SHP - Shirley Medical Centre

I have waited for over an hour on the phone to the surgery but I’ve also waited only minutes . I have experienced extremely helpful receptionists who have gone above and beyond but also really rude receptionists who clearly don’t enjoy their job. However- when I do finally get to speak with a DR they are great! Especially those from Monkspath Surgery. Thorough. Professional. Reassuring.
Such a shame that’s it’s such a negative experience actually getting an appointment with them , on the phone or otherwise.

Very long wait on a phoneline and difficult to get an appointment. In most cases I dont bother anymore.

I have to contact the surgery on behalf of my elderly parent and dread having to make contact as it invariably involves a very protracted call of up to an hour holding the line (completely impractical when I am employed).
I admire how the staff have coped, but the 'system' is inadequate and time consuming from my experience.
Staff are very pleasant when you eventually get through, but you need dogged determination and a clear diary - I wouldn't want to do it if I were ill!

Since the formation of SHP, contacting the surgery for appointments/prescription queries has become an ordeal - can't get through to a receptionist, can't book appointments in advance, can't see preferred GP for continuity of care. Once obtaining an appointment the clinical team is great, but really really let down by inefficient and frustrating administrative practices including delayed referrals to secondary care.

Inadequate phone system and now online access for medical enquiries has been unavailable since 26/3/21. More pressure now on phone lines means you can’t actually get in the queue to be the 50th caller. If you are lucky enough to be able to get in the queue, you are on hold for at least 30-45 minutes and that’s just the first queue!

Once in the system, it’s painful. Eg Text message from GP to ring up for routine appointment to discuss results. 25 minutes on phone holding before being told no routine spots available and to ring again at 8:00am the next day or to ring after 2:30 pm to see if the routine appointments are available for 2 weeks time. It would make more sense for GP to send text with appointment time.
In 21st century, this is NOT a 21st century service; it’s gone backwards.

Since the surgeries have become part of the partnership (SHP) I have experienced ridiculous wait times on hold to get through to the surgery on the telephone and if there are more than 50 in already in "the queue" you are now simply unable to hold and have to try later! Early in the pandemic it was worse (I once waited almost 2 hours) the latest this week (March 2021) it was only a 49 minute wait after 3 tries!

The online system is difficult to navigate and unpredictable, meaning telephoning is sometimes the only choice (no online contact available at all this week, hence having to call). Goodness knows how the elderly get on!

Usually, once actually in contact, the surgery staff and doctors have been great but after having a telephone consultation in early December (9th) with the doctor concluding I needed an urgent referral, then discovering on chasing up that the referral wasn't even processed until 31st December I can no longer trust this surgery. That is NOT an urgent referral by anyone's standards!

Shirley Medical Centre, before SHP took over was phenomenal. I felt so lucky to have such an amazing GP surgery. Communication was excellent, the range of services was vast including minor surgery that prevented a lengthy wait to be seen in hospital. I couldn’t praise the medical and non medical team enough.

But since they became a part of SHP it’s been a totally different experience. Even making allowances for COVID the elongated telephone system, lack of online communication and confusion around which surgeries are available for what has meant I have a total lack of confidence in the way the service is being delivered. On the rare occasion I have been allowed to speak to a doctor then their response has been excellent.

I had a text saying I had to book my covid vaccination at a certain practice, I had moved house not long before this and was not living near this practice so ignored the text until I could update my address and book in. A few days after the text I got a call from SHP asking why I have not booked my vaccine. I explained I’d moved and the woman I spoke to was so rude on the phone her tone of voice when she was speaking to me was like she was spitting her words at me. She also tried to lie and say I HAD to have the vaccine and when I called her out on it and asked if it was mandatory she firstly ignored me and changed the subject and then when I asked a second time she stammered and said well no you do have a choice. We left it as I was supposed to call the surgery back to change my address and book my vaccine. When I called back it took me 40 minutes to get through to which I was then told that no they can’t change my address over the phone and I have to email someone to do it with proof of address, and that they also couldn’t book vaccines over the phone and I had to phone the Covid vaccine hotline or go online. So whoever first phoned me had given me all the wrong information alongside being rude and speaking to me like I was something on the bottom of her shoe. I attempted to book my vaccine through the online portal I was signposted to but this was only for mass vaccination centres and not local surgeries so I tried to call them and after being on hold and getting hung up on I eventually had to go into SHP who booked me into the original doctors surgery they had sent me a text for (as apparently they couldn’t book it anywhere else) so what I had been told over the phone about them not being able to book Covid vaccines was again a lie.

Made an appointment online and was seen within 48hrs for a non urgent issue. Dr Patel is a great doctor who does the best for patients.....

You can spend hours on the phone just to speak to the receptionist. You never ever speak to the same doctor twice, the care is really impersonal and it's impossible to see a doctor in person. I dread the day my child is ever ill. I moved over from GPS as their receptionists are awful and service was going downhill over the years, but at least you could book online and had regular doctors with GPS. SHP have taken the crown for bad service, although when you do finally speak to a receptionist they are very pleasant in my experience. I just can't understand why after a year dealing with the pandemic they haven't put better procedures in place to ensure they are carrying out their duty of care to patients and actually seeing patients.