Woosehill Practice - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
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Review titled Great experience
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 13 October 2023
I awoke with what I thought could have been a serious problem. I called the surgery mid morning and got straight through to a very pleasant and helpful receptionist. She took my details and said doctor would call that morning. Within half an hour I received the doctor’s call and within another half an hour had an appointment at the surgery. Tests performed and diagnosis given, referral letter done immediately and follow ups in place. I was immensely relieved and very grateful to staff and doctor for such a speedy and caring experience. Thank you so much.
Visited October 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 16 October 2023
Dear Patient Thank you so much for taking the time to send us your feedback. It is lovely to hear that you had a positive experience with us recently. Efficient and caring service from all our staff can be a tremendous relief when you're concerned about your health. This experience highlights the importance of having a responsive and compassionate team. Thank you once again for sharing your experience. We appreciate your gratitude. Kind Regards Rowena Beech Practice Manager Woosehill Medical Centre
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Review titled Excellent Service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by John W - Posted on 04 April 2024
I visiited the surgery for a routine blood test in October, I asked at the time if my PSA could be checked, the nurse was able to add that test. I was called 48 hours later by one of the GP's to discuss the results, they were strongly indicative of prostate cancer. I have nothing but praise for the staff, how they worked, the support and the speed of referral to the local Trust for further tests I would highly recommend the practice
Visited October 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 05 April 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to respond to NHS Choices, it is much appreciated and we will ensure the staff evolved with your care are made aware of your appreciation . Kind regards Woosehill Management Team
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Review titled Rude, uncaring receptionists
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 08 September 2023
Woosehill medical centre Drs and Nurses are good. Where it really falls short is some of their reception staff who are incapable of doing their jobs in a caring , compassionate and professional way. I have been on the receiving end of ,and, have witnessed their behaviours towards patients. They can be incredibly rude and dismissive. I turned up for an appointment today to be told that I didn’t have one. I showed the receptionist the text message and the appointment message that I had been sent on their online platform on my phone and was told it wasn’t on their system. When I questioned why I had it in writing on my phone the receptionist told me ‘I don’t care about that message, it isn’t on the system. So you haven’t got one and won’t be able to see anyone as no one is available. The receptionist offered no solution until I pressed for one. The receptionist then said there was nothing that could be done until pressed further then an offer of them speaking to a Dr ‘when they could’ and offered to call me back. Frustrating service and some very rude receptionists. Woosehill Medical Centre would do well to employ caring people in a caring profession. Unfortunately, I have been with this practice for 13 years and I really thought they were improving, sadly it appears not also backed up by the reviews I have since read which are mostly 1 star .
Visited September 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 11 September 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for feedback. I apologise for the negative experience you had with our reception staff. We strive to provide a compassionate and professional service to all of our patients. It is disheartening to hear that we fell short on this occasion. I understand that the situation regarding your appointment was frustrating and I apologise for any inconvenience caused. Sadly, I am unable to investigate this further as you have not provided your name. I appreciate your loyalty as a patient for the past 13 years. I will address your concerns with our reception team to ensure that every patient is treated with the care and respect they deserve. Thank you again for bringing this to my attention. I hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a better experience in the future. Best Regards Rowena Beech Practice Manager
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Review titled The process for getting appointments is appalling
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 August 2023
The medical staff are generally very good but the system for obtaining an appointment is appalling. I can understand why people need to phone at 8am if they have a medical issue requiring an emergency appointment. However there should be a separate process for less urgent follow up telephone consultations with a doctor. Merging the two sets of needs just makes the 8am queue unnecessarily long and could result in patients with more urgent needs not obtaining timely appointments. To make matters worse it is not clear on the Woosehill Surgery website that you have to phone at 8am, it just lists the phone number. So you phone during the day, thinking it will be quieter, join the queue, eventually get through, only to be told to phone back at 8am for the pleasure of joining an even longer queue. This clearly imposes an unnecessary burden on staff answering the calls, as they will only end up having to field the call a second time. There does not seem to be any practical alternative to making a general appointment by phone. In 2023 you would think that the practice, and in particular the practice manager, would by now have managed to implement a 21st century solution. I am not aware of any other type of organisation in the country that thinks it is a good idea for 'customers' who need help/advice to all phone at exactly the same time every day. It is lunacy and just leaves admin staff, who have to answer the calls, at the mercy of very irritated patients. As a former business owner and business consultant I would happily give 30 minutes of my time to sort this mess out. Unfortunately I am not sure I would be able to make the appointment to speak to anybody.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 September 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry that you are unhappy with our surgery, we really do try our best to help our patients. General practice has seen unprecedented demand over the last 24-36 months and this demand continues to increase. Quite genuinely, it has become very challenging for some of us, as we are working our hardest under huge pressure with limited resources. We know for certain that we are not alone as we work closely with other local surgeries who are experiencing similar demand. With regards to our appointment system, every morning we release appointments for the same day and for the following 2 weeks. We also offer appointments at The Reading Urgent Care Centre and at local pharmacies. Once we have reached capacity, we have no alternative but to ask patients to contact us on another day. We are lucky to have recruited two further GPs and an Advanced Nurse Practitioner which has generated more appointments to offer our patients. Furthermore, we have upgraded our telephone system which offers more features including a ‘call back’ facility. It is refreshing to know that we have already received positive feedback from patients, who are very pleased with this improvement. We are a pro-active Practice and work together to constantly look for ways to improve and offer more services to our patients. I thank you again for your feedback. Best Regards Mrs Rowena Beech Practice Manager
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Review titled Impossible to get appointment
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 02 June 2023
Probably some great staff, however it’s impossible to get any form of appointment. You call up at 8am exactly and then get put on hold for an hour and get told there no appointments. Or you get told that the serigraphy is closed and opens Monday-Friday at 8am….Surely there is a better system than this?
