SH

Simon H. one year ago • From Google

Rating

Average

Communication and organisation have finally improved

Over the past year or so, I have noticed a considerable improvement at the surgery in terms of how things are communicated and organised. It appears that someone has taken decisive action to implement changes, though it is possible I have simply been fortunate in my experience. The difficult experiences I encountered previously are no longer occurring, and I hope this positive trend will be sustained. The following reflects my experience from an earlier period: I felt compelled to reduce my rating from 2 to 1, though at that time I believed a zero would have been more fitting. I spent 70 minutes waiting on hold and managed to reach 8th position in the queue, which seemed promising at first, only to have the call disconnected after what would have been another hour of waiting. This led me to consider finding an alternative surgery, as the situation felt genuinely frustrating. While I recognise that surgeries are busy and everyone has demands on their time, the standard of communication and service handling clearly needed significant improvement. This was part of a broader pattern of concerns. The systems in place appeared to be designed primarily for the surgery's convenience rather than with patients' needs in mind. I recognise that the NHS faces considerable challenges and I am not optimistic about improvement in the foreseeable future. I assume other surgeries are experiencing similar difficulties, but the recurring issues with communication have been disheartening. On multiple occasions, when I managed to get through the constant engaged signal and join a queue, the call would disconnect after around 20 minutes. This occurred repeatedly on a single morning, prompting me to contact an alternative service instead, only to be directed back to the GP. The telephone system and how it was being managed appeared to have created substantial difficulties, as evidenced by similar complaints visible on social media. It seems there may be limited solutions within the current framework, which has led me to explore private options on several occasions.

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