get his Covid-19 Booster and his cancer jab unless this practice takes some action to register him as housebound??
Visited April 2022
Review titled Abington Park Surgery
Replied on 04 May 2022
Dear Patient Carer Thank you for highlighting the problem that you have had registering your father as housebound. To help assist you with this problem could I please ask you to ring our central line 01604 630396 and ask to speak to the Practice Manager. If I am unavailable could you please leave your name and contact telephone number along with your fathers' personal details to include his date of birth. Please mention that it relates to his housebound status and I will look into this matter for you and advise you of the outcome. Kind regards Lisa McKenzie Practice Manager