Visited May 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 July 2023
Dear Patient I am sorry that you have had a problem getting an appointment. We have increased our appointment capacity considerably plus our staffing ratios. 8am is always the busiest time of the day, calls are placed in a queuing system and you are advised of your position in the queue. If your appointment is urgent for the day you will be put on the duty doctors list for a telephone call back .We will also advise other services may be able to help as a GP appointment is not always necessary if not urgent. We are constantly reviewing and updating all our systems to improve . Kind regards Chris Allen Business Support Manager
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Review titled Excellent service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Janine - Posted on 30 May 2023
Having recently moved to the area l am so pleased with the service I have had from all members of staff at the practice. On all occasions that l have contacted the surgery the receptionists have been helpful and caring. The GPs have been professional and concise in their diagnoses and have all explained fully the reasons for the treatment prescribed.
Visited May 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 July 2023
Dear Janine Thank you so very much for you kind review. I will feed this back to the team It is much appreciated. Kind regards Chris Allen Business Support Manager
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Review titled Absurd appointment system
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Jose Calvo - Posted on 11 April 2023
I rarely need the surgery services but on the few occasions when I need to make an appointment I find their 'call at 8am for a very long wait' system absurd and frustrating (besides costly in telephone charges).
Visited April 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 July 2023
Dear Mr Calvo Thank you for posting your comments. I am sorry that you have been having a problem booking an appointment. We have increased our staffing ratio considerably Clinical and Administration in the last few months. If your appointment is urgent for the day you will be offered a telephone consultation with the duty doctor to access. We also advise our patients of other services that may be able to help you (a GP appointment is not always necessary) All the above is constantly reviewed to see if we can improve. Kind regards Chris Allen Business Support Manager
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Review titled Excellent!
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Christina Davis - Posted on 25 February 2023
I feel compelled to write this review as this past week a receptionist on duty on the Monday morning shift was so extremely helpful and so understanding. The patient care is simply superb at Woosehill - from the lovely receptionists front of house to the GPs, all nursing staff and allied health professionals, administration staff...frankly - everyone at the surgery 'goes the extra mile' to help and care...always showing professionalism and understanding - whatever the needs. As mentioned before a few years ago; My Mother & Father were patients at the surgery and had been for many years too and the care (and to us as a family too) that they received and particularly prior to passing on was also so very much appreciated. Thank you!
Visited February 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 July 2023
Dear Ms Davis Thank you so much for the lovely review. I will pass on your thanks to the team. We really appreciate you taking the time to thank us. Kind regards Chris Allen Business Support Manager
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Review titled Disappointing
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Lucy Putney - Posted on 21 February 2023
I have mixed experience with this practice. The doctors and nurses and hcas I have seen have all been fantastic, kind and thorough. However, a year ago I wrote to the practice manager to raise an issue that the pharmacist had requested blood tests with out telling me she was ordering them or why. I was therefore very disappointed when the exact same thing happened this month. I am told by pharmacist that they need a thyroid blood done, when I go to have the bloods I’m told they have requested a lot of bloods and a urine test and the hca cannot tell me why. I do not understand why this pharmacist does not understand informed consent. Why is it so hard to explain to someone what tests you are doing and why? I do have the right to decline but cannot do so if I’m not told what you are doing. So disappointing and frustrating. I have mental capacity so please in future gain my consent before you perform clinical tests.
Visited February 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 July 2023
Dear Ms Putney Thank you for your kind feedback concerning our Clinical Team. I am sorry that you are not happy with our pharmacist .We will advise her that you would like to be informed before any test are instigated and the reason why tests are requested are fully explained to you. If you have any issues going forward please contact the Practice Manager Mrs Beech. Kind regards Chris Allen Business Support Manager
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Review titled Great Service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 25 January 2023
I have recently received a great service from this practice from the GP in particular who referring me for blood tests, scan and physio, all of which have been booked within a week. Well done, great service, GP lovely and helpful
Visited January 2023
Review titled Woosehill Practice
Replied on 06 July 2023
Dear Patient Thank you so much for taking the time to post your comments/experience you have had with the surgery. I will pass these on to the staff concerned. It means a lot to know our service is appreciated by our patients. Kind regards Chris Allen Business Support Manager