St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Timken Way South, Duston, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN5 6FRContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Great service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 January 2023
Recently attended for routine nurse appointment very accommodating with appointment times and friendly staff despite all the pressure they are under!
Visited January 2023
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 26 January 2023
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a positive review in relation to your recent experience at the practice. I will pass your comments on to the practice team which will give them a real morale boost. As a practice we are constantly reviewing our processes to enhance our patient experience and delighted that our appointment system worked for you and you found the staff friendly and accommodating. Thanks again your feedback is very much appreciated - Sharon Hennell Practice Manager
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Review titled Not fit for purpose
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Amanda August - Posted on 30 January 2023
Worried I might have a chest infection I tried calling to make an appointment, starting to ring a few minutes before 8am when the lines open, hanging up when message states surgery closed, ringing again until the lines opened. Only to hear that the call queue was full dead on 8am. This is normal so I gave up and went straight to 111 and answered all the questions and was told that they wanted me to see a doctor within the hour. I explained that I quite simply could not get through to the surgery for that to happen. I was told to just keep trying but that 111 would also send through a notification that I needed to be seen. I thought I would be clever and instead of choosing the option for appointments and reception, I chose 'admin'. A very pleasant lady heard me out and said that I would have to go through the usual route as she could not help further. She said that she could see appointments were available and to keep trying, missing the point that it was the call queue capacity that was the problem. Apparently a colleague of hers tried the line while we were talking and got through straight away and was in the queue. I tried again and the call queue was at full capacity. I tried again and the same. I tried again and got onto the queue in position 30. I held for 45 minutes and got to position 2 to then hear that there were no more appointments available. I gave up. Fortunately, I have a wonderful local pharmacist who advised me on what to take and said that he didn't think I had an infection. He was right. I know my symptoms were not serious and although I also know the NHS is on its knees, I am still shocked and horrified that this can be the experience for patients and vulnerable people who are in need of help for serious issues. How on earth do they get the attention they need? A few weeks later I received a text message telling patients that they could no longer go directly to the surgery to make appointments. It goes from extremely bad to absurd. Furthermore I have just seen on this page that the practice is accepting new patients, even though the service it offers is not good enough for the patients it already has. The surgery is very large and in a modern, seemingly well-equipped building, but the service offered is not fit for purpose.
Visited December 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 25 September 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for bringing this to our attention as patient feedback is very important to us and apologise that you felt let down by the practice when attempting to book an appointment. Recently, after reviewing our appointment accessibility we upgraded our phone system so that it allows us to advise patients once our appointments are full to prevent people queuing redundantly. This means that there will be less people waiting for their calls to be answered, and we anticipate that those who are trying to contact the surgery for another reason will be answered more quickly. However this will not change the number of available appointments. Unfortunately, we are a finite resource and cannot offer appointments that we do not have. Once all of the appointments are full, you will still need to wait for the next release. However, this change to the phone system means that you will be advised immediately rather than waiting on hold. When a patient calls up & choses the option to speak to a GP or get urgent medical advice, they enter a call queue and are given a message which explains that the queue will close once all of the slots in that appointment release are full. Once the call queue closes, you are then directed to a message that explains this, gives alternative options that can be used and advises when our next appointment release is. The option to speak to a receptionist is always available. The telephone options are:- 1. Flu vaccination line 2. Urgent issues 3. Other type of routine appointments/General Enquiries 4. Prescriptions 5. Secretaries 6. Admin To assist patients we also offer alternative options for non-urgent matters:- • An online portal called e-Consult in order to get advice both clinical and administrative. You fill out a simple online form to get advice and treatment for a range of common problems and general symptoms and receive a response by the end of the next working day from a member of the Clinical team. However, it is not to be used for emergency issues however. E-Consult can be accessed on the Home page of St Luke's website - www.stlukesprimarycarecentre.co.uk • Patients can also access video consultations with a GP via the LIVI app. See our website to download. • NHS 111 On-line which can be accessed via www.111.nhs.uk and offers the following:- Where to get help for your symptoms, How to find general health information and advice, Where to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine, How to get a repeat prescription As a Practice we are constantly reviewing our accessibility processes and options available to patients and we have been working with our Patient Participation Group and other local practices to assist us with this review. Once again thank your for your feedback and apologies for the difficulties you have experienced which will be discussed with the rest of the practice team. Kind regards Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager
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Review titled Terrible Service
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 22 December 2022
I have been trying to get an appointment for the past week. I actually attended the surgery this morning to see if I could get an appointment. I was in the queue with other patients. A member of staff came out and said we could not go in due to Covid, which I fully understand, and said we had to ring. I rang whilst I was in the queue at exactly 8am to be told that the queue had reached capacity and to try again later and it cut me off. Whilst I fully appreciate that staffing levels are difficult at the moment, the fact that I cannot ring to get an appointment, I cannot book on-line, I cannot go personally to book an appointment, I think it is a disgusting service that is being offered to your patients. I am not a frequent attender and I actually attended in person must say that I need to see a GP. If your staffing levels are low, then perhaps you should look at employing other staff
Visited December 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 23 December 2022
