Ashfield Surgery
8 Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield, B76 1QNContact details and opening times
Patient ratings and reviews
Leave a review
Help others by sharing your thoughts and experiences about Ashfield Surgery.
Reviews
-
Review titled Very helpful staff
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by R. SAM - Posted on 03 October 2024
I would like to mention the kindness of one of the nurses in this surgery, she was very kind and helpful, just what her position needs her to be.
Visited October 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 07 October 2024
Dear Patient Thank you so much for the lovely feedback following your appointment with the nurse. I will ensure this feedback is shared with the team. Many thanks, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Excellent help given
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 09 September 2024
I would like to thank the Receptionist who went out of her way to ensure I was given the help and information I required in order to get to see a doctor. Really pleased with service given.
Visited September 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 24 September 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to leave your message and I am so pleased to hear we were able to help you with your enquiry. All of our reception team work very hard to ensure our patients receive the help and support they need and it heartening to see when that effort is recognised. In addition to our helpful receptionists, you can also access our website https://www.ashfieldsurgery.co.uk/ for information on health concerns and advice. You can also book appointments, order prescriptions and check your test results via the NHS App. I will ensure your thanks are passed onto the team Warm regards Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Blood test
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Ms Bayliss - Posted on 19 September 2024
Had a blood test 19.9.24 and the phlebotomist put me very much at ease and the experience was much better than I anticipated. It was over quickly and pain free 😊
Visited September 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 24 September 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to leave such positive feedback following your recent appointment and I am so pleased to hear you had such a positive experience. I will ensure your thanks are passed onto the phlebotomist. Warm regards Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Poor Communication and Degrading Service
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 September 2024
I have going to this GP surgery for many years and in recent times the service provided is getting worse. Getting appointments can be difficult. When booking an appointment the receptionist will ask what it is regarding, which I think is a bad practice and unnecessary. They cancelled a blood test on a Friday afternoon, for the following Monday, just before they closed and provided no way to re-book without phoning the following Monday. I had already waited for 3 weeks for the blood test. They changed the GP I was to see on a follow up appointment. The original GP asked me to specifically re-book with themselves. When raising this on the day of the appointment with the receptionist they were rude and dismissive.
Visited September 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 24 September 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for leaving your feedback and I am sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with the service you received at our practice recently. In order to ensure you are seen promptly and with the most appropriate person, our staff need to ask you what the reason is for your appointment. This is essential to avoid inappropriate appointments being made with the wrong clinician and wasted appointments and we ask for your understanding on this matter. If you are booking an appointment at the reception desk and require a private space to discuss the reason for your appointment you can request this and we will be happy to help. Due to some sickness amongst our nursing staff, we were forced to cancel some phlebotomy appointments this month. Those appointments were rebooked promptly and in most cases patients were sent a link via their mobile to rebook at a time convenient to them. If you were not given this option I apologise and would be glad to look into this matter further if you would like to get in touch and share with me you details. Again, due to GP sickness some scheduled appointments were moved to other GPs on the same day at short notice. While we try to notify patients of the change beforehand, that is not always possible due to short notice and number of patients to contact. If we have not advised you beforehand, than our receptionists would let you know on arrival. Wherever possible when a clinician calls in sick, we will do what we can to avoid cancelling your appointment. Usually this means moving the appointment to another GP at the same time. Only if there is no other choice would we cancel and rebook the appointment. If you would prefer to only see a specific GP and they are absent, then you can request an appointment is rebooked on their return but this will result in a delay in being seen. In regards to the comments about the behavior of our reception team. Our receptionists work very hard to provide the care and support our patients expect. They are often also the target of frustration and anger from patients especially when appointments are cancelled or rearranged. While this is not my experience of my team, who I have frequently observed going above and beyond for our patients and enduring the abuse thrown at them in a professional manner. If you feel you were spoken to in a rude or dismissive manner, please accept my sincere apologises. Your comments will be fed back to the reception team and appropriate action taken to monitor and ensure that patients continue to be treated with dignity and respect at all times. Kind regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Very Bad
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 August 2024
I am registered with Ashfield for last 1 year and needed appt on several ocassions being a mother of 2 kids but has never got an appt even if you call at exact 08:30am automated call says we have no appointment and will divert you to 111. For the last 2 days my husband has been struggling to find an appt for district/practice nurse to see his pre planned wound care post op but they show complete ignorance by just saying we have no appt call 111. Someone going through a surgery and no one to care about you or look into your wound. We have been like a rolling ball between 111, surgery ,ward nurses and finally ended up in self referral to assessment unit. I would definitely try to change my GP if I can.
