"A couple of suggestions"

Firstly, I want to express my appreciation for the care I’ve received since joining Bishopton Medical Practice four years ago. In particular, I’ve had consistently excellent support from Emma in managing my blood pressure. Emma is always warm, approachable, and takes the time to clearly explain treatment options. I really value how informed and involved I feel in decisions about my health—thank you for that.

That said, I do have a couple of suggestions where I feel the patient experience could be improved. I hope these are helpful and constructive:

1. Appointment Communication and Phone System

There have been a couple of occasions where appointments have been cancelled due to staff absence—which I completely understand happens from time to time. However, I’ve received fairly vague messages such as “Please call us back” via voicemail and text, without any context. This has led to me spending a significant amount of time trying to get in touch, often during my own lunch break. On one occasion, the phone queue was full, and when I finally managed to join, I got to position 3 just as the practice closed for lunch, leaving me stuck in the queue with no notification that the lines had closed.

It would be really helpful if:

A) Messages (voicemail or text) could include some context about the reason for the call—for example: “We’ve had to cancel your appointment tomorrow due to staff absence, please don’t attend.”

B) If possible, the phone system could stop accepting new callers a short while before closing (e.g. from 12:15) to ensure everyone already in the queue can be helped before the lunch break. I appreciate this may depend on system capabilities, but thought it was worth suggesting.

2. Repeat Prescriptions Process

At the moment, requesting repeat prescriptions requires a phone call during opening hours, which can be difficult for those of us working full-time. Given that my medication and dosage are regular and well-documented, it seems like an opportunity for automation or digital streamlining.

It would be fantastic if:

A) Prescriptions could be automatically issued based on known needs and timing.

B) Alternatively, ordering through an app or online system would be much more convenient than phoning in.

C) If neither of the above is feasible, having a 24/7voicemail service just for prescription requests would allow patients to leave messages at a time that suits them.

As someone with ADHD, remembering to call during the day can be a genuine challenge—so solutions like these would really reduce barriers and improve the experience. I imagine it would also save the practice time and resources in the long run.

We live in a very digital world and I’d love to see the practice embrace some of these tools to make things easier for both staff and patients.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my feedback—and again, thank you for the great care over the years. I really do appreciate it.