Enter and view: Shifnal and Priorslee Medical Practice Shifnal Surgery

Healthwatch Shropshire undertook an enter and view visit to Shifnal Surgery at Shifnal and Priorslee Medical Practice on 4 December 2019. This was part of a programme of visits to local GP surgeries to check whether patients were aware of extended access appointments in response to feedback received.   They spoke to 3 members of staff, a representative of the Patient Participation Group (PPG) and 14 patients.

Findings

• All the patients spoken to were happy with the care provided by the staff.
• There appeared to be no information on the outside or inside of the building telling people about extended access appointments. Most people found it hard to get an appointment.
• Most people said it is hard to get through to the surgery on the telephone. Most people give up if they can’t get through on the phone and try again the next day at 8.00 a.m.
• Most people think you can only get an appointment by ringing at 8.00 a.m. for a same day appointment. Most people told us they wait 20-30 minutes on hold on the phone.
• 3 people were happy using the website and on-line appointment booking system.
• The Manager has reviewed and is trialling improvements to the telephone system and has increased the number of appointments available.
• Most people were unaware of extended access appointments.
• The website has been redesigned and it includes some information on extended access appointments.
• The PPG has limited involvement with the surgery.

Recommendations

There were 7 recommendations about improving information on different ways of booking appointments including extended access and improving telephone answering.

There is a detailed response from the provider outlining the action they are intending to take to address some of the points raised by Healthwatch Shropshire.