Visited August 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 05 September 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for sharing your experience and I am sorry to hear of your difficulties in securing an appointment recently. In recent weeks we have be struggling with a higher rate of staff sickness absence than usual which has resulted in a number of clinics being cancelled and appointments being rearranged or moved to other clinicians at short notice. This does effect the number of appointments we are able to offer patients for same day appointments. In addition to telephoning the practice, appointments can be booked online via the NHS App. You can also submit enquiries to the practice via the Contact Us option on our website, which will be triaged by our team and an appointment offered if appropriate. If the matter can be handled over the phone, then you can download the LIVI app and book free video or telephone consultations with a GP quickly and easily. Regarding your husbands post op wound care. I can see as of today we have availability with the nurse for daily wound care dressings each day for the remainder of this week and next week. Once booked in for the first appointment the nurse will often arrange the necessary follow up appointments with the patient present. I know from prior experience that the practice team goes to great lengths to ensure patients that need daily dressings are accommodated. If you husband has been told something different by staff here I would be grateful if he could get in contact with me so we can discuss the matter further. While the practice does plan clinics ahead of time and strived to ensure sufficient staffing levels are maintained at all times. Short notice sickness absences are difficult to manage and we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you. Thank you for brining your concerns to my attention. If you or your husband would like to discuss the matter further please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Kind Regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Calling the surgery.
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 23 August 2024
Once again I have tried calling the surgery at 2pm to get an appointment for 2 weeks from now. I was caller number 2 for 20 mins and for the remaining 15 minutes I was caller number 1. I guess the person before me gave in trying because no one was answering. This has happened before to me.
Visited August 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 05 September 2024
Dear Patient Thank you for sharing your experience and I am sorry to hear you waited over 30 minute without the call being answered. Without knowing more details such as the day you called or your telephone number I am unable to comment specifically on this case. The practice has call handlers on duty every day between 8:30am and 6:30pm answering all our calls. I am unaware of any technical issues on the phone lines in recent weeks that could have caused you to be stuck in the queue without anyone answering like you describe. There were some instances in recent weeks where due to staff sickness absence we had reduced staffing on the phones but there was always staff on duty and answering calls during our opening hours. In addition to telephoning the practice, appointments can be booked online via the NHS App. You can also submit enquiries to the practice via the Contact Us option on our website, which will be triaged by our team and an appointment offered if appropriate. Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and once again I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. Kind Regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Phlebotomist
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Stuart John Dunn - Posted on 08 August 2024
Had a blood test taken on 7th August 2024. The lady who dealt with me was courteous, polite and helpful
Visited August 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 15 August 2024
Dear Stuart Thank you for your feedback on your recent experience of the surgery. I am so glad to hear your appointment with the phlebotomist was such a positive experience. We know having your bloods taken is not something anyone looks forward to, so our team here strive to be as friendly and attentive as possible to make the whole experience pain free and free from stress as possible. I will ensure your kind words are shared with our team here and thank you again for taking the time to leave your feedback. Kind regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Attentive caring Gp
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Joyce - Posted on 07 August 2024
I attended Ashfield surgery 24/07/2024 The GP I saw was very approachable,made me feel at ease,took the time to listen to my concerns, Kind regards Joyce Taylor
Visited July 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 15 August 2024
Dear Joyce Thank you for your feedback on your recent experience of the surgery. I am glad to hear the GP you saw made you feel so at ease. All our staff here strive to offer supportive and attentive care and I am so pleased this came through in your experience. I will ensure your kind words are shared with our team here and thank you again for taking the time to leave your feedback. Kind regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Absolute Shambles
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 16 July 2024
This surgery just gets worse and worse. I have currently been on hold for 30mins and haven't moved from number 9 in the que. My Dad had an appointment at 2pm but following a call from the doctor yesterday he is currently in hospital. I have been trying all morning to get through to the surgery to cancel / rearrange the appointment but spend hours on hold getting no where. I cannot just sit on the phone for hours trying to get through.They close for lunch in 20mins and don't reopen untill my Dad is supposed to be there at 2pm. This service is shambolic and not fit for purpose. Doctors appointments are booked weeks and weeks in advance and the prerecorded message saying "we have no appointments for today" is played from opening to closing. What use is that if you are ill. Patients are also now being told to go to the local hospital and wait for blood tests as they don't have anyone there to do them. No wonder the hospitals are at breaking point if the GP surgeries are not doing even the most basic services. Shame on you all!
