SHP - Monkspath Surgery

Can't get through on phone or end up being on average caller number 55 or 33 etc. Do prescription on line go to pharmacy 5 days later & they have not received it! 3 times in a row now! Have to go back to surgery to sort each time you get we haven't got it WELL THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE SYSTEM THEN. As it shows my end. Everything takes to long used to be OK until they all got together creating SHP! PLEASE DISBAND AND PUT IT BACK AS WAS, SHP DOES NOT WORK.
Went to surgery yesterday to ask where my prescription is just 1 girl there doing everything Ridiculous! I gave 1 star it should be none.

Waiting time to get through is just unacceptable- up to an hour on last 3 calls. No issue with medical help when through but this is a major barrier and needs fixing. So pleased my calls weren’t urgent and I’m able to hold on so long, others won’t be in same position. First line response critical - and the feedback/complaints option on the shp website doesn’t work, assume done purposely?

This is an email I sent to SHP. So far no response, not even an acknowledgement beyond and automated reply.

On Wednesday, 4 November 2020, admin.shp@nhs.net wrote:

To SHP Leadership

I would like to complain about the difficulty I am having with what should be a straightforward procedure.
I h ave recently been diagnosed with MND and require blood tests once a month. There have been a number of issues :

1. When I first tried to arrange a blood test via SHP I was told you couldn’t do them and they needed to be arranged through the hospital. I had to get my Specialist Nurse involved despite SHP having all of the information regarding the shared care plan. I then had to phone SHP again and was finally successful in booking an appointment. This is not straightforward as you know. Firstly I have to phone the call centre, wait in a queue for 40 minutes only to be transferred to another “navigation” queue. Another 40 minute wait.

2. I assumed that as I need these test monthly I would be able to book my next appointment when I had my bloods taken. Apparently not. The nurse was very apologetic but explained that she could only book 3 weeks in advance! I would have to go via the call centre each time.

3. I therefore decided to use the secure form request on the web site. I filled in the details and today received a text message from Dr Simon Green with a link to a blood test form. It explained that you have a phlebotomy clinic at Monkspath ( I was aware of that) and to contact reception ! No contact details were provided and so it was back to the call centre queue. The woman who took my call had no idea why I had been asked to contact reception and said it was a “miss communication”. She then transferred me to navigation. Another queue and finally I can book an appointment.

I do not think it unreasonable for me to be able to book repeat appointments without the need to go through this lengthy and frustrating process each time. All I would like to do is when I have a blood test to be booked in for my next appointment in 4 or 5 weeks time. Instead I am faced with a ridiculous system which requires me to wait in 2 queues each time.

Please can you look at what can be done to bring about an improvement. Your answer service makes reference to callers getting aggressive with staff. While I agree this is not acceptable it suggests very strongly that there are serious problems at SHP which need to be addressed.

Regards

Antony Lloyd

Have tried on and off for weeks to make an appointment for a new problem. Not been able to get through, and i just don't have time to wait 30-60 minutes. I presume they have merged because they want to increase practice profits, but this is the worst accessibility issue i have experienced

Trying to arrange an apt for my mom ,,with hearing problems 45 min waiting ,the elderly are being discriminated due to lack of technology

You call.. You're number 39 in the queue.. You wait.. You speak to operator who then puts you through to appointments.. Another 40bin the queue.. Total time holding approx 2 hours.. Frustrating to say the least!

Waited over an hour to get through to a call handler only to be put into another queue. I as number 67 so gave up. Tried to book an asthma and medication review via online form. Was told I would get a phone appointment it never happened. I have finally got an asthma review booked 7 weeks after requesting! I dread to think how people who need to be seen urgently are coping with this service. I have avoided contacting my doctors now as it seems pointless and too complicated.

Last week waited over an hour to try and make an appointment; you wait to speak to a switchboard and then get put through to the care team which takes ages so don’t believe the claims that calls are taking less time. The initial one maybe, but then you have to wait even longer to speak to the ‘care team’ . This was to make an appointment for an asthma review. No appointment available, told I would get a call which never came so called again online today to be told no appointments available till December. No wonder A&E departments are not used properly it’s due to frustration at being unable to see a GP !

Prior to all surgeries merging you would have to wait 10 mins max in the phone queue. Now it is usually 60-90 mins with a switchboard transfer in between (so essentially two queues). 55,000 patients have been bottle necked into one phone system which is quite clearly understaffed. Rather than individual surgeries dealing with their own patients, as was the case before the merger.

SHP are applying a business model more akin to a private profit orientated company than a vital tax funded public service.

Very worrying for the community. Never experienced this in my lifetime.

You can no longer book an appointment,
Since the group was created patient care has dropped, you can never see your GP of choice instead having to speak on the phone only to anyone - often hard if a personal issue and most of the surgeries are closed and no longer seeing patients.