Ball Tree Surgery - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
-
Review titled not so great practice in my experience so far
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 March 2024
Recently had some blood taken, been told I need to book a doctors appointment to discuss results, been through the whole rigmarole of trying to get through to reception at the short time available to book appointments, only to be told, "we don't have any appointments for that, try again tomorrow or Friday", I already went in yesterday to clear up some confusion over an appointment that I have been given for more blood to be taken, Wasn't sure if this was with a doctor or a nurse, turns out to be a nurse. I was made to feel like I was a bother, and to be told "you don't have time for that", has only exacerbated that feeling, how do I get an appointment if I am not going to be taken seriously?
Visited March 2024
Ball Tree Surgery has not yet replied.
-
Review titled A disappointing experience
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 22 January 2024
I have written a good review about this surgery previously and for the most part I do feel this way. I can only speak for myself of course and generally have a good experience with staff when using the surgery including doctors. I did however have a not great experience that I would like to highlight. I recently went for a routine smear test which I received a letter about before Christmas so went in January after the holiday period. The nurse was quite cold upon arrival which is disappointing as a smear is quite intimate and can be a triggering experience for women. I was questioned a few times about if I was in fact invited for this, nothing on the system showed my previous one which made me feel uncomfortable having to search my phone for a previous date and prove I am worthy to be there. Then I got undressed and on the bed and no lube was used so it was very uncomfortable , again could be very triggering for someone who has been a victim to sexual violence or sexual trauma. When I was asked to dress myself the nurse sat right behind the curtain leaving me with little to no room to dress myself and often exposing myself feeling quite vulnerable in that position. I was then asked if I wanted a flu vaccine (despite it no longer being flu season) and was told a letter would be out within a few weeks with results and I left feeling quite uncomfortable in myself. I fully appreciate the NHS is incredibly busy and with lots of patients coming in daily, doing the same work over and over and trying to maintain a positive attitude can be tricky but nonetheless as a patient you still have a duty of care and it goes along way to show respect and kindness.
Visited January 2024
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 22 January 2024
We are concerned to read about your recent experience and apologise for how you have been left feeling. Please do contact us directly so that we can talk this through more with you in detail so we can learn from this and continue to improve our services. You are correct that our duty of care is very important to us and it is very rare that we have such feedback. I am sorry that your interaction was difficult and hope that you are in touch shortly so we can support further as needed.
-
Review titled Rubbish I'm afraid
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 27 May 2023
I have been at this surgery from many years. The service has got worse and worse and now is non existant. When I went to the practice a couple of weeks ago I was literally told I couldn't have an appointment at any time. I had had a message from the Dr's to ring and make an appointment. I rang but couldn't get through so I went to the surgery but was told there were no appointments available! As I'm a teacher I can't ring from 8 am and could only ring at lunch but the surgery is closed then. If I ring after school there are no appointments. Maybe I should give up my job?
Visited May 2023
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 30 May 2023
Dear Patient, I am sorry to learn of your frustration accessing the surgery. We have recently been able to reintroduce prebookable appointments as the ongoing impact of COVID has been slowly reducing. Currently, we have advance availabilty bookable later this week, next week and for a few weeks ahead. We suggest contacting the surgery now that our new system is in place. Though we agree it was far from ideal, the 8am call in was the only safe and fair option available for the triage model that were were needing to operate previously. We are seeing much improvement with our access due to our new phone system, online consultation options and advance face to face and telephone appointments. The demand for our services has increased and continues to increase during since COVID and we have not had any additional resources to help us manage this. We hope that you are able to access us more readily in future. Practice Manager
-
Review titled Not so good practice
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 04 April 2023
Covid in most cases has been resolved. In the high street, supermarkets everywhere things are back to normal with one exception our GP surgeries. Before Covid the Ball tree surgery had full waiting rooms, getting an appointment was easy so what do we get now,empty waiting rooms, more staff than patients and about as much chance of seeing a doctor as getting to see the pope . Did Covid kill them all off. You have to ring at 8am and what do you get, the phone just goes dead and then you try later and get the message no more appointment today try another day . The system is broken.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 18 April 2023
Dear Ball Tree Patient, I am sorry that you have experienced frustrations accessing us recently. We are working daily to optimise patient access within the resources that we have. To ensure that we are able to prioritise those most unwell, we use a clinician-led triage process for access. This means that our waiting rooms will have far fewer people within them as only those who need to come for an in-person interaction need to come to the surgery and we are able to time these appointments to prevent any crowding in the waiting areas. Unlike other public locations, we have many patients who are particularly vulnerable and so we want to reduce the number of people in shared waiting locations. Ball Tree and the PCN have invested in additional team members to help support the increased demands that we are facing during and since COVID despite concerns regarding the ongoing reduction in the finances that we have to support our patients. COVID and its ongoing impact is still having a huge effect on the whole NHS with demand for all NHS services being above capacity. The majority of work that occurs within as GP practice is invisible to patients and so viewing the surgery without insight into how primary care works will not be informative. We are increasing the number of our face-to-face appointments and we are seeking support for additional premises which are needed for us to be able to increase this further. We have introduced a new telephone system that can call people back once queues have started to build. We regularly have over 500 incoming calls per day. We will be introducing a digital route into the surgery in the forthcoming weeks as an alternative to using the phone. As will all GP practices, we are continuing to work upon improving access in challenging circumstances and we hope that you are able to access us with less frustration in future.
