Enter and view: Mark Street Practice

Healthwatch Rochdale undertook an enter and view visit at Mark Street Surgery on 16 September 2025.  They spoke to 9 people

Purpose of the Visit

They wanted to understand how patients access GP services, assess the appointment booking system, review how accessible information is to patients, and explore the overall patient experience. This included consideration of how the Patient Participation Group (PPG) operates. Evidence was gathered through staff discussions, observations of the premises, conversations with patients in the waiting room, and a telephone “mystery shopper” exercise carried out in the same week.

Access and Appointments

Telephone calls to the practice were answered promptly, with reasonable waiting times. Patients were informed early in the call that appointments might be limited before being able to speak to a receptionist. On the day of the visit, no same-day GP appointments were available, and the next routine appointment offered was 12 days later. Patients were able to book appointments by telephone, in person at the reception desk, or digitally via PATCHS and the NHS App. Additional GP access appointments were available on the day of the visit, and interpreters were available for patients who required them.

Telephone System

The practice telephone system offered six menu options, with appointment cancellation listed as the sixth option. A callback option was not immediately available unless patients reached a certain position in the call queue. The practice operated an appointments-only phone system between 8am and 11am, with other queries handled later in the day. An inconsistency was identified between the practice website and telephone messaging regarding the time patients could access test results.

Digital and Administrative Systems

Patients were able to request repeat prescriptions through the NHS App, the Patient Access system, PATCHS, or by dropping requests off at the surgery. Staff were available to support patients who needed help using digital systems, including the NHS App. Although TV screens were present in the waiting room, they were not in active use on the day of the visit.

Environment and Accessibility

The surgery had good public transport links and on-site parking. The building was fully wheelchair accessible, with wide automatic doors. The waiting areas were clean, bright, and well maintained, with sufficient seating. Toilets were clean but locked, requiring patients to ask reception for a key, and signage at the time of the visit was in English only. No clock was visible in the waiting room during the visit. Noticeboards were well organised, uncluttered, and easy to read, with some information displayed in different languages. Two reception areas were observed, although only one was in use. The self-check-in screen was located in the waiting room rather than in the main entrance area.

Patient Engagement and the PPG

The practice demonstrated strong and positive engagement with its Patient Participation Group. The PPG met quarterly, was independently chaired, and consisted of six regular members. New staff were introduced to the PPG as part of their induction. Patient feedback was also collected through a suggestions box. The PPG had contributed directly to service improvements, including reorganising waiting room seating and improving the clarity and layout of noticeboards. The practice and PPG were actively exploring ways to broaden PPG membership and engage a wider range of patient groups.

Key Recommendations and Actions

Healthwatch Rochdale made several recommendations aimed at improving patient experience, including adding other languages to signage, improving telephone system functionality, introducing a visible numeric clock in the waiting room, making better use of waiting room TV screens, and creating a “You said, we did” noticeboard. By December 2025, the practice had implemented several of these actions, including installing a numbered clock, adding multilingual signage, correcting inconsistencies in test results messaging, and progressing plans to review the telephone system. Further actions, including improvements to patient feedback visibility and ongoing PPG recruitment, were underway.