Enter and view: Thames View Medical Centre

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham visited Thames View Medical Centre on 20 March 2019.  They spoke with 23 patients and the practice manager.

Findings

• The overall response from people about their experiences of using the service and interacting with the staff, was a positive one.
• 20 patients described their GP as either excellent or good, all patients the nurse as excellent or good and 19 people also indicated that their receptionist was either good or excellent.
• On the day of the visit, 10 patients told representatives they had not used the online booking system and 13 people said they had. Those who did use the service found it to be useful and quick.
• Feedback in terms of routine appointments varied, whilst 12 patients said they waited for a week or less, seven people said they waited for more than two weeks. Those who waited for over two weeks felt this was too long.
• Concerns were raised that there is no confidentiality within the waiting room as it’s open and everyone in can hear what patients are speaking to the reception about.
• Most patients indicated that the time they got to speak with the doctor about their health matters was satisfactory. There were five patients however, who said the time they had to consult with the doctor was not satisfactory for them and four patients said it was dependent on how busy the practice was.
• Although there were variations regarding some areas of the service, people said they were happy with the overall service they received from the practice.

Recommendations

• Clear and colourful information about the out of hours’ services should be displayed on the information board, this information should include the GP Hub as well as the Walk in Centre and the option to call NHS 111.
• The surgery should continue to encourage patients to use the online system and advertise the system clearly on the display.
• Patients highlighted that there was no privacy when discussing private and personal information in the reception area. The practice should use the electronic screen to put a notice up informing patients that a private space is available should they wish to have a discreet conversation.
• There should be a consistent approach to enabling patients to discuss more than one health issue during an appointment. It is evident from the visit that this is done for some patients and not others.
• Some patients said they were not satisfied with the time they get to consult with the doctor, we suggest that if there are reasons why a person needs longer, that the practice sets longer consultations times to meet individuals’ needs as this could prevent them from having to keep going back and would represent a better use of patient and doctor time resource.