-
Review titled A superior surgery to others in the area
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 05 April 2023
My family and I moved surgeries as we were never able to get appointments etc at another surgery( plus multiple issues) despite ongoing health issues and neurodiversity in our family. We moved across to Balltree and they were friendly, professional and instantly got a face-to-face appointment for my daughter who was poorly - she joined the day before and we had tried for 2 weeks at the other clinic. They send out reminder notifications, the repeat prescription procedure is easy, they just do what a surgery should do and are friendly with it. We think they are brilliant and greatly appreciate them in the local community. The receptionists in particular are very upbeat and affable.
Visited February 2023
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 18 April 2023
Dear Ball Tree Patient Thank you for your comments, I am glad that we have been able to support you and your family. I will share this with the team as I know that they will be very appreciative of your kind words. Gerard Business Manager
-
Review titled Poor practice
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 02 February 2023
It took me over 33 minutes and 6 rounds of the voicemail message holding on for this practice's General query department, to be told not to worry, the practice will get back to me later. I'll not get that part if my life back again! Appalled!
Visited February 2023
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 03 February 2023
Dear Anonymous, We are sorry that you have had troubles accessing the surgery via the phone. We are experiencing a very high demand with often over 400 calls trying to get through at the same time. The team is working at capacity every day to respond to the increasing demands and we are regularly reallocating resources to try and improve our patients' experience. We have new phone systems coming soon which will provided queued call backs for people and in addition we are working to open a new digital channel for online access in the near future. We are again sorry that you have had a frustrating experience. We share your frustrations and hope that new technologies will help a little in future. Practice Management Team
-
Review titled Busy practise, Great staff
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Carl - Posted on 20 January 2023
Ive Been with the practise a few years both before, during and in the aftermath of covid-19. I think its fair to say that covid has seriously disrupted the NHS which includes Balltree and I get the real feeling that its really trying to keep its head above the water with hundreds of calls and patients every day. It is a real issue trying to get an appointment you have to get in for bang on 8:00am and you'll be lucky to get through to reception by 8:30 (by which time there isn’t any appointments left) with all the failed calls and the hold system taking me out of the queue and sending me back to the main menu so that's probably my main complaint. However, once your through to reception ive found that they have tried their best to secure me an appointment with the limited resources at the moment which I appreciate and despite high demand and hundreds of calls each morning they are really polite and happy to help. The GP's are fantastic too and I must admit ive seen a few in the last couple years, they’ve listened to what ive had to say and given me referrals and examinations all acting professional but also friendly (which really helps me feel at ease). At my last appointment in January 2023 my GP contacted me after my appointment and added an additional referral and extra insight as they had been thinking more about my condition after my appointment which I was really impressed by given they see many people in a. day. overall a top effort thank you Balltree
Visited January 2023
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 23 January 2023
Dear Carl Thank you for your kind review which I will ensure is received by the teams. Your comments do sum up how we are currently working and we really appreciate your understanding of the many pressures under which we, as with most GP practices nationally, are operating. We are doing our best every day to provide the best service we are able with the resources that we have. We have a hugely increased demand and we are seeing many people every day. We totally understand the frustration regarding accessing us by phone. We often have had 400+ calls trying to reach us at 08:00. We are working towards a new phone system that will allow automatic call backs to save waiting and we hope to have this place this Spring. We are also about to pilot options for people to book certain appointments via a text link invitiation to save calling us at all. Thank you for your encouragement and we hope that our phone access will be better in a couple of months. Kind regards Gerard Business Manager
-
Review titled No Answer
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 19 December 2022
25 minutes on hold, after all the appointment have been filled, and still no answer! Covid is old news, why hasn’t the practice taken the necessary steps to ensure sufficient staffing levels. So frustrating.
