Enter and view: Dunchurch Surgery

Healthwatch Warwickshire did an announced Enter and View visit to Dunchurch Surgery on 30th April, 2015. The external building is purpose built and no concerns were observed with the building condition. The surgery is clean and decorated to a good standard.

The Healthwatch team found the surgery met most of their observational criteria, except in a few areas. There was no electronic check-in and patients were taken to a private room as there was no privacy at reception. Patients would be informed about waiting time by staff, and there was only one accessible toilet available. The names/photographs of GP’s and staff, at the surgery, were not displayed either.

The questionnaire asked the patients attending the surgery about appointments, access, parking, signage, staff attitudes, cleanliness and the quality of care amongst other things. 15 out of the 44 respondents found the appointment booking system average while 6 found it poor, “It has taken five days to get an appointment. I wanted an early appointment for my son. I gave up each morning after fifteen minutes of trying.” 4 patients found the punctuality of the appointments poor, “I have waited 40 minutes today so far.”

The report recommends looking into concerns raised by the patients in respect of the appointment booking system, and that the surgery ensures that it consistently informs patients on the day of any delays which may impact their appointment.

The surgery responded saying it will continue to promote the use of the online booking system whilst trying not to disadvantage those without access to a computer. They also advised that they are currently trialling adjusting the online appointments to times more convenient for the working population.