Church Walk Surgery - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
-
Review titled Putting the patients last
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 15 March 2024
Appalling since merging with another surgery. This practice never recovered from covid and the receptionists seem to think they have more power than the GP's. They cancel repeat prescriptions without letting you know or offering a medication review. A recent visit where I was told to come in for a blood pressure check ended up with no check or examination. The doctor trying to prescribe something that I have had previously that doesn't agree with me and a conversation where he tried to get me to diagnose the problem myself! May as well have had one of their pointless telephone consultations. When I finally managed an appointment for a BP check the nurse was so concerned that she took some blood and insisted that I make an appointment with reception for 1 weeks time. Also I was to record my own BP to give to the doctor the following week. On leaving I was told that there were no appointments for 3 weeks and to return the results, if I was poorly enough the GP would be in touch. 98% of my results came back as abnormal- too high and I've heard nothing from the doctor regarding this. After 55 years I'm off to find a surgery that actually cares for its patients.
Visited March 2024
Review titled Church Walk Surgery
Replied on 20 March 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on the service you have received at Church Walk. Unfortunately, this is the first I have heard of your experience and as you have chosen to remain anonymous, I cannot look into your issues or offer an explanation. I am really sorry to learn of your experience and how upsetting this has been for you. I do want to assure you that we take all complaints very seriously. In such challenging times, we have really tried to maintain our high standards of care and it would have been very useful to have heard from you directly, so that we could investigate and put right any areas where we have fallen short. I wish you well with your new practice. Kind regards Kari Buffey, Managing Partner.
-
Review titled Push people to A&E and online assistance lacking
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 14 August 2023
I called last week due to my baby having a serious cut that we couldn't get to stop bleeding. They referred me to A&E, where we had to wait for at least 3 hours to be seen. A&E told us that our GP was capable of taking care of our issue, but they did a good job of dressing the wound. I called the surgery today at 0804 (4 minutes after they opened) as I'm concerned that the wound isn't healing properly. I waited on hold for over 40 minutes to be told there were no more appointments and I could call back tomorrow or go to A&E again or out of hours urgent care somewhere else (these last 2 options were pushed as the preferred ones). Why can't they schedule any appointments except for day of (I'd been happy to book one for tomorrow) and why the constant push to get patients to go to A&E for non A&E problems? I understand that there's clearly a lot of people wanting appointments, but it seems a bit unfair to refuse to provide any kind of appointment and push patients to be A&E's problem unnecessarily. Additionally, I can't use their online tools for any kind of help as even when they're up, I can't send any kind of message to the GP or request an appointment. The sole purpose seems to be as a records portal, but my NHS records don't show up there. So either my account is messed up or the online system is pointless. With as short staffed as they appear to be (I waited on hold for 40 minutes to not get an appointment), having a robust online system could really help reduce the amount of calls they have and reduce unnecessary physical appointments. The GPs could set aside time periods to go through messages/requests and schedule appointments for those that need them and provide a call/email to those that don't really need one. I know other GPs are doing this, so it is completely feasible. Maybe then they wouldn't be pushing people to A&E that do need appointments but weren't lucky enough to be the first callers.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Church Walk Surgery
Replied on 16 August 2023
Dear Patient Thank you very much for taking the time to write a review of your experience at Church Walk Surgery. I was deeply saddened to read of your negative experience and clearly the care you received did not meet your expectations, or ours and for this, I sincerely apologise. This has obviously been very upsetting for you and I want to assure you that we take these concerns very seriously. Unfortunately, reading your comments on the NHS website is the first I have heard about your experience so I haven’t been able to look into this for you. You have also posted anonymously, so I shall find it very difficult to offer you a full explanation. We work hard on listening to our patients concerns and making positive change where we have identified a need for this to happen. Posting anonymously, rather than contacting us directly, gives us no opportunity to do this. I’d therefore be grateful if you could contact me so that we can investigate your concerns and make improvements for all of our patients going forward. You have stated that you had a baby with a “serious cut” that you “couldn’t get to stop bleeding” so I am guessing that the Care Coordinator felt that this was an accident, and potentially, an emergency which is why she directed you to A&E. Like most surgeries, we do have a problem with capacity. Demand is very high and, with recent housing developments going up within our catchment area, but no additional services, we have struggled to cope with this demand. We do offer on the day and scheduled appointments but we are aware that this is just not enough. We are hoping to have a new Cloud based telephony system but are still awaiting the funding arrangements to filter down so we can get on and have this installed. This will hopefully, reduce the wait time and, at the very least, allow us to call you back, saving your space in the queue. As well as a morning and afternoon/evening patient list, our clinicians deal with an extraordinary amount of admin each day, including letters, results, messages and requests, so that appointments can be offered to those who are acutely unwell. Please also contact us so that we can help you to use Accurx, our online booking tool, and how to request full access to your medical records. Kari Buffey Managing Partner
-
Review titled Excellent practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Kirsty Dickinson - Posted on 28 February 2023
I joined the practice in November 2022. I need regular treatment and the care I have received has been excellent. The receptionists are always friendly and helpful. All the nursing staff are lovely and it is clear they are very experienced. The GP’s are very professional and really do care. The pharmacy staff are efficient, knowledgeable and helpful. I can’t praise this practice enough.
Visited February 2023
Review titled Church Walk Surgery
Replied on 28 June 2023
Dear Kirsty Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback for the practice and our staff. I sincerely apologise for the length of time I have taken to respond to you, but I have been unaware that reviews were left. I intend to look into our settings and ensure this is rectified. I am so pleased to hear that you have received excellent care since joining the practice last year. We always aim to provide exceptional levels of care and hope to meet the expectations of all of our patients. I am so pleased to hear that we have succeeded. The staff work tirelessly, sometimes under very difficult conditions so it is very important that they remain professional, caring and helpful. I shall pass on your comments to the team, it will make their day! Kind regards Kari Buffey, Managing Partner