Crown Heights Medical Centre - Ratings and reviews
Reviews
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Review titled Impossible to get hold of
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 18 November 2022
I have tried to phone but number advised does not work, e-consult is always not working. So in the end I phoned 111, and they then emailed crown heights and I was told they would phone within 24 hours, 4 days later and still waiting. I know they are struggling for GP’s but it is near on impossible to get an appointment here.
Visited November 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 30 November 2022
Dear patient Thank you for your feedback and I am sorry you have had issues with the telephone system and eConsult. AS you have given your feedback anonymously we can't investigate your specific concerns so will need to respond generically. Our telephone system is working, but when you called we may have had more callers accessing the system than the queuing system allowed. A lower limit than that initially allowed when we installed the system was introduced due to patients complaining about how long they were queuing. It was felt offering the engaged tone would be a better alternative. What that has done is result in patients complaining they are getting the engaged tone. We have therefore reintroduced a longer queue, thereby leaving it to patients to decide if they wish to queue. eConsult is available Monday to Friday between 8am and 4.30pm, unless we have exceeded our appointments for the day. We typically have 1250 each week. I don't know why you haven't had contact following an email from 111 but if you would like to email us your details we will investigate further. Thank you again for making us aware of your issues. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Calling to get an E-consult is pointless
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 14 November 2022
Tried 2 days in a row to obtain access to a doctor. The voice message says it’s full for the day and then cuts you off. You can take ‘option 1’ if ‘it’s an emergency’ but that then also cuts you off. Effectively it is impossible to make contact with the surgery let alone see a doctor. I thought primary health care is also meant to preventative but it seems I have to wait for my health issue to become an emergency or serious enough to call anyone but my doctors’ surgery. The new system doesn’t work.
Visited November 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 30 November 2022
Dear patient Thank you for your feedback and I am sorry that you have had difficulty getting through on the phone. Unfortunately you've given your feedback anonymously so we can't look into your specific issue, so I will respond generically. It is very probable that on the day you rang all the operators were handling calls and the number allowed into the queue had been met. When we initially installed the system we programmed the system to take up to 100 patients into the queue. This resulted in complaints regarding the length of time patients were then spending in the queue. We therefore reduced the number in the queue, but that has then resulted in a different set of complaints, such as yours, that you can't queue. We have therefore recently changed back to the queu being up to 100 callers and leaving patients to decide whether or not they wish to queue. This change should now alleviate the issue you have raised. Thank you again for making us aware of your issue. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Brilliant proactive care
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Tamara Willows - Posted on 29 November 2022
This is the best GP practice I have encountered. I had an unexpected finding on a scan and the GP called me before I called them to ask what I knew and go through my options. Very reassuring, kind and practical like all the other GPS at this practice. The receptionists and physician associate I have interacted with are also very good. Highly recommend this practice
Visited November 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 30 November 2022
Dear Dr Willows Thank you for your positive feedback, and for taking the time to write to us. I will ensure the team are made aware of your comments, which I know will be very much appreciated. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled E-consult woes
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 31 October 2022
This practice relies far to much on the e-consult bot. If the e-consult states that you need an immediate appointment and to contact the surgery , then surely that is what the practice need to do, but no you have to phone through where a medically un-qualified takes your details again and then passse them on to their 'triage' team, only to get a text an hour later saying that the doctor will contact you at the end of the week, so a 5 day delay. This is not an immediate or Urgent appointment. Either you rely on e-consult or you dont. So now having to go and take up time at a&e or just suffer till it gets worse. nhs/e guidlines say that practices should see patients face to face. Clearly this practice hides behind e-consult to deny that.
