Enter and view: Dockham Surgery, Cinderford
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Healthwatch Gloucestershire undertook an announced Enter and View visit to Dockham Surgery in Cinderford on 14 and 15 November 2023. This visit was part of their ongoing partnership working with NHS Gloucestershire and the CQC to support improving the patient experiences in GP practices across the county. It is also supporting a wider project being undertaken by Healthwatch Gloucestershire in relation to accessing GP services.
The visiting team was warmly welcomed into the practice.
On the whole patients felt that once they had managed to arrange an appointment, the service was good. During the visit it was observed that appointments were mostly running on time or with only minor delays.
The majority of patients appeared to like the new premises and found them accessible. Some patients told us that now it is located out of the town centre it is harder to get to, particularly for those patients who have to walk or who have to get a bus into Cinderford.
There were three key areas of concern raised by patients: 1. The process for arranging an appointment; this was in relation to both urgent and routine appointments. 2. The availability of appointments, both for routine and urgent issues and this resulted in patients having to access other services such as NHS 111 or the local Minor Injury & Illness Unit (MIIU). 3. The difficulty of contacting the practice via the phone, particularly in the mornings, and that patients are not advised where they are in the telephone queue.
Patients with ongoing health issues reported that they are able to see the same GP and that arranging follow up appointments for this is straightforward. However some patients, particularly those with complex health issues, reported that they were not able to see the same GP.
While most patients were complimentary about the reception staff, some concerns were raised in relation to their communication style.
On the whole patients did not raise any issues in relation to being able to access the practice or the facilities within this. Healthwatch did speak to some wheelchair users and they raised some specific issues in relation to accessibility.
Healthwatch made three recommendations about appointment booking, accessibility for people with mobility problems and support for staff to have difficult conversations with patients.