Your Feedback from April 2017 – March 2018

How did we do?

Hello, once again it’s time to provide an up-date about those issues which were important to our patients over the last financial year. As with previous reports it’s a mixture of things that went well, alongside matters which concerned you. Irrespective of your reason for contacting us, our objective is to use your feedback as an opportunity to keep doing more of the things you like, whilst striving to improve those areaswhere you feel we could do better.

By means of a quick refresher on my role, when I’m not working on Reception, I assist the Practice in my capacity of our Patient Engagement Officer. In addition to preparing patient newsletters and running the annual patient meeting I assist with, and review, our compliments, complaints and suggestions. It’s my job to be impartial, so before writing this report I take a careful look back at the last 12 months in order to provide a balanced review of what’s taken place.

From amongst a varied selection of comments, one theme which continues tostand out is that of communication. When providing feedback, whether formally or formally, a remark we typically see is that your reason for making a complaint, or bringing something unsatisfactory to our attention, is your wish to work with us to help avoid a similar situation recurring in the future. We welcome this approach and thank you for your time taken, because it’s by giving us this opportunity to address your issues that we can work together to improve our service moving forward. I’ll provide a little more detail in a moment, but first let’s set the scene with some statistics.

At the time of writing, patient numbers currently stand at just over 6,700 residents; an increase of approximately 400 patients from this time last year. 52.5% of our patients are male, 47.5% are female. It’s not unusual that we care for several generations of families, strengthening ourreputation as a family-orientated Practice.

Where does feedback come from?

Yourselves, our patients, and from organisations with whom we work and have close contact with. Feedback is provided formally (in writing) or sometimes to a member of our team in the course of conversation. Here’s a list of the principal sources we take our feedback from:

  • NHS Friends & Family–is a quick and easy way to let us know what youthink. It’s a national survey where patients are invited to provide a rating via text following an appointment. You can also submit a comment via a link on our website.
  • Websites – not just our own but websites connected to NHS England and associated bodies.
  • Letters, e-mails and phone calls – it’s important to remember that if you are making a formal complaint we need you to put the details in writing.
  • Patient Meeting – We hold our Patient Meetings in November, when everyone is welcome to attend.
  • External sources – such as Salisbury Hospital, together with other health care and social agencies.
  • Practice noticeboards – there’s already a dedicatedspace in Durrington for you to leave your comments and a new notice board will be added in Upavon once we’ve completed some improvements to the waiting room area; scheduled to take place later this year.
  • By talking to us – we genuinely like to know what you think.
  • Using our eyes and ears –because collectively and individually we are responsible for making our Practice the best it can be.

As with everything we do, all feedback is treated in the strictest confidence.

So, how did we do?

Excluding NHS Friends & Family we received 86 items of recorded feedback via a combination of letter, e-mail or direct to a member of staff. This feedback breaks down as follows:

Compliments-42

Concerns-44

The above covered a wide variety of topics where issues were investigated and discussed in a frank and open manner. As mentioned earlier it also includes occasions when, although you did not consider it necessary to make a formal complaint, you needed us to be aware of issues so these could be resolved and not happen again. Suggestions tend to be included within both types of feedback.

For the purpose of this exercise, whilst complaints marginally exceed compliments, it’s important to note that time and human nature being what it is, we don’t always record the many appreciative remarks you make about us. All comments are important and valued by the Practice, but it’s the negative ones for which we need to follow a rigorous process in order that they can be resolved in a satisfactory manner. If you need information about our complaints process, please ask a member of our team.

NHS Friends & Family

Whilst your experience is still fresh in your mind, and because it’s so quick and easy to use, next time you have an appointment please consider leaving some feedback at the end of your visit to us. As with last year this survey provided the principal source for our feedback, generating 661 responses over the period in question. The results are illustrated in the chart below when Practice

patients were asked – “Following your appointment,how likely are you to recommend ourservices to friends or family if they needed similar care or treatment?’’

Friends & Family Responses from April 2017 to March 2018

What contributed towards these results?

