Enter and view: Heron Practice

Healthwatch Hackney carried out an Enter and View visit to Heron Practice, a GP surgery with around 12,000 registered patients. Feedback from 18 patients showed that most people were happy with the care and treatment they received, describing doctors, nurses and reception staff as respectful, helpful and professional. Patients particularly valued access to emergency appointments for young children and generally found the practice clean, welcoming and well maintained. 

The main concerns related to interpreting services for Turkish-speaking patients. Several patients reported that interpreters were frequently late or failed to attend appointments, leading to delays and frustration. Some also felt interpreters sometimes interfered with communication by responding on behalf of clinicians or failing to relay concerns accurately. Other issues raised included difficulties seeing a preferred GP, feeling rushed during consultations, delays in appointments and concerns about privacy at the reception desk. 

Healthwatch also found that information about the Patient Participation Group and the complaints process was not sufficiently visible within the practice. While patients were generally satisfied with communication from staff, some felt the surgery could do more to keep people informed when clinics were running late and improve accessibility for patients with language or communication needs. 

Healthwatch concluded that the practice was delivering generally good care but identified areas for improvement, including interpreting services, communication about delays, patient confidentiality at reception, visibility of complaints information and promotion of the Patient Participation Group. The practice accepted the recommendations and introduced actions including improving reception staffing during busy periods, increasing visibility of complaints and participation information, reviewing consultation times and addressing concerns about interpretation services.