Patient Satisfaction Survey 17 August

We are trying to catch up with all the comments left on our Patient Satisfaction Survey, and there is still quite some catching up to do. Most of the comments made are very valuable. They will either inform us of areas where we can do better, or they will cheer us up after having spoken to a displeased patient.

So, let’s have a look if any  further comments have come in since yesterday.

One more was received:

‘Dr I saw was very understanding and helpful’

That means we’ll now need to go back to some older comments left. These are from July:

‘The service I received was excellent Gemma Walker was really good. Even when she took my blood and I have jus a small mark there usually I end up with a bruise.’

‘The doctor was very helpful and friendly put me at ease’

‘Nothing at this moment in time’

‘I found the receptionist to be professional yet caring. She explained the process & said I receive notification on my NHS app. I was seen the same day. Thank you’

‘Just like to say thankyou to both Grimethorpe and Cudworth Surgeries for the help and assistance that they provide and keep up the good work.’

‘Thank you to Dr (Mr) and Dr (Mrs ) Mba for early recognition of my problem and the subsequent referral
Thank you also to Mandy for her help and advice re NHS referral system’

‘Very helpful staff and drs’

‘As always over the last months very supportive from receptionist to GPs’

‘Ellie was amazing’

‘Recent months I’ve not been able to see my usual Gp and I have seen different ones may be 5/6 and I think this is causing quality of care to become very unsatisfactory. I feel absolutely at the end of my tether and feel completely broken as I have spun in a circle of xray this and look at that and not a clue as to what is going on!
I see physio and walk away with 2 sheets of A4 paper! I thought I would having physio but noooo lift ya knee and bend it then that’s it..! Wasn’t worth the fuel..?’

This patient appears very dissatisfied that she has been offered appointments and that they were not with the GP she usually sees.
Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to offer appointments with the usual doctor as this depends on availability of appointments with that GP at the time the appointment is needed. It is always possible to state a preference and the clinician doing the assessment of need will bear the preference in mind. However, if an appointment with that GP is unavailable, another appointment will be offered.
The first contact physio is not someone doing physiotherapy, but a specialist in musculoskeletal problems instead. They will assess your problem and give advice on how to deal with the problem yourself. They will also refer for further investigations where this is appropriate, or refer back  to the GP if it is outside their remit.
We’re sorry to hear this patient was dissatisfied with our services and the services provided by the first contact physio.

‘Did not get the phone call i was waiting for because somebody forgot to register it at your end and I have made another for two weeks time’

We’re uncertain what happened in this case and are unable to investigate it as no contact details were left with the comment.
If we forgot to book the telephone appointment after the patient was informed of a date and time, or if the appointment was thought to be a face-to-face appointment by the clinician because our receptionist forgot to change the slot type, we are very sorry for this.

‘The dr accused me of being on a child protection because she hadn’t bothered to read the letter that was on her computer and just assumed that we were. Upsetting me and causing more anxiety. My child is only 15 days old and we have been put through hell due to Barnsley hospital and now the dr by not reading the letter.’

We don’t know what happened here, but will investigate this. We apologise for the doctor upsetting the patient, and are certain this was never their intention.

‘As always 10 out of 10’

‘I requested a phone appointment (my mobility leaves me unable to walk and cannot always get transport) and I just needed the morphine which I was also prescribed by the hospital. To be told I had to be seen in person which caused problems to get there. When I got there I was told that I didn’t have the illnesses which I am diagnosed with despite all the evidence there on her computer and that she won’t allow me to have any more morphine (which is the only thing that helps my pain) even after telling her the hospital had upped my dose when I need it. To this I was told that she is putting a note on my account to say I am not allowed any more pain relief for a month and I need to make this 100mls bottle last an entire month (I am prescribed 5mls every two hours IF NEEDED) despite me not taking anything close to that it still isn’t possible to last one month when even 5mls ones a day and twice/three times on extremely bad days doesnt account for that. She said that she isn’t the hospital and I need to stop taking the pain relief even though I have chronic pain everyday. One again extremely let down, lack of care and no understanding and just another thing to add to my email to PALS.’

We are sorry to hear the patient is not happy with the care. It might have helped if the doctor had been successful in explaining why people shouldn’t be on morphine on a regular basis.
Morphine is not licensed or helpful for chronic pain. Instead, it only increases the serious risk of becoming addicted  to morphine with all the problems that brings. Morphine is only licensed to be used for a maximum of 2 weeks for acute pain, or in palliative care.
Unfortunately, there are still too many patients who are getting morphine  prescribed in chronic pain. This despite the NICE guidance and evidence against doing so. The doctor was correct in ensuring the patient would reduce (and eventually stop) the morphine, and we suspect any explanations the doctor may have given didn’t come through clearly to the patient.

‘Was not happy with Doctor, on my notes she had put no weight loss or lumps and bumps which she didn’t even check , just dismissed everything said was due to heat.I have seen this doctor before and don’t find her manner very pleasant doesn’t seem interested. I was only in the room 2 minutes so she hadn’t time to check anything’

We will investigate this.