Visited July 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 15 August 2024
Dear patient, Thank you for getting in touch with your feedback. I am sorry to hear of the difficulty you have had in trying to get through to cancel your fathers appointment. I am grateful that you went to such efforts to cancel your father’s appointment in order to allow another patient to make use of the time slot. On average our call handlers get through approximately one call every 2 minutes. While some calls require longer, having to wait 30 minutes while in queue position 9 is very unusual and I have looked into this. While I can’t see any faults on our phone line at this time. Our logs show calls on and around the 16 July when you submitted this review, did have a longer than average wait time for answering in the morning. Patients with a mobile number on file are sent text messages 24 hours before their appointment, which includes a link to cancel the appointment if it is no longer required. We do encourage patients to use this to avoid the queues when calling the practice. Alternatively patients with access to NHS App or Patient Access, can cancel their appointments online. We are also working towards introducing an option on our phones to allow patients to automatically cancel an appointment. We also plan to introduce a form you can complete on our website to cancel your appointment. Once these are available we will let patients know. Our phone system operates a dynamic messaging system, which allows us to keep patients informed of appointment availability and avoid waiting in the queue unnecessarily. While the ‘no GP appointments for today’ message can be triggered early in the morning, especially if we receive a large number of calls for appointments first thing, this is not on from opening to closing as you state. Patients are also welcome to stay on the line to speak to a member of the team who may be able to signpost you to another service or clinician within our practice. In addition to same day appointments the practice also offer appointments with a GP up to two weeks in advance subject to availability. While on occasion, appointments for bloods can exceed a weeks wait, this is very rare and often we have appointments available the same week or early next week for patients to book. For urgent bloods our team will often squeeze patients in if the doctor requests this in order to avoid any delay. Having looked at current availability I can see that phlebotomy appointments are available this week and next week for booking. Both General Practice and Hospitals are struggling in recent years due to an ever increasing demand for appointments and a lack of meaningful funding. Despite this, Ashfield Surgery has increased the number of appointments it offers year on year. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and rest assured, we will continue to make improvements based on patient feedback to ensure our services are accessible to all. Kind Regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager
-
Review titled Great experience
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Maxine C - Posted on 25 July 2024
Saw the phlebotomist today, seen on time, lovely lady, didn’t feel a thing! Also booked in a non urgent face to face appointment within the next 10 days with a GP without any issues at all. Guy on reception very pleasant and helpful Thank you 🙏
Visited July 2024
Review titled Ashfield Surgery
Replied on 15 August 2024
Dear Maxine Thank you for your feedback on your recent experience of the surgery. I am so pleased to hear your appointment with the phlebotomist went so well, and you were able to book an appointment within 10 days with the GP. GP appointments are often made available for booking up to two weeks in advance and can be booked via the telephone, at reception or online subject to availability. I will ensure your kind words are shared with our team here and thank you again for taking the time to leave your feedback. Kind regards, Matthew Lowe Practice Manager