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Few points for improvement

Story from nhs.uk

"Few points for improvement"

About: The Stonebridge Practice

Managed to get an appointment within a couple of days so very good start.

Never attended the practice before.

The entrance is so full of notices you will be late for your appointment if you stop to read them all.

Sent upstairs with no further instruction. Ignored at upstairs reception. I suggest acknowledgement of patient's arrival would be good e.g. just to say "Hello, I'll be with you shortly". There were no other patients around so although staff at reception were obviously working they weren't overwhelmed dealing with patients.

Again, reception was covered with signs and instructions, several asking patients to be quiet because staff are working. Maybe this would be more impactful if it is only displayed some of the time e.g. when there are a number of patients in reception.

After we established I had an appointment, the receptionist was saying he would give me a receipt; he hadn't actually asked me for payment yet but asked if I had the right money without saying how much it was. My point is: communication could be improved.

I don't know who I saw for my appointment; she didn't introduce herself. I think she was probably a Practice Nurse. The NHS ran a high profile 'My name is ...' campaign over the last few years so I was surprised and disappointed that the clinician didn't introduce herself. May I suggest this would significantly improve the patient experience.

Finally, especially given that I had received a text to say that I must wear a mask and gloves before entering the surgery, the clinician didn't wash or gel her hands either before administering my vaccination or afterwards. She had seen a patient before me, she was using the keyboard when I entered the room and after administering the vaccine she returned to using the keyboard. I don't understand this at all. She should wash her hands before taking out the vaccine and wash her hands after administration. This should always be the case but especially now with COVID 19 still around.

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Responses

Response from The Stonebridge Practice 3 years ago
The Stonebridge Practice

Submitted on 11/09/2020 at 09:47
Published on nhs.uk at 16:58

Dear Patient

Thank you for taking the time to post this review. I am pleased to hear that you managed to get an appointment within a couple of days. Your comments and suggestions for improvements have been shared with the team and I would like to take this opportunity to respond as follows.

There are three Practices within the building which is why there are several notices displayed. The main receptionist downstairs directs patients to their respective Practice. It is very disappointing to hear that you were ignored by a new receptionist upstairs. Since receiving your feedback the receptionist on duty has been notified that such behaviour is unacceptable and has received further training on communication skills.

Please accept our apologies for the fact that the Practice Advanced Practitioner did not find the time to introduce herself on this occasion. To ensure patients are aware of the room occupant, all clinical rooms have the clinician’s name and role sign posted on their door for ease of reference.

Each Practice needs to comply with CQC regulations to signpost health information to patients, hence the notices in the entrance and at the reception. Unfortunately, occasionally patients can have noisy conversations disrupting staff workflow and making it difficult for receptionists to hear other patients, which is why we have a notice displayed regarding noise levels. I appreciate some notices could be taken down and hence staff have removed some notices following your feedback.

We would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the practice adheres to a very stringent Infection Control Policy, which has been heightened and reviewed in line with Covid-19 policy. This has resulted in longer appointment times to allow for cleaning between each patient’s appointment, which is why you did not see the Nurse wash her hands in front of you. Clinicians routinely wipe down all surface areas; chairs are cleaned, keyboards wiped and hands washed and gelled, prior to any patient entering the room.

We would like to assure you that we take all comments very seriously. Thank you for your feedback. We are delighted that you managed to book an appointment within a few days of your call. We hope to see you again soon.

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