Visited December 2022
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 20 December 2022
Dear Ball Tree Patient, We are sorry that you had a wait on the telephone today. As per comments below we are working towards installing a telephone system that will allow people to be called back. This will we hope be being installed within the next few months. Sadly COVID is still active within the community along with Flu and of course serious concerns for Children relating to Scarlett Fever. We are receiving many hundreds of calls per day. The practice along with all those locally and nationally is significantly impacted by these factors. We as with any other NHS organisation NHS are working at our safe capacity and are reviewing our operations daily to provide the best service we are able. We have taken every step to provide the staffing level that we are able within the resources that we have. We share your frustration and apolgise that you have been affected by the factors that are affecting the whole NHS currently. We trust that things will improve over the next few months provided the impact of Flu and COVID and Scarlett Fever reduce.
-
Review titled Extremely bad service
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 November 2022
Spent 2 days in my break ( not lunch! as they are closed ) trying to get through by phone to make a appointment in advance to see a GP. Only to be told in a sarcastic manner that you had to ring up on the day!! This is not always possible !!! Something needs to be done about appointment system, maning of phones and staff attitude.
Visited November 2022
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 15 November 2022
Dear Ball Tree Patient I am sorry to hear that you have been frustrated trying to access us recently. Unfortunately, as with many practices across the UK we are still significantly affected by COVID related pressures. Though our appointment system is under weekly review it is currently not possible to have any advance GP appointments. We have a triage system in place which ensures that those who are most unwell and most in need will always have access to a GP in a timely fashion. Within the current pressures that we and all other GP practices are facing this is the fairest and safest option for all. Our phones are available between 8:00am and 6:30pm for emergencies every day. For non-emergency calls we are open from 8am until 12:30pm and then 2:30pm until 6:00pm. The surgery is physically open during the middle of the day. We do not close during the day. We have many hundreds of calls per day and we realise the frustration that it can cause whilst trying to get through. We are working with our local NHS to try to bring in an improved telephone system in the coming months that will allow people to be called back to save waiting on the phone. We are sorry that you have had a poor experience recently and we look forward to a time when we are able to safely and sustainably reactivate advance booking for GP appointments.
-
Review titled Staff are helpful, if you can get an appointment.
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 07 September 2022
Doesn't accept digital appointments. Incredibly difficult to get one by calling. Staff are polite in person but totally unable to help. Unable to provide sufficient service.
Visited August 2022
Review titled Ball Tree Surgery
Replied on 08 September 2022
Dear Ball Tree Patient, We are sorry to hear that you have had difficult accessing Ball Tree recently. We are affected by COVID within all our teams including our GPs. There is a national shortage of trained primary care nurses and GPs and very limited availability of locum cover especially at short notice. Each day we work to ensure that we provide the best safe access that we are able within the resources and capacity that we have available. Due to COVID and the current pressures on GP practices where the demand is much increased at a time of reduced capacity, along with many practices across the country, we are operating a triage model to access GP appointments. This is the safest model to prioritise those most vulnerable or unwell. This model can only be safely and fairly operated by telephone as the NHS software for digital appointments is not sufficiently sophisticated for safe and fair triage in such circumstances and also excludes access for the many people who do not have online access. We are working with the local NHS to improve our telephone systems and hope to have progress with this in the next few months. We are keen to reinstate pre-bookable appointments for GPs as soon as our circumstances permit and reactivate our digital appointment booking systems. We are also very frustrated by the circumstances and of course want all our patients be able to access us in as smooth a way as possible. We are actively lobbying for additional support to enable us to improve access to services. Thank you for your patience with us and understanding of such difficult local and national circumstances at this challenging time for us all. Sincerely, Gerard Practice Manager