We are sorry to hear of the issues you have experienced when trying to book an appointment recently at the Surgery. Unfortunately we are experiencing an unprecedented level of demand for appointments which unfortunately means we do not have appointment availability for everyone that wants one. We are also experiencing a high level of sickness amongst our practice team, hence low staffing levels. We have advised patients of this on social media platforms and explained that we are only able to deal with medical emergencies at this time. Hopefully this will settle over the coming weeks and we will be back up to full staffing levels in the New Year. However this will not change the number of available appointments. Unfortunately, we are a finite resource and cannot offer appointments that we do not have. The NHS is under immense pressure as patient numbers grow whilst the number of clinical staff reduces. Once all of the appointments are full, you will still need to wait for the next release. However, recent investment in our phone system means that you will be advised immediately rather than waiting on hold. This will not change the speed at which the reception team are able to process the calls, but it does mean that once the appointments for that period are full, the receptionists will have more availability to deal with people calling for any other reason. The Surgery are conscious however that there are patients who are not able to hold on the telephone or are restricted in the times they can call due to their working hours or simply prefer to contact the Surgery and seek medical advice and information in different ways. Therefore to assist patients we also offer alternative options for non-urgent matters:- • Patients can also access video consultations with a GP via the LIVI app. See our website to download. • NHS 111 On-line which can be accessed via www.111.nhs.uk and offers the following:- Where to get help for your symptoms, if you're not sure what to do, How to find general health information and advice, Where to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine, How to get a repeat prescription. • We have also partnered up, along with other practices within Northampton, to a scheme which offers appointments in the evenings and weekends (including BH) at Highfield, Cliftonville Road, Northampton. This services is manned by GP’s, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses and Healthcare Assistants. As a Practice we are also reviewing our accessibility process and options available to patients who may have different needs or don’t use technology and will be working with the Patient Participation Group as part of this review. Thank you for bringing this to our attention as patient feedback is very important to us and we welcome the opportunity to assess the situation so that we can see if we can improve our service and processes and review staff training. Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager
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Review titled The worst practice I’ve ever encountered
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 12 December 2022
For four weeks I’ve been trying to get an appointment! I’ve called every day at 8am and 2pm and each time I’m in a queue for over an hour that eventually gets cut off. I’ve also tried via the app and no appointments are ever available. I am getting worse and this surgery will be to blame if the condition is serious! For years it’s been like this and it’s only getting worse! Intervention is needed. Extend of recognise you’ve taken on too many people and put everyone’s lives at risk!
Visited December 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 23 December 2022
We are sorry to hear of the issues you have experienced when trying to book an appointment at the Surgery. One area you have highlighted is the number of patients registering at the surgery. You will be aware of the significant housing development in and around Duston, this is putting an additional strain on our appointment availability, unfortunately this is out of our control and we cannot simply close our list to new patients although there are alternative surgeries in the area patients can register with. We are constantly reviewing and investing in our appointment and telephone system based on patient feedback, this has highlighted difficulties whereby patients are choosing to queue in the phone system as they are not aware that all of the appointments for that period are full. This has been challenging, however, our phone system now allows us to advise patients once our appointments are full to prevent people queuing redundantly. This means that there will be less people waiting for their calls to be answered, and we anticipate that those who are trying to contact the surgery for another reason will be answered more quickly. Sadly this will not change the number of available appointments, we are a finite resource and cannot offer appointments that we do not have. The NHS is under immense pressure as patient numbers grow whilst the number of clinical staff reduces. Once all of the appointments are full, you will still need to wait for the next release. However, this change to the phone system means that you will be advised immediately rather than waiting on hold. The Surgery are conscious however that there are patients who are not able to hold on the telephone or are restricted in the times they can call due to their working hours or simply prefer to contact the Surgery and seek medical advice and information in different ways. Therefore to assist patients we also offer alternative options for non-urgent matters:- • Patients can also access video consultations with a GP via the LIVI app. See our website to download. • NHS 111 On-line which can be accessed via www.111.nhs.uk and offers the following:- Where to get help for your symptoms, if you're not sure what to do, How to find general health information and advice, Where to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine, How to get a repeat prescription. • We have also partnered up, along with other practices within Northampton, to a scheme which offers appointments in the evenings and weekends (including BH) at Highfield, Cliftonville Road, Northampton. This services is manned by GP’s, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses and Healthcare Assistants. Thank you for bringing this to our attention as patient feedback is very important to us and we welcome the opportunity to assess the situation so that we can see if we can improve our service and processes and review staff training. Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager, St Luke's Primary Care Centre
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Review titled Flu Clinic Today
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 October 2022
Excellent organization at Surgery, Volunteer's and nurse staff were brilliant despite numbers of people attending and leaving hardly any waiting to be seen at all. Would recommend the practice
Visited October 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 23 October 2022
Dear Patient. Thank you for taking the time to leave such positive feedback regarding your experience at our recent Flu Clinic. The team have worked really hard to make the whole process an effective and efficient one and I am pleased to hear that all that hard work has paid off. We have an excellent team of volunteers from our Patient Participation Group who support our practice team every year. I will pass your comments on to the Team who will be delighted. Thank you once again Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager
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Review titled Superb practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by James Lennon - Posted on 15 October 2022
Flu jabs today for me, my wife and father in law. In and out in 10 minutes flat. So we’ll organised and very courteous staff great service.
