Text size

Theme

Language

"Nice surgery, shame about the waiting times."

About: Earnswood Medical Centre

I really like my surgery and GPs.

If I have a complaint, it is about the waiting times to see your GP of your choice. I see across the board how many missed appointments there are and this goes some way to explaining the waiting times. The reception staff are always pleasant and treat me with courtesy. It is a nightmare trying to get through on the phones, especially first thing in the day. If there was a system whereby when you wanted to make an on line appointment, you were able to state either which doctor was preferred or if not too bothered about who you see, then be able to put your reasons for needing an appointment so it can be directed to the doctor who can best treat you. Then they could make you an appointment and send a text or e mail. If it is not suitable then you can call. They all have their special areas of medicine so this could be a bonus. On the problem with the phones, if when you can't get straight through (which of course is going to happen at times) you could be put on hold and told how many callers are before you. I believe this would be better than a continual engaged tone and having to keep on ringing. I have had to have emergency appointments for my husband, at which point he is seen straight away and more often than not, with the GP of choice.

nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Earnswood Medical Centre 8 years ago
Earnswood Medical Centre
Submitted on 11/04/2017 at 12:00
Published on nhs.uk on 28/08/2018 at 11:06


I am sorry to hear this, we do understand the frustration caused by the telephones. We have recently introduced a triage system and our statistics have shown we have more than doubled the amount of calls being taken in a day, we are always trying to improve these statistics and hope they will be better in the near future. With regards to seeing the same GP each time sometimes other GP's can be more popular than others so their appointments can be taken quickly so you would have to book a routine appointment if you wanted to see the same doctor otherwise if it was an urgent appointment you would have to see whichever GP is available on that day.

Alex - Complaints administrator

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k