Friends & Family Test Results- July 2024

Posted by: justin.nicholas - Posted on:

The NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) was created to help understand whether patients are happy with the service provided, or where improvements are needed.

Willow Practice appreciate any feedback and so have begun sending links to any patient who has completed a consultation with a clinician within the previous week to allow them to submit their thoughts. These are sent via email to patients who have a verified email address or via text message if they do not. As any responses are anonymous, we thought it was an idea to update patients here.

Please see recent overall scores and select examples of patient responses from ‘Very Good’ to ‘Very Poor’ with responses from the practice where appropriate and able.

Recent Scores Overall (July 2024):

  • Positive (Very Good or Good) 92%
  • Neutral: 4%
  • Negative (Poor or Very Poor): 3%
  • Based upon 143 responses received

Positive Responses (a selection)

  • “Since moving to the practice I have found from reception staff , nurses and Doctors to be some of the most professional medical staff ever From first visits to test in house or hospital”
  • “Friendly, always help, letting me know when my app is, reminder. Very happy with the way we are treated. Will practice goes beyond all this.”
  • “Just the perfect match of GP, palliative care and other support.”
  • “Thank you very much for everything you have done to me and my family. Family with Willow practice for ever. Thank you very much”
  • “Used Systmonline to book an appointment, Received an extremely prompt reply and all worked perfectly”
  • “Your receptionist was very understanding and slotted us into an appointment at short notice,
  • “They look after me very well and then some ..”
  • “Very nice staff”
  • “10 out 10”
  • “Because I have experienced outstanding service. I think you are great!”
  • “I always had full support from all the Willow staff. I have no words enough to express my gratitude for all of them and for my GP, doctor Madeline Baum. With my health condition and my job, without their support, I could be lost and I mean it.”
  • “I was able to get an appointment on line and the morning when I arrived I was able to use the check in monitor instead of having to wait in line. Also I only had wait two minutes before being seen by the doctor.”
  • “Doctor Mandy Baum took care of my health problems and gave me her time to listen what I am saying. As well she explained using simple language which is easier to understand.”
  • “Sensible, friendly doctor. Mandy works tirelessly to keep me going!”
  • “Always friendly atmosphere”
  • “I always appreciate the relationships between doctor and patient at this practice and have complete trust in the doctors. I always appreciate the option to have a face-to-face appt. or one in person. I have heard from colleagues that this isn’t the case in other practices. Also, I appreciate the online access to the practice for prescriptions. I had cancer last year and could not fault my post- op treatment -mostly how they fit me into an appt. when it felt to me like an emergency ( and might not have been in actuality). My husband goes elsewhere and is quite unhappy.”
  • “Appts available with a reasonable waiting time. Team is well coordinated”
  • “As always when I or my children see a GP at Willow Practice, I feel my concerns are listened to and leave feeling reassured.”
  • “Dr Mandy Baum is absolutely brilliant, during the difficult time over COVID, she still helped me to get specialist that I needed.”
  • “I travel a lot with my job. Without all the Willow Practice team support, and dr. Madeline Baum support as well, I couldn’t maintain my health very well. Always very polite, efficient and professional. God bless you all!”
  • “Writing to my GP was easy and simple. I got a reply same day, during the weekend.”
  • “Help and support you got when you’re not very well. The surgery is always helpful and friendly.”
  • “I saw Hannah who was fantastic, she contacted me following my online request and was clear about what was happening and what would come next. She referred me and I was seen quickly, and she forwarded me further information to update me.”
  • “All staff from reception to nurse/Dr as excellent. They are welcoming, friendly and always ready to help with any questions you may have.”
  • “Excellent care. Very thorough”
  • “I called at 11am and was given an appointment for my son for an hour later. The doctor we saw was wonderful and reassured us, as he had been worried about his breathing. So we couldn’t have asked for any better.”
  • “Dr Sophie Knight is a superstar, she’s been helping me a lot with my health issues. Dr Sophie takes her time to examine and answer any questions with a lot of professionalism and kindness, she welcomes her patients with a great smile and humour and brightens anyone’s day. I am very happy to have her as a doctor, my preferred doctor without a doubt.”
  • “I am extremely happy with the service”
  • “Had no problem getting appointments”
  • “A real joy to be part of the patient/practice. All the colleagues, doctors and nurses are friendly and helpful.”
  • “Lovely polite and caring admin staff. Maswell Park Surgery is an asset for Hounslow.”
  • “The practice’s commitment to patient care was evident in every interaction, from the
    friendly administrative staff to the knowledgeable and empathetic medical professionals. This experience left me feeling valued and well-cared for, reinforcing my trust in the healthcare”
  • “Moving to Willow Practice has been a very good move for me. I really appreciate the attentive, prompt, efficient and caring service.”
  • “I raised a medical issue via your online consultation tool. The practice responded very quickly and was seen the same day by a doctor. The doctor examined me and decided to order an ultrasound test. Very efficient. I used the automatic check in at the practice which was efficient too. I didn’t have to bother your busy receptionist.”
  • “Willow Practice is the envy of many of my friends especially those who live in North e.g. Yorkshire & Middlesbrough.
    I have been with this surgery for over 40years and have seen many changes. I accept that nothing in life is always perfect but feel very fortunate to have such a caring, professional, forward thinking Practice on my doorstep.”
  • “I am completely happy with the treatment my wife and I have received ever since we joined this practice”
  • “The service is excellent even the Reception ladies are helpful booking appointments. Thank you willow Patrice for your kind support since 1991.”
  • “Reception very helpful and pleasant .”
  • “Overall I feel that the staff and doctors are very helpful, I appreciate that they are busy are working under pressure.”
  • “I am pleased that there has been a change of receptionists and find the willow practice ladies very accommodating and helpful.”
  • “I got to see Dr Knight who was incredible.”
  • As ever, thank you to all of the patients who supplied such positive responses! It really does help the team, as a whole to continue to strive to provide the very best service to our patients.

