SHP - Haslucks Green Medical Centre

My daughter was born on the 19th August, she started to develop some yellow discharge in one of her eyes, but she had no other symptoms. My midwives didn’t seem concerned and advised to bathe in cool boiled water, and if it didn’t go away, then to contact my GP. A few weeks later it still hadn’t gone, so thought it best to get checked out.

My first challenge was to get her registered at the doctors. Without being able to go to the surgery I had to complete an online form, with very little guidance. I was being asked to provide proof of ID on the form, my child was 3 weeks old, she had no ID or utility bill. I chanced it and submitted it with nothing attached and I waited to hear from them.

By the following Wednesday, I was fed up of waiting, so I submitted an online consult form under my own name. At which point the practice said I needed to do it under my daughter’s name, to which I responded, that I had no idea if she was registered. They checked and she was, and they apologised for not letting me know. I resubmitted a form under my daughter’s name and was subsequently told I would receive a call on the Friday morning.

I finally received a call at 6pm on the Friday evening, we discussed the issue and I submitted a picture via text. At this point the doctor said she thought it would be ok to wait until the Monday to see my daughter face to face, and booked in an appointment. She did say she wanted to double check with a paediatric specialist. I then received another call at 7.30pm, saying that the specialist had advised my daughter needs to be seen urgently. And as the surgery was now closed, that I would have to take my daughter to A&E. I asked if it had to be Birmingham children’s hospital, and the doctor said ideally but if I had to I could take her to Solihull.

As you can imagine at this point, I was quite frustrated and upset. I could not understand why I was in this situation at 7.30pm at night, with the prospect of having to take my newborn baby to A&E immediately. I asked why I had not been called in the morning when I should have been, and the doctor said she had called several times. I had however not received any missed calls or voicemails to that effect. I had no choice but to go to A&E, as if a doctor says your newborn needs immediate attention, you do whatever you have to do.

I made my way to Solihull hospital, only to find out it is closed. So then went to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where I had to wait several hours, to see a doctor who then proceeded to tell me that he had no idea why we had been sent. In the process putting both myself and my newborn baby at risk unnecessarily, at the height of the pandemic.

If only they had called me in the morning when they said they would. If only they had prioritised vulnerable people for appointments. If only they had seen us for a face to face appointment. And if only they had known about the availability of services in their local area…my upsetting and stressful experience could have been completely avoided.

I cannot believe how shocking the experience of trying to contact the GP has become. I used to be happy with the service I received from Haslucks Green Medical Centre - easy online booking system and I was usually able to get through on the phone in 10-15 minutes maximum. Since the merger with SHP it has been nothing short of abysmal. My husband spent 2 and a half hours on the phone today, including being cut off and being sent from one queue to another. He totalled 96 people in the queue in front of him. Luckily he is working from home at the moment so he was able to continue working whilst waiting in the queue, this would not be possible for many people, including myself as a teacher. Something has got to be done, it cannot continue in this way.

My father who is 80 called to get an appointment as he needed to see a doctor. He was position 28 in the queue. 35 minutes later when he got through they advised him they needed to transfer him and in the process cut him off! He then gave up all very stressed by the experience. I called then on his behalf the following week because I knew he had to see a doctor. I waited 25 minutes, position 18 in the queue. When I got through they needed to transfer me again and told me I wouldn’t get cut off and it wasn’t very busy so I wouldn’t wait long! When I got through I was position 48 in the queue, can you imagine how I felt? I gave up and tried to book him an appointment on line. He is 80, how can the elder generation cope with this..? He can’t even use online facilities.

The current service is totally unacceptable, quite frankly it is a disgrace. They have taken decisions how best to serve the community without consulting the patients (customers) or understanding the needs of these. The surgery as I have now discovered has been switched to a Mum and Baby unit. There are older patients in the borough who cannot drive and it is almost impossible to get to the Monkspath clinic by public transport and not surprisingly will not take Taxis. Therefore without imposing on neighbours they can not get a personal consultation, if you can even get one.

It feels that the doctors have retreated behind a barricade, where you shall not get through unless you are deaths door and quite frankly that is unlikely from my experience of an older neighbour who couldn't get to see a doctor properly and did die. Whether it was incurable or not from the beginning I do not know, but she did end up dying from cancer. I'm sure the practice feels it is doing its best, but that is not how the community (its customers) feel. We feel we have we been abandoned. I have complained to the practice about a number of issues, which have been ultimately resolved but i should not have had to do that.

I have taken up with local councillors who tell me they are powerless to do anything as they have no say in what happens and refer me to my local MP.

Whilst I understand their situation, the local MP has no more power to sort the issue.

So how do we make a local service accountable to the public (customers) it serves?

The current approach does not serve the patient (customer) and is Ivory Tower. they know best and the patient (customer) has no say it what is right for them.

We have local surgeries for a reason. Shutting them down, making patients (customers) queue for an hour in a call waiting system, if you can even get in a queue are not the way to TREAT patients (customers), making it so difficult to get a consultation or even a service such as a PSA Test that patients give up, are unacceptable.

Haslucks medical was brilliant - easy to get an appointment, easy to speak to someone. Now it’s horrendous - I’ve been trying for weeks to arrange a repeat prescription - not a complex task, but as a teacher I can’t afford to be on hold for hrs. I dread to think what I’d do of myself or daughter needed an urgent appointment. Its downright unacceptable to provide substandard medical care at this time

Extremely hard to get appointments, several times given up trying to see a doctor when one should of been seen. The old practice and original system meant you could walk to the surgery. The new system you often have to jump in the car to get to an unfamiliar practice.

Never had an issue with actual care provided. Found team helpful, and nurse put me on a list and called at specified time to book in babies injections rather than me having to queue again. Found reception team poor pre lockdown - didn’t know difference between MATB1 form and FW8, struggled to give me details to set up online appointments, still to do this day do t have my kids set up. Phone system has been a nightmare since joining SHP, but staff always friendly and helpful when I have got through but clearly under pressure. Management delusional if they think it has improved, they just have someone answer before putting you in the long queue now, but phone waits still up to an hour. Overheard reception staff chatting during an appointment saying they were being made to work new shift patterns, 8am-2pm or 2pm-8pm with no breaks and that they weren’t happy about it, including weekends.

In sept rang the surgery for 3 days phone line kept saying lines at full capacity ring back later by day 3 ended up being whisked away in an ambulance!!

Called today on hold 4 mins spoke to call handler who then put me through to another line then waited 59 mins before I spoke to care advisor

Joining a super surgery is the worst thing that has ever happened to this surgery. Before this the GPS were great sometimes await to get an appointment but you could see your own GP. Now with covid and the merger I have managed to speak to a GP who has even met me before 3 times how can someone who doesn’t know you can’t see you offer proper care. I currently feel terrible but it has got to the stage I don’t feel I am getting any care so why should I phone. This week it has taken 4 days phoning to get through to make an appointment for a blood test. It took so long waiting my battery died. Despite serious health issues, covid, what makes me feel so depressed is knowing how stressed I feel at the thought of trying to contact GP for help with my health. Appalling.