Feedback indicates plus points include:

  • Diagnosis, treatmenthelp of a non-clinical nature – we appreciate your positive comments very much indeed.
  • An appointments schedule that meets your needs – having an appointments system which offers same day appointments for pressing matters combined with bookable early morning, lunchtime and evening consultations works well for the communities we serve.
  • Extending Walk-in clinics to 5 days per week – when something pressing happens, we recognise you need to be seen as quickly as possible.
  • Individual, family service–in a world where life has become more process driven, you value the personal service and expertise our local team provides.
  • Commitment to healthy lifestyles – you agree it’s an important area for us all to invest time and effort in.
  • Technology - we’ll always champion the human touch, but for the right situations our on-line and SMS services make communication so much easier.
  • Up-graded premises – you appreciate our on-going commitment to ensuring our premises are fit for purpose.

Topics under the spotlight

Having outlined the areas which are positive, this leads us on to the neutral and less satisfactory comments which continue to be a major focus of our attention.: It’s probably no surprise to read that those topics which continue to concern and challenge us are broadly similar to the topics

covered last year. This doesn’t mean we’ve done nothing about them, simply that they represent those critical areas which require our particular attention, including on-going support from yourselves. As you will see progress has most definitely been made and, once again, by covering these areas we are not dwelling on the negative but sharing things we need and want to make better.

Contacting us by phone sometimes takes longer than you would like

We agree, it can still require patience to get through. We never stop trying to improve this service and appreciate your increasing use of on-line services, which makes a big difference to everyone. It’s still the case that ringing later in the day can often be quicker to get through, and, by planning in advance what you need to say to us, can sometimes help streamline the time taken to assist with your questions.

Since our last report we’ve worked with our phone supplier to make significant improvements to our ability to monitor call traffic. This means that not only can we better match our staffing levels to call traffic, we can also identify the exact amount of time a call from an individual number takes to be answered and responded to.

Therefore, when we receive complaints about how long it takes to contact us we can provide patients with an accurate picture of what actually happened, apologising and taking whatever action is realistically possible to rectify the problem. Likewise, perception is not always reality and whilst we totally sympathise that it can sometimes feel like ages before we answer your call, sometimes this might not be the case. As private individuals, we are all patients ourselves and know what it can be like, especially when feeling ill.

Walk-in clinics have also had an impact on call-handling. Now that patients are more familiar with clinic times, and the reasons for which these clinics should be used, this helps reduce call traffic on some, but by no means all, days.

That said, we acknowledge our service levels took a bit of a dip over Christmas and early in the New Year. Having been fortunate to welcome new colleagues to our team, it nonetheless takes time to complete the training process, resulting in some calls taking longer than usual.

Whilst we are on this topic, should it be of interest, over the period of this report we took an average of 150 calls per day, with an average call duration of 2:01 minutes per call. Believe me, that’s a lot of talking by any standards but we won’t give up on our commitment tomake things more efficient.

Appointments – why can’t we have walk-in clinics in Durrington?

With walk-in clinics taking place 5 days per week between 9 - 11 am in Upavon, we’re aware that not everyone wishes, or indeed can, get to this surgery. However, in order for these clinics to continue, it’s vital that we can run them safely and that they are only used for the purpose for which they are intended – ie, on-the-day matters. They should not be used as an alternative for bookable appointments, which is what started to happen when this service operated in Durrington. It’s also important to bear in mind that, irrespective of where you live, you will not be left without help when it’s needed.

To help make things easier, we’verecently produced a guide which outlines those situationswhen using walk-in clinics is the right thing to do. Not only should this assist with making sure you secure an appointment that’s right for you, it should also help reduce the number of patients waiting to be seen on a daily basis.

When you need a same day appointment but can’t get to the surgery and, your problem is of an urgent nature we’ll start off by putting you on the phone list to enable a clinician assess the right course of action; which could entail an afternoon appointment in Durrington. For situations which are, or have the potential to become, life threatening you should always call 999.

