Enter and view: Gainsborough Surgery

Summary of findings

At the time of our visit, the evidence is that:

• The majority of patients are happy with the quality of the care and treatment they receive and feel their consultation time is adequate to deal with their issues.
• There is both positive and negative feedback about appointment accessibility.
• The surgery is mainly accessible for patients with mobility issues but the automatic doors open very slowly which has led to them being permanently propped open during surgery hours and there is not a lowered accessible section on the reception desk.
• On the day of our visit 54% of patients were seen within 5 minutes of their appointment time and a further 38% were seen within 20 minutes some patients experienced a longer wait (maximum 30 minutes). Although no negative feedback was received directly about the waiting time it may have contributed to other feedback such as lack of reading material, refreshments, children’s activities and unsuitable chairs.
• During our visit 54% of patients did not use the electronic booking-in system. Only 1 of the patients who did not use the system identified a significant barrier (visual impairment) that prevented them from doing so. There was an indication from feedback that it may not have been working correctly during the whole of the visit.
• There is lots of information available for patients in the waiting room which is well presented but some of it may be out of date.
• The television information screen is currently not operational.
• Although the Practice Manager has stated that triage is carried out by medical staff, the majority of patients who said they were triaged perceive this to have been carried out by a receptionist; no patient gave negative feedback about this process.
• Of the 10 patients who stated they required a follow-up appointment, 60% were able to make that appointment before they left the surgery.
• The 9 patients we spoke to who were over the age of 75 had a named GP and were able to see this doctor.
• The surgery website has a basic design. Information is not in an accessible format and there is no language features or an accessibility statement informing patients how to make the site readable for them. Although some important information such as opening times was found, there did not appear to be information on how to feedback or complain about the practice. Some information links were out of date. The page of the site allowing patients to update personal details was not a secure HTTPS connection. However the staff information section, with its short biographies and photos of staff was good, especially for new patients.