"Administrative failings"

I understand that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way that GP practices operate, which has been necessary to safeguard staff and patients. In line with Government advice, the number face-to-face consultations with medical staff has reduced, with greater reliance placed in remote consultations.

My concerns are around the patient experience in accessing medical advice and assistance.

The system in place to request appointments is bureaucratic, understaffed and not customer friendly. You are required to phone at 8am, may be placed on hold for up to an hour and then told there are no further appointments available that day. It is not possible to book an appointment on an alternative date, instead you are expected to call again the following day and then repeat the process. Surely it must be possible to Rota extra receptionists to cover busy periods and / or to devise a better operating model, balancing call workload across the working day.

The E-consult process is no better.

Firstly, you cannot use it when the surgery is closed. I discovered this when trying to use it at the weekend to request a follow-up consultation to discuss a blood test result. Why this should be I don't know, since they are not reviewed in real-time, but only when the Practice is open and there is staff available to do so.

Secondly, the website design is unnecessarily complex with multiple follow-up questions generated by the computer based on the previous response. For some conditions this may elicit additional information that may be useful. However, for straightforward enquires it is total overkill and very frustrating for the patient having to complete it with irrelevant or repetitive information requested.

Finally, there is an inability to maintain the website by ensuring information displayed is accurate and up-to-date. It currently displays a message inviting patients over 65 to phone the surgery to arrange a flu jab appointment. My wife did so last week, and after the customary wait in the call queue was advised that all available appointments were booked several weeks ago. She should wait until contacted by the surgery to attend. So, not only is the information displayed out-of-date, but it is also now incorrect. I did point this out and was advised by the lady she spoke to that she would bring it to the attention of he manager. As the message is still there, I can only assume that either the conversation did not take place, or the manage concerned was so unconcerned about the customer experience that he or she decided no further action was merited.

In conclusion, staff are right to highlight an increase in abusive behavior by patients which is unacceptable. However, much of this could be avoided by improving the administrative processes which are poorly designed, managed and resourced. Patients should understand it is the Practice Manager and not the medical staff who is responsible for this.