Visited October 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 23 October 2022
Dear Mr Lennon Thank you leaving such positive feedback regarding you and your wife's experience at our recent Flu Clinic. The team have worked really hard to make the whole process an effective and efficient one and I am pleased to hear that all that hard work has paid off. I will pass your comments on to the rest of the Team who will be delighted. Thank you once again Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager
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Review titled News letter handed out
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by gazrav4 - Posted on 17 October 2022
I followed the instructions on the letter and couldn't get in but went onto the surgery website and now I am in to leave my reviews on the news letter. My concern about the letter is mainly based on telephonic waiting times/delays and what the surgery is doing to improve. To be honest not much will help because we need to get back to booking online and be proactive on other issues. Improvements needs to be made on increase in doctors/nurses and I understand the work they put into healthcare. Myself with many health issues need a GP/nurse as soon as to avoid wasting the hospital's time and energy. Why not link up with other surgeries that might be able to help. Accessibility is very briefly explained and not really acceptable. The surgery is being proactive about the waiting times and appointments and not being proactive on other issues. My wife and myself need to use the relay service (enterpreter service) to make appointments and on many occasions get cut off either because of lack of deaf awareness or no appointments available which makes it very difficult for people who have to use the service and it forces us to turn up at Reception to make an appointment which should not happen. We all appreciate the efforts and hard work put into serving/helping people but there are small issues that could be seen to and not just trying to solve the reception telephonic / appointment issues. Ontop of this deaf awareness is not at a good service because my wife and I need face to face appointments and once before I was told by reception that the surgery doesn't do face to face so you must know how discriminating I felt especially when I have been with the surgery for about 20 years and have had the face to face appointments. I hope that there will be a successful improvement with the surgery and can put everyone at ease. Keep up the good work and hopefully there will be an action plan in the near future.
Visited October 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 25 September 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, unfortunately due to a technical problem the response left at the time of your review was not processed. As a practice we have been looking at ways in which we can improve our services so that patients with hearing loss are not disadvantaged. We now have a system in place whereby the patients record has a pop-up narrative informing anyone who accesses their record that they have a hearing impairment so that we can manage their requests in a slightly different way. The feedback we have received from patients, so far, has been extremely positive. Rest assured we are continually looking at ways in which we can improve and develop the care and treatment we offer to our patients and your feedback has been extremely invaluable in assisting us in this process. Kind regards Sharon Hennell, St Luke's Primary Care Centre
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Review titled Answered The Telephone Very Quickly.
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Chris Laurence - Posted on 01 September 2022
Having some time ago found it was almost impossible to get through to this practice via the telephone and having unsuccessfully attempted to use their online facility I was expecting a time consuming nightmare. In the event my call was answered in a very respectable time frame and the lady I spoke to was polite, pleasant, helpful and efficient. The text confirmation confirming the time for my initial telephone consultation came through very quickly after the call. Perhaps I was just lucky but if not their service must have improved. In any event my experience today was a very positive one. Hoping my 5* will help improve your numbers as based on my experience today you appear to deserve better. Thankyou for your time and help today.
Visited September 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 02 September 2022
Dear Mr Laurence Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such positive feedback regarding your recent experience when contacting the practice. We very much appreciate the frustration that patients experience when trying to get through on the telephone as they sometimes have to wait in a queue, however, we are constantly reviewing our systems and processes to improve access to the practice. I will pass your comments on to the team as it will be a real boost to morale. Thanks again Kind regards - Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager
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Review titled Amazing service and exceptional care
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Samantha Harris - Posted on 29 September 2022
The care I received was exceptional, the doctor really listened and understood my concerns. I always feel my surgery takes good care of me and so happy with the care I received today
Visited September 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 23 October 2022
Thank you Ms Harris for leaving such a wonderful review. I have responded to your previous review as this is a duplicate. Thanks again Sharon Hennell Practice Manager
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Review titled Amazing service and exceptional care
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Samantha Harris - Posted on 29 September 2022
The care I received was exceptional, the doctor really listened and understood my concerns. I always feel my surgery takes good care of me and so happy with the care I received today
Visited September 2022
Review titled St Lukes Primary Care Centre
Replied on 23 October 2022
Dear Ms Harris Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such positive feedback regarding the care and treatment your received from the practice and in particular one of our doctors. I will pass your comments on to the whole practice team. Thank you once again Sharon Hennell, Practice Manager