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Trying to get through via telephone.

Posted By enigma1966

"Trying to get through via telephone."

About: General practices in Ayrshire & Arran

(as the patient),

I'm certain that this is a common complaint. I called 25 times to order a prescription. I finally got through at 15.58 to receive a automated reply that all p/script calls had to be between 2-4pm.  I have a few new prescriptions that are not on repeat, so I have to call. I depend on my meds to keep me stable.

I can't fault my local health practice as they are wonderful and always helpful :) But I can't help wondering why  this the case. The receptionists are up to their eyeballs in calls and patients, why isn't there an application that patients can use?

With technology nowadays, there is an easy solution to calling...and I am aware of confidentiality etc etc.  Surely regular patients should have the option of emailing their scripts?

Galston medical practice have always been wonderful - I actually pity the receptionists! They are in the firing line of a battle they can't win.


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Responses

Response from Eunice Goodwin, Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 5 years ago
We have made a change
Eunice Goodwin
Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team,
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

I respond initially to most of the posts and ensure they are passed to the appropriate team whether they are compliments, observations or grumbles. It is important to make sure all issues are addressed and I try to encourage that to happen for all the posts as required.

Submitted on 12/12/2018 at 13:36
Published on Care Opinion at 21:34

picture of Eunice Goodwin

Dear enigma1966,

I have been asked to post this on behalf of the practice manager, Shelley. This sounds as if it will be incredibly helpful. Do feel free to come back on to Care Opinion to let us know how it is working (after it is all up and running and any teething problems resolved).

"I am so sorry you have had trouble contacting us. We are very much aware of the issue for ordering prescriptions. Our plans to tackle this are to implement a prescription answering machine that will make telephone ordering available from 8:30am – 5:30pm. In addition to this we plan to implement online prescriptions to enable patients to order 24/7.

After a long battle with our telephone provider which started in August, and and with support from the Ombudsman, we managed to get released from our contract. We have finally had a new telephone system installed on Wednesday of last week. By way of explanation, the installation was not straightforward and today is the first day that we have not had engineers working on it. Unfortunately, there remains some work before it is completed and this has meant that our plans to implement the answering machine have had to be put on hold until we get the rest of the system working. We are optimistic that this will be set up within the next couple of weeks.

We are planning to go live with online prescriptions as soon as possible and we have the staff training sessions planned. Delivering training and keeping reception manned clearly relies on capacity. In order to fulfil the needs of the service moving forward, we have had 4 new recruits in the last 3 months. After these challenges, which may still be evident to some extent over the festive season. I would ask for your patience for a little longer while we iron this all out and I can rImage titleeassure you that online prescriptions will be top of our priority list for the new year.

I hope this helps to update you on the current situation and you are reassured that we are doing the best we can to address them.

Thank you for taking time to share this feedback with us. Both positive and less positive feedback is invaluable to us. I have passed your positive feedback to the team; it is very much appreciated.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me at the practice.

Kind regards

Shelley

Practice Manager, Galston Medical Practice

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by enigma1966 (the patient)

Thank you Eunice/Shelley for your positive, helpful response. This demonstrates that you are listening and acting upon patients comments. I look forward to the new system being implemented.

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