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Never answers the phone. Always put on busy!

Story from nhs.uk

"Never answers the phone. Always put on busy!"

About: Heatherbrook Surgery (Willows Healthcare)

I’m so fed up with this surgery. I used to go here but not anymore. My mum goes here. I’m very very upset with how the surgery is ran. You call and call and call and call and call and call and after constantly being told busy, finally you get a dial tone. This isn’t jus in 2020 while covid-19 is going on. It’s all the time. I’ve been calling since 8am! I’ve taken my daughter nursery while repeatedly calling he surgery, to keep being told it’s busy! Finally I get through. I accidentally pressed the red button on my phone, ending the call. I’ve obviously made a mistake and tried and tried to call back. I’m calling and calling and as you know it’s back to busy!! I cannot get back through. So as my daughters nursery is over the road, I’ve gone to the surgery. A man was coming out and I’ve gone in while calling, busy! Calling, busy! Calling, busy! The phone was taken off the hook/ or put on do not disturb! The lady at reception new it was me. Shouted she’s put my mum On triage! So that’s my reason for this review. I’m very disgusted.

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Responses

Response from Heatherbrook Surgery (Willows Health) 3 years ago
We have made a change
Heatherbrook Surgery (Willows Health)

Submitted on 19/05/2021 at 08:15
Published on Care Opinion at 10:57

We are sorry you have had difficulty with telephone contact. we are aware that this could be significantly improved for patients, and are currently working on a better system.

If you need an appointment and cannot find one by calling in, please register online. This can be done via https://systmonline.tpp-uk.com/2/Login. The AirMid app comes from the same people, and so can help you manage appointments and prescriptions from your phone.

You can also ask the 111 to refer you to one of the local HUBS, or to the relevant radiology department. These have been opened by the local Clinical Commissioning Group to deal with the overflow from GP practices in the area.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Heatherbrook Surgery (Willows Healthcare) 3 years ago
Heatherbrook Surgery (Willows Healthcare)

Submitted on 06/07/2021 at 13:53
Published on nhs.uk at 21:17

We are sorry that you are not happy with our service, please be assured we take all comments seriously and encourage you to approach us to resolve the issue. we are a very busy practice and offer the choice of booking appointments online or via telephone. As a practice we find that our telephone lines are at our busiest between the hours of 8-9:30am as we can receive up to 300 calls in the first hour of opening. Due to resource constraints within the NHS, we are not able to offer as many appointments as we would like to. If you are urgently in need of an appointment and cannot find one by calling in, please register online. Available appointments are released at 6am online, so this is the best resource to check if you need an on-the-day appointment. This can be done via https://systmonline.tpp-uk.com/2/Login. You can also ask the practice or 111 to refer you to one of the local HUBS. These have been opened by the local Clinical Commissioning Group to deal with the overflow from GP practices in the area. You can also make a difference by joining The Patient Participation Group if you would like to have a direct influence on practice policy. Your comments will be discussed at our next PLT meeting.

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