Regarding bookable appointments there’s no doubt that, in common with other practices, we face increased demand for our services. Whilst every effort is made to book you an appointment as quickly as possible, we ask that you assist with this process by giving careful consideration to your needs prior to contacting us. Quite oftenminor illnesses and injuries can best be treated by “Self Care”.

Self Care means keeping a well-stocked supply of basic items in your medicine cabinet at home; remembering that your local pharmacist is also an excellent source of help and advice. We will shortly be providing further information on this subject that’s been produced in association with our colleagues at other local practices. Please look out for this brightly coloured leaflet which is full of practical tips.

Between April 2017 and March this year 1255 appointments, 6.5 hours per weekwere lost due to patients who did not arrive for their consultation. As the pressure on health services continues to grow, it’s important that we all work together to achieve the best use of resources available to us. If you are unsure as to which type of appointment you may need, the Reception team are here to help.

Medication

Issues raised in this area principally fall into the following categories:

  • Medication not ready on time
  • Medication out of stock
  • Queries concerning non-payment
  • Issues with sending prescriptions to the chemist
  • Issues experienced at the chemist
  • Locations we can dispense to and those that we can’t

We trust we have resolved these queries on an individual basis. Ensuring that you give both ourselves and the chemist of your choice sufficient time to process your order is key to things not going wrong. If you are a new patient to the Practice, or have recently moved, please check with Reception that your details are recorded correctly on our system. We regret that no medication can leave the Practice without payment and it’s important that your exemption details are up-to-date in order to avoid the risk of a fine.

Our sincere apologies for problems that were caused by prescriptions not being processed as they should. These and related matters are being addressed as part of our ongoing training process.

Clinical Care

Specific details of concerns raised about clinical issues are private and are fully addressed with the individuals concerned according to Practice and statutory requirements.

Where issues arise, there may be a number of factors involved, including follow-up and referral, so when a concern is raised it may not directly relate to the clinical care provided.

If you need to raise a concern please write to our Practice Manager, Mrs Anna Morton, who will acknowledge your correspondence within 3 working days. Full details of our complaints procedure can be found on our website.

Procedures

Occasionally we receive feedback querying our procedures. As with any complaint the background to every concern is investigated in a timely and thorough manner. The Practice operates in line with strict governance which requires each procedure to be undertaken in accordance with established Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s). These are reviewed on an ongoing and/or annual basis to ensure they continue to be fit for purpose and relevant for the work we undertake. On occasion, Practice Management might also refer to footage from our CCTV in order to help establish the validity of a complaint.

Neighbourhood

Parking continues to be tricky at times, especially at Upavon. Areas outside the Practice boundaries are outside our control and both ourselves and the residents who live close to Upavon and Durrington surgeries, appreciate everyone’s efforts to be a good neighbour.

On-line & SMS Services

Since the same period last year on-line usage has increased to 26.1%. We’re glad you like using these services as not only do they benefit yourselves individually, they also impact on our capacity to help everyone else too. If there’s someone you know who’s not yet signed up, please encourage them to do so.

Communications

Overall it’s my impression, and I hope you agree, that communication between us all is pretty good. If occasionally it strays towards the negative in your view, do let us know. We do our best to be an approachable and friendly team, both as individuals and professionals, but if something just doesn’t seem right, please give us an opportunity to put it right.

There are various ways you can raise a concern (or provide some positive feedback), including speaking to a member of our team, sending an SMS, e-mail or letter, or leaving a comment on an appropriate website. As Patient Engagement Officer I’m also here to help, so do let me know if you think I can assist. For occasions when I’m not on duty, let a member of the reception team know and I’ll give you a call as soon as possible – if it matters to you, it matters to us.

Miscellaneous

Ooops. for the odd occasion when we’ve accidentally provided incorrect information about surgery opening hours we are genuinely sorry. We do not underestimate the impact and inconvenience this causes.

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So that concludes our latest review. On behalf of my colleagues and myself, we hope you find this report useful and don’t forget to let us have your feedback and suggestions to keep communication flowing.

Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback for 2017/18.

Kind regards

Kim Breaker

Patient Engagement Officer