Dear Valued Patients,
We hope this letter finds you well. Your feedback is of utmost importance to us, and we extend our sincerest apologies for the experiences you encountered during your recent visits to our facility. Please allow us the opportunity to address the concerns raised:
1. Appointment Booking and Timeliness:
“Booking system was long and difficult to get an appointment- tool over 25mins to get a phone appointment. Doctor did not ring in the timescale given.”
We deeply regret the inconvenience caused by the prolonged wait for an appointment and the delay in receiving a call from your doctor within the stipulated time. We are actively reviewing our booking system to ensure a more efficient process and are implementing measures to maintain timely consultations.
2. Support for Patients Facing Grief:
“Staff on reception and young doctors need better training on how to care for women who have had babies who have died. Sarah, the nurse, cared for me when she saw me crying in the corridor. She was wonderful and asked about my baby. She brought me some water and checked how long the doctor would be. Offer ladies who asked if there is somewhere else they can wait a quiet place to wait rather than in the waiting room with babies. Don’t refer to a baby that has been born before 24 weeks as a miscarriage (I realise ‘late miscarriage’ is the term used but for a woman who has gone through labour and given birth to her baby, however small, this term causes upset and frustration. Ask about the baby’s name.”
We are grateful for the kind words about Sarah, our nurse, who displayed compassion and support during a difficult time. We are taking steps to enhance our staff training to provide more empathetic care for women who have faced such heartbreaking situations. We acknowledge the sensitivity required in these circumstances and commit to improving our approach to support patients better.
3. Consultation Experience and Attitude:
“Appointment 30+ mins late, and not impressed with the consultantion with a wishy washy suggestion of the diagnosis but to cme back in 2 weeks if still an issue and attitude of the doctor when I asked if it as OK to drink alcohol with the antibiotics I was prescribed.”
We apologise for the delay in your appointment and the unsatisfactory consultation experience with the consultant. Your concerns about the diagnosis clarity and the doctor's attitude towards your queries are being thoroughly reviewed. We are working on enhancing our services to ensure more comprehensive consultations and improved patient-doctor communication.
4. Blood Drawing Procedure:
“4 attempts at taking bloods which the following nurse managed in 1 attempt.”
We deeply regret the inconvenience caused during the blood collection process and acknowledge the disparity in the efficiency of our procedures. We are re-evaluating our training protocols for our nursing staff to enhance their proficiency in these procedures to prevent such occurrences in the future.
5. Unpleasant Appointment Experience:
“It was my first appointment in pregnancy , it is already late you guys gave me super late appointment and when i reached there nurse told me it will be of only 30 minutes i was shocked why she replied because who ever booked you in is a stupid person and your nurse is already on vacations . So in 30 minutes she fill my notes half and told me that you have to book appoinment again and have to come again some day. Pathethic irresponsible practice”
We are deeply troubled by the distressing experience you had during your appointment. Your feedback about the scheduling, communication, and handling of your appointment has been taken seriously. We are committed to ensuring such incidents do not recur and are reviewing our appointment scheduling practices to prevent such misunderstandings.
6. Unmet Formal Complaint Resolution:
“Waited all day for Practice Manager to call, to put in a formal complaint. No phone call.”
We apologise for the frustration caused by the unfulfilled expectation of a call from our Practice Manager to address your formal complaint. Managers are very busy and cannot address every patient who wants to complain on the day they want to complain. Staff are trained to take the contact information and pass this onto a Manager who will call when they have the time and it is appropriate. Please know in the future that if you demand to speak to a manager on the day, you will not be able to do that. However, if you submit your contact information, a call will be made within a week. Hopefully with these adjusted expectations you will not experience this frustration in the future.
Thank you for your understanding and for entrusting us with your care. We are committed to learning from this feedback and ensuring a positive experience for all our patients.
Warm regards,
Doctors & Staff at Heald Green Health Centre
