Nine out of 10 patients can’t get through to ‘worst’ surgery
THE country’s worst GP surgery has been revealed as a practice where nine in 10 patients struggle to get through to a receptionist on the phone.
The new analysis of every GP practice in England shows that Church Lane Surgery in Braintree, Essex, fares worst for “overall experience”. In total, 45.3 per cent of patients polled described it as poor.
The same surgery is also ranked worst for getting through on the phone, with 92.6 per cent saying it was not easy to get hold of a receptionist.
On the national NHS website a recent review of the Essex practice says: “If you are lucky enough to get through on the phone and by some miracle get an appointment, you will undoubtedly be met by rude receptionists, long waits and uninterested and usually patronising doctors – not what is needed when feeling unwell and vulnerable.” Another patient, who says the surgery is “not fit for purpose”, said they have been unable to get an appointment for more than a year.
On its own website, the practice, which has been run by Virgin Care since 2016, says it is “committed to improving your surgery”.
The company said: “We took on the running of Church Lane as a very busy, challenged practice two years ago and have been working hard to make improvements. The satisfaction survey was conducted more than six months ago and we have made many improvements since then, including improving the telephone system.
“In February, calls were answered within an average of 10 minutes and this has now been reduced to an average of three minutes.”
The research from more than 700,000 patients reveals the areas where people face the longest wait to see a GP – and the places where it is hardest to get through to a receptionist on the phone.
The Royal College of GPS said family doctors were under “unprecedented” pressure and “striving to do our best in difficult circumstances”.
Kingshurst Medical Practice in Solihull got the second worst ranking for patient experience, with 42 per cent saying it was poor, while 38.5 per cent of those polled at Stockwell Lodge Medical Centre in Broxbourne, Herts, deemed it poor.
These compared with an average figure of 6 per cent across the country.
A spokesman for Kingshurst Medical Practice said the practice had been inherited “in a very difficult situation and it required significant modernisation. These changes do take time to make and take even longer to embed”.
Across the country, 29.7 per cent of those polled said they struggled to get through on the phone – a rise from 18.6 per cent in 2012.
Patients are most likely to face a long wait to see a doctor at Princes Park Medical Centre in Medway, Kent.
In total, 68.7 per cent of patients here wait at least a week for an appointment, the data shows.
A spokesman for the practice said: “Urgent appointments are available on a daily basis and we advise patients to ring when the surgery opens to book one. If they are unable to get an urgent appointment we will offer them a callback from the GP that day. We also offer advance appointments for nonurgent health matters and these can be booked up to six weeks in advance.”
Across the country, 23.8 per cent of patients wait at least a week for an appointment – a rise from 12.8 per cent six years ago, the statistics show. This year, for the first time, patients aged 16 and 17 were included in the polling.
Next week, the Royal College of GPS’ annual conference in Glasgow will hear concerns that widespread shortages of GPS are increasingly damaging patient care.
Its estimates suggest that more than 2.5 million patients could see their practice close in the next five years as rising numbers of GPS take early retirement or go part-time.