How would YOU improve YOUR GP surgery??

[unknownrebelbang]

A friend has been asked to join a patient forum at her GPs and is looking for suggestions.

What would YOU want?

What do you have at your surgery that works?

Any suggestions?

TIA

A commitment to same day appts for urgent cases is one of the best things about our gp surgery.

Where I work we have a nurse available on the phone in the mornings to deal with general medical advice and prescription queries or alterations from standard repeats. It's a well used service and the patients' certainly make good use of it.

We also have gp telephone consultations. I'd add well trained receptionists.

I have a 3 pont plant for improving my local surgery.

1: Sack the receptionists.
2: Sack them again just to make sure.
3: Hire bouncers so they aren't allowed contact with the priactice.

Maybe I'd sack them again.
I've worked with money brokers, builders, journalists, and men decorated for superior ability to kill people.
None are so rude and objectionable.

Ours has 'open surgery' every morning: turn up between 8.30 and 9.30 and you'll get to see a Dr before lunchtime. They do normal appointments in the afternoons.

Really good as you don't need to phone up and beg for an urgent slot - just go along and queue. You might not always see your own GP if there are too many people in the queue ahead of you.

Lovely receptionists - but it is a small town and the only practice here (5 GPs) so they all get to know you.

DC there is a solution to this problem. Have them change your name to Dr DC - they will then be in awe of you and be really nice to you. Seriously I did this and they almost fall over with obsequiousness these days

Believe it or not, I actually like their new telephone system where you get put on hold in a queue - better than getting the engaged tone and hitting redial over and over again.

I wish I could get an urgent appointment if I call in the afternoon - I've only ever tried this once and was patronised by the receptionist, but my child just wasn't actually ill in the morning, sorry if that's inconvenient!

Some sort of limited opening early in the morning, later in the evening or at a weekend would be good for me personally - I really need to talk contraception with my GP but keep putting it off because it means either taking DD on a non-work day, or taking time off work, neither of which I want to do.

I'd like them to get rid of the television.

I like the fish!

Sometimes I'd like them to get rid of most of the other patients, but then I realise it's quite nice to have confirmation in the waiting room that you are, by a long shot, NOT the shoutiest mother in the world.

our docs is brilliant.

2 walk in surgeries a day, appointemnts in the afternoon.

he does everything from opthamology to acupuncture to minor surgery.

his wife does a womens health clinic.

no receptionist

love him... when we move i'm tempeted to drive back here to use him anyway, lol!

My GP has a brilliant website too! Which answers all those pesky: when do you open and how do I get a repeat perscription questions.

I agree that the normally annoying phone system (Press 1 for...press 2 for....) actually works well at our surgery.

It used to be a nightmare getting through for an appt (constantly engaged and you'd spend all morning hitting re-dial), now you get through to the menu, press 1 and you're in a queue that tells you how many people are in front of you. If you phone for any other reason (eg. repeat prescription )you Press 3 (or whatever it says on the menu) and get straight through.

my gp's surgery is wonderful
there is notheing abouti t i would change. except perhaps i wish they would put a coil in for me, but they wont do that as they are very religious. they will prescribe the pill, but i dont want the pill.

Ours operates a drop-in surgery in the mornings and appointments in the afternoons. It's great as you can definately see a dr if you're there between 8.30 and 10.00 or you can make an appointment. And 1 dr is on duty up til 6pm every week night so dh can go without having to leave work really early.

The only thing I don't like is that, if you're going to the HV, you have to wait in reception, not the waiting room. Imagine that on a hot Tuesday afternoon, 12 mothers and babies, 10 in car seats, in a space the size of most public toilet closets But if you go into the waiting room you miss your turn!

Hire a hit man for the receptionist! Honestly she brings superiority complex to a whole new level.

Things that work well at our surgery:

• Friendly and helpful receptionists

• Excellent website where you can also send in repeat prescription requests via e-mail

• Pharmacy on site so no faffing around looking for a pharmacy that's still open

• Same-day appointments

• Emergency appointments available, eg if your child is suddenly very ill in the middle of the afternoon you can phone up and take them in.

I agree drop in clinics are fabulous.
At ours the great thing is the fact that a practice nurse on reception, who decides if it is worth seeing the GP for, or if you can be assesed by a practice nurse first. I'm sure this frees up appointments, and they are very thorough so if it something that the nurse deems a GP neccesary for, she calls him in, but most of the time it is just advice that anyone could have gotten from nhS direct etc.

Some great ideas here, thanks.

In defence of receptionists, those at our surgery are very good!

At the risk of being stoned for being a GP Receptionist , there are grumpy people working in places other than GP surgeries. The difference in our jobs is that we are not always telling people what they want to hear or giving them what they want when they want it and believe you me by the end of a shift having been shouted at by grumpy patients, patience can wear a little thin. It is the Doctors that decide how many appointments are on offer and when or if they will speak to a patient on the phone. The Receptionist simply has to pass on the good/bad news.

Receptionists accept that patients are sometimes rude and aggressive. That comes with the job. We understand that people are ill and parents are worried about their children and when they are not given what they want when they want it they take their grievance out on us and when they get into to see the GP they are as nice as pie.

The NHS pays Receptionists a pittance and it is very hard to attract 'good' staff. Occasionally one happens along, like myself, who took the job because it fits in around school hours and is local. The majority of staff who apply where I work are youngsters with no life experience (which does help immesurably), poor work ethics, and no people skills.

Believe me we would like nothing better than to say 'yes' to every patients request. Our day would be much easier.

We have a patient's forum and their ideas for improved services are often tried out.

wot no stoning??

Any more suggestions?

nice receptionists, sorry weebles, wish you worked at ours!
i would like to be able to get thru ont he phone before all the emergency appts are taken.... to avoid this i hike down to the surgery with sick lo in pram and stalk outside the door until 8.45 - to ensure an appt,, nightmare as i have no car and no bus to get me there. hrumpph

Some surgeries are obviously still in the dark ages.

I like my surgery..

Phone before 9am and you will be seen before 12 that day by one of the three docs.

2 Baby/young child clinics a week where you can see a nurse, doctor or HV.

Nice receptionists who will amuse your child if you need to go up on the couch .

Could do with new mags and a better selection of kids books and toys, hate to see dirty toys with missing bits, get big chunky little tikes stuff with no bits to get nicked and keep it clean.

Thanks everyone.

Any more before I compile a list for my friend?

The attitude of all that work there.

Does that include the gp?