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The good and bad!

Story from nhs.uk

"The good and bad!"

About: Westongrove Partnership

The clinical staff have always been friendly, approachable and compassionate, when you can get to see them!

The appointment system has recently been updated. It is supposed to be a better online system but you cannot get any urgent call backs or talk to a clinician if you need to after 4pm. They advise you to ring 111 so you burden another service.

The reception staff are rude and lack empathy/compassion. I wanted medical advice and was told to complete a form at 7.30 because you can no longer do this after 4pm. The woman on reception asked the problem as I explained I needed Dr advice and her response was "Uh, is that an emergency?", in a condescending and judgmental tone. I'd like to remind the reception staff that triage should be down to medically trained staff and they should not treat the patients with such an attitude simply for seeking medical support.

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Responses

Response from Westongrove Partnership 6 months ago
Westongrove Partnership

Submitted on 17/01/2025 at 08:04
Published on nhs.uk at 08:04

Thank you for your comment. Westongrove has introduced an online portal on our website so that there is one pathway for patients to contact us. This is not an App. The forms for appointments can be completed by the reception team if a patient is unable to complete it themselves. Every single appointment needs to have a form completed in order to ensure that every patient has fair and equitable access to our appointments. The form is then assessed by a clinical Triage team who determine the best timeframe and type of appointment that meets the patients needs. This may include signposting to other healthcare providers such as physiotherapists or the community pharmacist. Our forms are accessible between 7.30am and 4pm as our aim is to triage every single request between these times and to contact those that need a same day appointment. If a patient calls after 4pm the receptionist will need the details of the problem and why the patient feels the request cannot wait for the following morning to confer with the triage team. We are sorry if you feel this was done in a rude or judgemental tone.

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