Visited October 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 01 November 2022
Thank you for your feedback and I am sorry that you feel the surgery has let you down with its use of eConsult. Unfortunately you've posted your comments anonymously therefore we can't look into your specific concerns, and therefore will need to comment generically. We are not aware that the eConsult site advises that you need an immediate appointment. What we believe it says is that it isn’t safe to assess your symptoms through an online request, and that you need to speak to us. When you called a Patient Access administrator took from you the clinical concerns you provided. These were then forwarded to a GP who made a clinical assessment based on the information you provided. I am sorry if the timescale doesn’t meet your expectations, and this is something you can discuss with the clinician when you speak to them. NHSE do not place a requirement on practices to see patients solely face to face – please see the following link www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps/using-an-online-form-to-contact-your-gp-surgery/ Should you wish us to look into your specific concerns then please use the Contact Us page on our web site and we will look into for you. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Pointless
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 10 October 2022
I don’t tend to go to the doctor as I don’t want to waste anyones time with things that can sort themselves out on their own. This being said, after waiting nearly 2 weeks and deciding to go as I felt I still had the issue, it seems about 3 minutes of the doctors time was all I was worth. Seemed to me like I came at quarter to and he finished on the hour. A quick flash light check of my issue and a blank look later and a “nope all normal”. I feel a bit embarrassed and seems it wasn’t worth going at all. Must be my undiagnosed hypochondria kicking in again!
Visited October 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 11 October 2022
Dear Patient Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately you've submitted your review anonymously, and from the information provided we can't ascertain who you saw. Clearly you remain concerned, so if you can contact us further we can arrange a further appointment for you. Please ask for our Reception Manager and she will help you. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Failing Service
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 04 November 2022
Everything is geared to online users. I work and full time care for my Mum and have limited access to internet. My 79 year old mother cannot even turn a computer on so constantly pushing people down an e-consult route is entirely inappropriate for much of the population - ironically the ones who likely will need the service most. Earlier this week I rang and was told I was no 1 in the queue. I got through to a receptionist and asked for a doctors call back having to again explain I have no or limited internet access (why can this not just be logged on a patient's record so they do not have to feel inadequate or embarrassed each time they call?) My request was logged. I was told I may not be called that day but the likelihood was that I would as I had called at 8.30am. Given as a carer it is really hard to get any me time at all to take care of my own issues I initially felt assured by this. However by midday the next day still no call at all. I called the surgery again. The receptionist apologised for the misleading impression I had been given and said I was scheduled to be called on Friday - 4 whole days after my phone call first thing in the morning when I clearly explained I had been in significant pain for months. She offered to update the request to reflect when the call might be best for me, since I'd explained I was also due to take my Mum for an appointment on the Friday so having no clue as a carer when I'd be called was unhelpful. When I stated when it would be good to call she then said she could not put a request for a time on the record. So why on earth offer to if you cannot? By now I just felt totally exasperated and was trying hard to explain I am a carer and I start a new job on Monday therefore if the doctor wants to see me (and I would really appreciate that) then I would need to be called early. She said she would update the request. She also said I should have been called back on the day I rang to be informed when I would be called. (So now we are in the realms of calling people to tell them when you will call them...). Needless to say it is now almost 2pm on the Friday and the doctor has still not called so any chance or hope I have of being seen this week when I know I will struggle massively next week due to a new job and caring commitments is virtually zero. Surely vulnerable people are worth more than this and surely a record can reflect someone's ease of access to the internet and/or vulnerability so a doctor can better triage and prioritise? I've had to use a neighbour's computer to even do this review. I don't want to be unkind - many times the receptionists there have been patient and kind but the system simply does not work for patients who need it most. And consultation feedback is only sought from people who are you, not too unhealthy and have internet access. So you have redesigned a system to suit the people who need it least.
Visited October 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 08 November 2022
Thank you for your feedback and I am sorry that you have concerns about our appointment system. Unfortunately, because you have posted anonymously, we can’t refer to your specific concerns, however I can confirm that patients are not forced down an eConsult route that requires them to have internet access. If you are unable to access the internet you can still call the surgery. One of our Patient Access Administrators will record your clinical concerns on EConsult for you, and the form generated will be forwarded to our Triage GPs in the same way as a patient who completes the form themselves. The Triage GPs will review all eConsults using the same processes and the outcome will be communicated to you. It is not our intention to exclude access for any of our patients, and to date we don’t believe we have. Should you wish us to investigate your specific concerns please either use the Contact Us option within our web site, or write to us at the surgery, and we will be only too happy to do so. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice manager
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Review titled First class service
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Mrs Wilson - Posted on 17 October 2022
My 99 year old mother who now receives palliative care, has been treated promptly with care throughout the last year. We are grateful for the quick response each time and the staff are doing a magnificent job under such pressure. Well done to all
Visited October 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 18 October 2022
Dear Mrs Wilson Thank you for taking the time to post your positive feedback. I'll ensure the team are made aware. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Gone downhill, delays, queues and not a care!
