Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire

Every year a questionnaire is given out to a random sample of patients attending the surgery in November. This year 272 of these were returned, a significant number which should give a true picture of our patients' feelings about the practice.

The picture from this year's survey is similar to last year. For a practice of our size we continue to perform ‘above average' on the questionnaire as a whole, but the issue of appointments and difficulty getting through on the telephone have again been raised as potential areas for improvement. We are trying very hard to find a happy medium between fulfilling the government's criteria of having appointments available within 48hrs and the need to balance this with more pre-bookable appointments for those who work, especially commuters.

Dr Aylward's retirement,       Dr Saint's maternity leave last year and  the fact that most of our doctors work part time in the practice makes it difficult to always see the doctor of your choice, but we were encouraged to see that there was increased satisfaction with consultations where a different clinician was consulted.

We have taken into account the comments made by those who completed the questionnaire and hope that you will begin to notice an improvement over the next few months.

Career Break

We are pleased to announce that      Dr Freeman gave birth to a little girl on Friday 2 March, her third child.  She has therefore decided to take a career break to raise her  young family.  She will be missed by all the patients and staff.  We wish her well.

GP Registrar

Dr Eap Soeng is currently with the Surgery as a GP Registrar.  GP Registrars are fully qualified doctors who wish to pursue a career in General Practice.  These doctors have several years of hospital based experience and then spend up to 18 months attached to us for their specialised training in General Practice.  They are able to provide all aspects of medical care and advice and are supported by all the Partners in this.

You may be asked to consent to your consultation being videoed.  This is for training purposes and the video is only seen by other doctors.  It is very helpful to discuss different illnesses and to learn good communication skills and consultation manner.  If you do not wish your consultation to be videoed, it will not affect your treatment in any way.

 

Change of Address or telephone number

Just a reminder: if you change your address or telephone number, please inform reception  As soon as possible.

Coughs and colds

It is important to know that most coughs and colds will get better on their own and that you can take simple measures to make them more bearable.  Even if catarrh or phlegm  is discoloured this is simply nature dealing with the infection.  It is best to avoid ANTIBIOTICS as we are worried more and more by their side effects and the development of super bugs.  Most of us get better with lots of fluids, Paracetamol for aches and pains, and in halations of Vicks or Friars Balsam dissolved in water.

Car Parking

We would like to remind everyone that there is additional parking across the road on the Health Centre site that our patients can use.  We would like to request that only Blue Badge users use the disabled bay at the front of the building, the rest of the bays at the front are reserved for doctors use only.  Please do not obstruct the doctors cars as they may need to leave urgently.

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