We would like to thank the 1,096 patients who took time to complete the Patient Survey we sent out last month. It was really beneficial for us to gather this information so we can review what works well and what might need improvement. We will be posting out the results in sections over the next couple of days.
Our first set of questions were centred around access & appointments, we received mixed responses on how easy you find contacting the surgery and the ease of Anima.
To answer some of the feedback received:
- · As per the GP contract the practice has to provide an online consultation platform and therefore, we will be continuing to use Anima.
- · Anima is not owned by the Surgery and therefore we are not able to change the questions it asks or how many, however we do submit development requests.
- · From 1st April 2026, the Anima service will open online from 8am, rather than 7am as it is currently.
- · We would like to reconfirm that those who struggle to use the platform are able to call us from 8am to request an appointment, and we will complete the Anima on your behalf.
- · Issues surrounding not being able to get an appointment:
o Anima currently has a limit on how many requests we receive daily in line with the number of appointments we have available on the day. In January & February we took 5,488 requests.
o When we were using telephone triage, this was capped to 65 call requests a day, which would've been 2,665 requests taken in January & February. We are therefore taking more requests than we were this time two years ago with the help of Anima and employment of a new full-time GP.
- · From the 1st of October 2025 we have provided routine GP appointments, these appointments are available to be booked in advance but do still need to be requested through Anima so a clinician can safely identify that this is a routine request
- · Being able to see the same doctor - please check on our website www.marketcross-surgery.co.uk under Surgery Staff for your preferred GPs working days. Urgent care on the day usually limits if you are able to see your preferred GP, but routine appointments will enable you to see your own GP.
Reception
· 74.5% of patients found reception team always helpful with 22% voting as sometimes helpful
· 87% of patients found that patients are always treated with courtesy and respect
· 89% of patients would rate interactions with reception as always/ generally positive
Dispensary
Feedback surrounding our dispensary showed that a high majority of patients using the service find it easy to order medication, find the team helpful and respectful and have positive experience with the service.
There were also points raised around the phone line to the department, and we are happy to announce that we will be extending the phone line to be open from 9am-1pm Monday-Friday, starting in April.
We are also at the final stage of our dispensary extension, with new shelving being fitted at the end of next week. The aim is with a larger and more organised space; we will deliver a good timely service for our patients.
Practice Environment
We asked our patients to consider the whole building, this was voted as clean and well presented by 1,029 patients with 932 choosing the Surgery as easy to find and access.
The majority of patients who required reasonable adjustments did have these provided, but we will be taking further steps to provide reasonable adjustments to everyone who needs them. Such as noting translators, or diagnoses which require patients needing a downstairs room or a later appointment.
Continuity of Care
Most of our patients reported as able to or sometimes able to see preferred clinician with the feeling this being important or sometimes important with an ongoing issue. We would like to advise patients that they can always request to see a certain GP/ clinician and we will include these in booking links when appropriate. The surgery website www.marketcross-surgery.co.uk has a staff section, which includes the working days for each GP.
Clinician Experience
We received so many positive comments relating to care and help received from teams and named individuals, thank you for those who took time to mention our wonderful staff. We have passed these comments on internally. We are very proud of the results and will strive to ensure we deliver on all aspects of care for even better results next year.
- Does the GP, nurse or other clinician listen carefully to you? Yes 84% Sometimes 14% No 2%
- Do the clinicians explain things in a way you can understand? Yes 85% Sometimes 14% No 1%
- Do you feel involved in decisions about your care? Or the care of a dependant? Yes 79% Sometimes 17% No 4%
- Did you have confidence and trust in the last clinician that you saw? Yes 91% No 9%
Our final questions on our February patient survey were around the overall experience of the practice. We were very pleased to see that 890 patients rated us as either consistently excellent or overall great and 994 patients would be likely or very likely to recommend the Surgery.
We also asked, 'What could we improve on?'. This revealed four most common areas:
1. Access to appointments/ Anima – please see post 1 on DATE for comments on this
2. Communication– we would like to advise our patients to download the NHS App if they have a smart device. On there you can see test results, referrals and request medication. This would be the quickest way for our patients to see any information relating to care and if they need a follow up. Alternatively, please try calling the Surgery in the afternoon when the phone lines are quieter.
3. Follow Ups – from the 1st of October 2025 we have offered routine appointments, if the clinician has advised a follow up after a test for example, please use Anima to request a follow up appointment with the clinician.
4. Facilities & Environment – following your feedback we will be looking into seating within the waiting rooms of the Surgery & providing hygiene resources in busy areas. The dispensary room has been extended and should be finished imminently. We are hoping with a better organised room, we can reduce time spent at the hatch preventing queues. Additionally points were raised about parking, we unfortunately do not own any of the land around the Surgery and therefore are unable to provide any parking at the Surgery.
Once again we would like to thank everyone who completed the survey for their views and opinions on the Surgery. If you have any further questions or opinions on these results please email marketcross@nhs.net FAO: Jasmine.