Enter and view: Hampton Wick Surgery

Healthwatch Richmond gather information on people’s experiences of health and social care services and there are times when it is appropriate for Healthwatch Richmond to see and hear for themselves how services are being delivered: these visits are called ‘Enter and View’, they are not inspections.

Healthwatch Richmond visited Hampton Wick Surgery on September 28th and 30th.

The key findings highlighted areas in relation to patient feedback, staff feedback and observation. Overall, patients were very satisfied with the service that the practice provides. Most of the patients Healthwatch Richmond spoke to said that they would recommend the practice; one patient stated that they have a “very personal and professional service”. Patients were very positive about the practice stating that it was “convenient”, “easy to access”, “the staff are polite and helpful” and that the “quality of care is equivalent to that of a private setting”. Others complimented the staff, asserting that the staff and doctors were the best thing about the practice. There are significant problems with making contact with the practice by phone. These problems were expressed by patients and staff and witnessed by our visitors during the visit and our staff when booking the visit. The practice environment was generally very good, clean and pleasant. Healthwatch Richmond felt that more could be done to help patients to access information. Patients with small children told us that they find it inconvenient that they cannot bring buggies into the practice. Most patients told Healthwatch Richmond that they were happy with the overall care and treatment that the practice provided, and that they understood the treatments or referrals offered, saying “I fully understand advice which is carefully given in a consultative way”. Other patients said that they felt happy asking for a better explanation if they did not understand what they were told.

The report contains 4 recommendations.