Neutral Responses (a selection)

  • “I’ve chosen my answer because I struggle with the new online facilities. I am sure it will get better over time. The new format is okay to navigate, but it still needs to be more useable and friendly, particularly for those with special needs. The IT specialist you use, needs to see things more from SEN user perspective.
    When I call the practice by phone, I am greeted with a very lengthy automated message. Again, it is people with special needs who find it hard to process complicated, automated messages over a phone. They are more likely to be put off listening and hang up. So please put in place a simpler, less complicated and shorter message in place on your phone system. Thank you.    “

    Willow Response:
  • Many thanks for taking the time to submit your response. We do understand that it can take time for patients and staff to get used to new systems. We do however only initiate systems which we feel shall have a positive effect upon patients user experience and ease of requesting our assistance. In regards to the phone message length, we again agree that this is somewhat lengthy, however the information included is necessary to keep patients safe and to advise of other ways to contact the practice in order to keep the phone lines as free as possible for patients with additional needs or who are unable to use online services. As you mention that you could benefit from special assistance, we are able to provide additional adjustments such as adding an alert to such patients’ notes to allow them to continue to call us for assistance. Please may we suggest that you email us at [email protected] so that we can confirm this and set up for you?
  • “However trying to get a doctors appointment is a nightmare. The receptionist think there doctors & ask too many questions before getting the appointment”
  • Willow Response:
  • Sorry to read your concerns regarding your experience. Regarding our Reception team asking questions as to why patients might require an appointment, the NHS now provides direct access to certain specialist clinicians who may be better placed to be able to help, rather than a GP. For example, why wait for a GP appointment to be then referred to a physiotherapist, when you can be booked directly in with said physio? Also, by advising the Receptionist as to the reason for your request for assistance, they and the GP are able to triage i.e. prioritise calling or seeing a patient who might be experiencing ‘red flag’ symptoms. Please be reassured that all staff, including Receptionists are under the same confidentiality agreement as clinicians and receive training for such.

Negative Responses (a selection)

  • “Because its been more than 3 months but my treatment hasn’t been started yet. They just call for test but doesn’t do
    anything else.     “

    Willow Response: Sorry to read that you do not feel that you have received the standard of care which we would expect. Could you kindly email us at [email protected] to allow us to assist further? In the email could you confirm whether the expected treatment is with Willow practice or have you been referred to Secondary Care or the Community teams? If the former, we can look to expedite for you, if the latter, although the waiting lists and times for other teams is not within our control, we can chase them on patients’ behalf or provide patients with the number of whom to chase.
  • “It takes 2-3 weeks to make an appointment. All appointments run late and feel rushed during the appointment. GPs need more time and more slots. There’s no early morning or after work hours appointments available.“
  • Willow Response: Sorry to read of your concerns, as patients ourselves we do know the frustration waiting for appointments can cause. I hope it reassures you that Willow practice have not, in recent years at least breached NHS England’s preferred waiting time for a routine appointment of 2 weeks. If a patient requests a particular doctor, this may cause a longer wait.
  • Unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount of doctor provision which the practice can provide. We do constantly strive for a balance between giving patients an appropriate amount of time during each appointment and having as short waiting times for routine appointments as possible, but one does impact upon the other. If patients have more than one issue that they should like to discuss with a GP or it is of a more complex nature, we do offer double appointments when appropriate.
  • The practice is open from 8.30am to 6.45pm weekdays (although we do ask for any urgent requests to be made before 5pm) and 8am until noon on Saturdays. We are part of a Primary Care Network of 10 practices, which does offer GP and Nurse appointments until 8pm Mondays to Saturday, but these are not based at Maswell Park Health Centre, but at another ‘Hub’ unit. Please ask Reception to book into the Hub if you require such later appointments.