Rated 1 star out of 5
by David - Posted on 22 October 2022
I very rarely need to see my Dr in fact it’s been so long I don’t even know who my Dr is, not that it really matters as you’re unlikely to see anyone anyway. I’ve attempted to seek medical attention due to an ongoing issue I have with Gout. Each time I try to get help I am always waiting at least an hour in a telephone queue, told to use the stupid eConsult website to which I am diagnosed over the phone?? The last time I asked for more to be done as they had not even offered me a blood test to official diagnose my condition. I felt like I was being fibbed off and even told to go to the hospital?? What a waste of hospital time that would be! Finally after insisting I managed to book a blood test and today I get a text message telling me the appointment is cancelled and to call to arrange another. Why should I have to wait another hour or so in a telephone queue to rearrange a date you cancelled. Customer service is non existent, I feel unimportant and fobbed off. I have lost all confidence in this practice. I strongly suggest either employing more staff or taking on less patients. Bring back the days where I could actually “see” or know who my Doctor is!!!!
Visited October 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 28 October 2022
Dear David Thank you for your feedback & I'm sorry that you have been disappointed by the service you have received. Unfortunately because I don't have your full name I will have to respond generically to the points you have raised. There isn't a requirement to see your named GP at the surgery so please don't let that stop you contacting us. If you would like to know who it is then please use the Contact Us page on our web site, ask us the question and we will respond. I'm sorry that you are experiencing a delay in accessing us on the telephone. Like many public services we receive high volumes of calls and our team get through them as quickly and considerately as they can, but unfortunately there are times when there will be a queue. It would appear you have been dissatisfied with the response you have had from an eConsult. I am sorry that was the case but many of our patients have had a positive experience. We would be more than happy to review what went wrong for you if you could use the Contact Us link on our web site with your specific details. I am sorry that you blood appointment was cancelled. Unfortunately our Phlebotomist had an urgent family issue recently which required clinics to be cancelled at short notice. You should have been advised you could also book at the hospital , and I am sorry if that was not the case. Regretably there is a significant shortage of staff and despite our best efforts we have not been successful in recruiting additional GPs albeit we are having some success with alternative Health Professionals. Our contract with the commissioners prevents us from refusing to register patients, and therefore our list size continues to grow. This problem is one faced by all surgeries. Thank you again for raising your concerns and do please contact us so we can investigate your specific ones. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Great service
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 12 September 2022
I called this morning about my son and did their call back service.. someone called me very soon after and I was talking to the doctor within an hour...
Visited September 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 05 October 2022
Dear Patient Thank you for your positive feedback which I will share with the team. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager
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Review titled Anonymous unqualified staff taking over from Doctors.
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Ben - Posted on 25 October 2022
The staff were put out because they incorrectly believed I should not have been allowed this appointment saying it was too soon since the last one. In their words and tone they implied that I was wasting their time. One of them said “you can’t have an appointment just because you want one”. Staff at this surgery rarely tell patients what their job and qualification is and usually don’t give their names. Generally the attitude is impersonal.
Visited September 2022
Review titled Crown Heights Medical Centre
Replied on 01 November 2022
Dear Ben Thank you for your feedback below. As you know I have responded to a direct contact you made to the surgery earlier. For the purposes of responding to this review I can confirm that the staff member you saw was in fact the most appropriately qualified person to undertake an NHS Health Check. She was correct in advising you that you did not qualify for an NHS Health Check as you had one last year, and these are made available for 40 to 74 year olds on a 4 year cycle. The reality is our Receptionist should not have booked you in, but wasn’t fully conversant with the requirements. We appreciate that you found it frustrating you couldn’t have the health check, but I hope my explanation has confirmed why. I’m sorry that you your experience is that our team don’t give their names and role. I have to say I regularly hear our team introducing themselves to patients when collecting them from the waiting rooms but I wouldn’t expect them to lay out their qualifications, however we will remind the team to introduce themselves. Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. Kind regards Paul Butterworth Practice Manager