Friends and Family Feedback – March 2025

We’ve received the Family and Friends Test (FFT) feedback for March 2025, and we’re delighted to share the results! A fantastic 330 of you took the time to provide your valuable feedback, and we’re so proud that an amazing 95% of respondents rated our service as either “very good” or “good”!

Here is a summary of the patient feedback, with a sample of positive highlights and a number of areas for improvement:

Positive Themes

• Positive Interactions with Staff: Many patients praised the kindness, helpfulness, and professionalism of the doctors, nurses, and reception staff. They felt listened to, well-cared for, and respected.  
• Efficiency and Thoroughness: Several patients highlighted the efficiency of the service and the thoroughness of consultations. They appreciated prompt appointments and clear explanations of their conditions and treatment plans.  
• Effective Communication: Some feedback indicated clear and effective communication, with patients feeling well-informed and understanding of their treatment.  

Areas for Improvement

• Appointment Access and Waiting Times: A number of comments mentioned difficulties in booking appointments, long waiting times for appointments, and delays in receiving telephone calls.  
• Telephone Consultation Issues: Several patients expressed a preference for face-to-face appointments and raised concerns about the effectiveness of telephone consultations, including communication.  
• Continuity and Consistency of Care: Some patients voiced a desire for more continuity of care, such as seeing the same GP consistently, and issues with follow-up and coordination of care.  

Final Thoughts

We understand that waiting times for GP appointments can sometimes be longer than we’d all prefer. This is often due to the high demand for our services and the complexity of healthcare needs we address. However, we’re also very proud to be able to offer a high number of same-day appointments for urgent medical needs. This means that when you require prompt attention, we strive to be there for you. Additionally, we work hard to keep waiting times for routine appointments to around, and often below, two weeks, ensuring that you can plan your healthcare needs with reasonable timeframes. We are constantly working to balance accessibility with the need to provide thorough and quality care to everyone.

We recognise that while telephone consultations offer convenience and efficiency, many of you prefer the personal connection of face-to-face appointments. We also acknowledge that telephone communication can sometimes present challenges. Currently, around 50% of our available appointments are offered as face-to-face consultations, with the remainder being a combination of telephone, home visit, and digital options. Your preference is important to us, so if you are offered a telephone appointment but would prefer a face-to-face consultation, for any reason, please do request this. Our team will always do their best to accommodate your needs

We know it’s important to see a familiar GP or healthcare professional for consistent care and trust. We’re working to make this easier by helping you see your usual doctor when possible, improving communication between our team, and ensuring smooth follow-up and joined-up care, especially for ongoing health needs. Although we appreciate that seeing the same GP can be helpful, our practice works as a team. This allows us to offer a wider range of appointments and expertise. While we’ll always try to accommodate requests to see a specific doctor, it may not always be feasible due to their workload and availability

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to provide feedback. We truly value your input, as it helps us understand what we’re doing well and where we can make things even better. We’re delighted that so many of you shared your experiences, and we’re committed to using your feedback to enhance your care.