Feedback from outreach at Nicholstown Surgery – 22 November 2016

This Healthwatch Southampton outreach report summarises feedback from nearly 30 patients at Nicholstown Surgery collected in November 2016, with a particular focus on patients' experiences of booking appointments and contacting the practice. The findings were discussed with the surgery's Patient Participation Group (PPG), and the practice was seeking to strengthen patient involvement.

The survey found that most patients contacted the surgery by telephone, although some preferred to visit the surgery in person because they struggled to get through on the phone. Several respondents felt that telephone access was difficult, citing long waiting times, calls being cut off, limited phone hours and the cost of waiting in a queue. 

When asked about telephone queuing arrangements, many patients preferred receiving a call-waiting message telling them their position in the queue rather than hearing an engaged tone and being asked to call back later. Some patients noted concerns about the cost of waiting on hold, while others highlighted language or hearing difficulties when using the telephone. 

Despite frustrations with access, patients were generally satisfied with explaining their medical condition or symptoms over the telephone once they were able to speak to a member of staff. The main issue identified was not the quality of conversations with staff but the difficulty of getting through to the surgery in the first place.

Patients suggested a number of improvements, including increasing the availability of appointments, reducing telephone waiting times, introducing more same-day appointments, improving the phone system, shortening waits in the surgery, providing information about expected waiting times, and exploring additional services such as an attached pharmacy. 

Overall, the report concluded that the primary concern was poor telephone access, with patients finding it difficult to reach the surgery and sometimes being disconnected. Healthwatch Southampton raised these concerns with the surgery's Patient Participation Group, and the practice acknowledged the issue and was working to improve the situation.