Enter and view: Eltham Palace Surgery

Healthwatch Greenwich carried out an Enter and View visit to Eltham Palace Surgery, based within Eltham Community Hospital. Patients were overwhelmingly positive about the practice, describing it as clean, modern, accessible and well run. The surgery was rated Good by the Care Quality Commission, and patients generally rated their overall experience as very good. Staff, including GPs, nurses and receptionists, were frequently praised for being caring, respectful and supportive. 

Patients reported high levels of satisfaction with clinical care and felt fully involved in decisions about their treatment. Individual clinicians, particularly Dr Singh and the nursing team, received especially positive feedback for listening carefully, providing clear advice and building good relationships with patients. Prescription services were also reported to work well, with no concerns raised about obtaining medication.

The main issue raised concerned access to appointments. Some patients reported difficulties obtaining same-day appointments and expressed frustration at having to telephone repeatedly at 8am. In contrast, patients with long-term conditions who could book appointments in advance were generally satisfied with access. Healthwatch also found that none of the patients spoken to were aware of the Patient Participation Group or the Greenwich GP Access Hubs, despite the hubs operating from the same site. 

Healthwatch identified several opportunities for improvement in the physical environment and patient information. These included improving dementia-friendly signage, making the waiting area more child-friendly, increasing access to non-digital information for patients who do not use the internet, introducing more visible feedback mechanisms, and updating registration information to better reflect NHS England guidance. Overall, however, the practice was seen as providing high-quality care with very positive patient experiences.