‘Excellent care’

‘Doctor was very good listened to my health issues and supported a way forward’

‘The doctor I saw was amazing very kind, patient, professional and listen to me. Gave me great advice which was easy to follow and understand. Thank you.’

‘My appointment for was for my smear at the cudworth practice she was very friendly and helpful and explained everything to me’

‘After blood tests was contacted within a couple of days by surgery Dr Ali was really nice and prescribed more tests’

‘Very good, especially Grimethorpe surgery team very friendly persons’

‘I got a call today to call my GP.
After 5minits it said you are number, One in the queue?
ONE HOURS Later you are number one in the queue
How Am I supposed to get in touch with my GP when nobody answers the phone’

We can assure you that the phones are being answered. Some calls will however take longer than others and there are several queues which filter through to the same people answering the phone. We have had a lack of staff due to sickness absences and holidays over the last few months, which resulted in the phones for both sites going to only one of our two sites. We apologise for any problems people have experienced with the phone system.
The problem also seemed linked to certain queues not filtering through as well as others as other lines had priority. We have made a change to the queues as a result and certain lines now have different opening hours:
Results, other enquiries, prescriptions (for those authorised to over the phone only) are open between 10 am and 3 pm only as these are the times the lines are less busy. We will not accept these requests on the appointment line!
We hope these changes will make it easier for patients to contact the surgery.
Remember, for non-urgent problems we also have our online consultations, available during surgery hours at: https://accurx.nhs.uk/patient-initiated/c85018.

‘My appt was cancelled by the surgery. I have to wait another 2 weeks for a further appt’

We are sorry we had to cancel your appointment. This usually only happens where the clinician is off sick.

‘I was seen within minutes of arriving at the surgery. It went very well & Gemma answered lots of questions I asked about. Felt very at ease in her company. She has a good manner of putting people at ease. My anxiety was better than was expected. I’m a very nervous person sometimes. Went very well indeed.’

‘i had an appointment and they couldnt even find me on the system even i had a confirmation on my phone so i couldnt even see a doctor’

We apologise for this  problem and will investigate what happened.

‘The nurse was very professional and I appreciate her care.’

‘A promised prescription for a diuretic never arrived at the pharmacy. Pointed out very infected eyes but was not given anything for it. I had to go all the way to Grimethorpe for a blood test where the nurse, who was excellent at her job, discovered I had low oxygen says and she sent me to A+E. My visit to Cudworth was a waste of time.’

We have discussed this case during our most recent clinical meeting and have discussed ways in which this could be improved on.

‘Service very very good nurse was
Very caring thanks’

‘X needs a blood test every 3 months a while ago he’d just been discharged from hospital after sepsis and being catheterised into his stomach he has rheumatoid arthritis an anurisum in his stomach an tumours at the nerve ending in his feet with all this in mind was refused a bold test by the doctor an told he would have to go to the glass works whenever you park you’ve to walk to it an it’s nigh impossible for him to do that the problem however seems to been resolved now maybe the practice has more staff to do the necessary blood test now by a lovely set of nurses I may add. I have to say when we were at a very low time with X just being home from hospital we were made to feel a burden something me or X has never experienced before but as I say it seems to be back on track now as he’s getting his blood test done easily at the doctors now by a lovely helpful team of nurses THANKFULLY ❤️’

We are sorry about to hear about this. Indeed, our capacity to do blood tests at the surgery is extremely limited and we currently only do this for annual reviews and for patients who we have accepted a shared care agreement for.
We are however reviewing this currently as Gemma  will be returning to us in September and this will increase our capacity slightly. Even then, any bloods that are not requested by the surgery but by the hospital would still need to go to the Glassworks. We will update you once a decision has been made on this.

‘second time waste of my time and Doctors …. Sorry’

Not sure what happened there and we are unable to investigate as no contact details were left.

‘The medical staff and my GP Were very professional and helpful with my medical requirements, within my local surgery Grimethorpe/ Cudworth.’

‘I did not see the Gp Dr Sam as I requested she had been involved in my care . The doctor I saw didn’t know me or my problems . I was very emotional at the time and left feeling anxious . He made me feel like I was wasting his time . I was given a number for talking therapy and app for blood test’

We are sorry to hear this patient had a bad experience. Unfortunately, a patient’s preferred GP isn’t always available at the time they need to see a GP. At those times, an appointment with a different GP will be offered.

‘The medical staff and my GP were excellent within my local surgery. For which I am very grateful.’

‘Very satisfied with surgery procedures.’

‘The nurse practitioner was very nice and kind felt very comfortable in her care’

We’re pleased to hear the patient was happy about the service provided. However, our advanced nurse practitioner left at the end of last year. This patient will therefore have seen a nurse, a female  GP or our physician assistant.

And that completes the feedback we have received in our Patient Satisfaction Survey in July. We are grateful for all your support in providing feedback on the service and care we provide. It helps us to continue to provide the best possible care and improve where this is desirable.

This time there were several negative reviews, although the majority of the feedback was positive. We will look into all the ones above where negative feedback was shared to investigate what went wrong or what could have been done better.

We really appreciate the time you all take in returning this feedback. Thank you.