Carn to Coast Health Centres
Pool Health Centre, Station Road, Pool, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 3DUContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Still waiting...........
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Mark Simm - Posted on 13 January 2023
I have had an ongoing problem with my knees for some time and have had several x-rays and physio appointments over the years regarding this. However the problem has slowly become more acute and is now causing me pain, severe, discomfort and even difficulty walking. So I filled in a Carn to Coast klinik form on the 7th December last year. I was contacted next day by phone, I was surprised and impressed at the speedy response. The very pleasant person on the phone asked me a few questions and we agreed an x-ray should probably be the first step, it should be no problem and just needed to be OK’d and referred by my doctor to the hospital. I was pleased with the result and waited for that to happen, but after 2 weeks I had still not heard a thing and as I had a routine blood test at Trevithick surgery on 21st December I took the opportunity to enquire as to what was happening and was told that the doctor had been sent the message on 19th December and would be in touch soon. A week passed by and still nothing, so I phoned the surgery on 29th December and they said they would leave a note for the doctor regarding this. That was 2 weeks ago so it is now 5 weeks since I raised a perfectly routine request via the Klinik and absolutely nothing has happened. I have a friend who is also with carn to coast and was recently referred for an x-ray and the whole thing only took a couple of days. So what precisely is the problem and why the delay?. The irony is that the staff at Carn to coast from receptionists to nurses and doctors are great and I have always found them highly professional, pleasant and polite. It is just the dismal organisation and poor communication that seems to let the whole show down, which is a shame really. However after over 5 weeks, I am no further on and feeling very let down, in pain and ignored by the system and wondering how on earth I can get carn to coast to even notice that I exist.
Visited December 2022
Review titled Carn to Coast Health Centres
Replied on 24 January 2023
Dear Mr Simm, We apologise for any delay and lack of communication. Please be assured that such delays are not the result of 'dismal organisation' but rather the result of overwhelming workload. Our GP's have been working late into the evening, especially in recent weeks when large numbers of children have needed to be seen in response to the Strep A crisis. Unfortunately, in these circumstances something has to give and we regret that this may result in delays to GP paperwork actioning matters which, as you say, are 'perfectly routine'. We appreciate that this causes frustration for you as well as for us and we can assure you that we are doing everything within our power to minimise the effects on patients while prioritising effectively for patient safety. However we too are subject to the kind of pressures which have result in much longer waits at hospital level: Waiting Times - Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS TrustRoyal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust ( https://www.royalcornwall.nhs.uk/visiting-hospitals/outpatients/im-waiting-for-an-outpatient-appointment/ ) For patients seeking an understanding of the context for such delays we recommend the following article: Stress, exhaustion and 1,000 patients a day: the life of an English GP | GPs | The Guardian ( https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/27/stress-exhaustion-1000-patients-a-day-english-gp-nhs-collapse?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other ) If you wish to discuss this in more detail please feel free to contact me via c2c.pals@nhs.net . Stephen Holby Managing Partner Carn to Coast Health Centres ________________________________________
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Review titled Fantastic care despite pressures in the NHS
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Nina - Posted on 03 January 2023
I wanted to express mine and my partners thanks to the surgery for the fantastic care and support during his recent covid infection. He was very unwell and we were both very concerned, despite or perhaps because I’m a nurse I was very aware of potential complications. Everyone we dealt with from the receptionist to the dispenser and in particular the 2 GP’s were responsive, kind, reassuring and professional and greatly eased our worries at a very stressful time. As an NHS nurse I’m fully aware of the extreme pressure across healthcare, but despite that the care received couldn’t have been better.
Visited December 2022
Review titled Carn to Coast Health Centres
Replied on 24 January 2023
Thanks you on behalf of the team for your very kind review. It is great for everyone to feel appreciated at a time when services are under such pressure. Regards Stephen Holby Managing Partner
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Review titled Prescription nightmare every month
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 13 October 2022
Since they closed the branch at St Day, it is an absolute nightmare trying to get my prescription. My item was dispensed direct from St Day, but they will no longer dispense for me from Illogan or Pool now St Day is closed. Every month now involves a trek around 5 or 6 pharmacies trying to find the item because it was never in stock. They will only send to Pool pharmacies which is difficult for me to get to, and won't send to a Redruth pharmacy for me. It is an absolute nightmare and there was no warning to the residents who used the St Day branch. I found out with a note on the door, the day it closed. Absolute joke. They offered to send non paying items to the Post Office for collection. which mine is, and they won't even do that for me. It is an extremely stressful situation for someone who suffers with social and generalised anxiety, trying to get them to understand the implications this is having on my health. I don't blame the staff, it's not their fault the system is broken.
Visited October 2022
Review titled Carn to Coast Health Centres
Replied on 20 October 2022
Dear Patient, We are sorry to hear of your experience. We apologise that an unexpected and severe shortage of staff forced a brief (but unfortunately rather abrupt) temporary closure of our St Day Branch and has led to our limiting its opening hours at the present time. We made arrangements for dispensing patients to collect from our Illogan (Homecroft) dispensary or have most medications delivered to the St Day post office. (We have no licence to dispense from Pool or Camborne.) Those patients who have chosen not to be dispensing (or who do not qualify for the service under NHS regulations*) have their prescriptions sent electronically to the pharmacy of their choice. If you would care to identify yourself, we will look into the specific issues you report and any advice you have been given which appears to conflict with what has been stated above. Please e-mail carntocoast@nhs.net for the attention of the Patient Liaison Officer. Yours truly, For the Partners Carn to Coast Health Centres *Patients must live more than a mile from a pharmacy in order to qualify for Practice dispensary services under NHS regulations.
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Review titled Struggling to provide sensible approach
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 02 September 2022
Sadly common sense and kindness has been replaced by the online form and ridiculous processes, staff are lovely and polite, however difficult to get an appointment, emails are sent round in circles and on-one actually seems interested in any suggestions of improving the systems. Complete the electronic form and get a text about an appointment in 3 weeks time - which is then a telephone physio appointment, despite needing pain killers etc to be able to function to wait for the telephone physio appointment, when you do actually get someone then resolved very quickly but the distress caused trying to get to that point is not good. Text appointment times - logic must surely say they need 2 appointments, fair enough but why book 1 long one rather than booking 2 - we aren't all sitting at home with nothing else to do, rather wait a week or 2 longer and have one slightly longer appointment and deal with 1 person. Urgent prescription requests take over a week to come through, consultant letters and advice not filed so they can be referred to quickly so takes a long time on a call with Dr to find the letters and information needed. The online system should be much simpler to use and shorter for 'routine' information which is all on file - so patient files should be reviewed as online form is checked , would help. Texts which say there is a issue with bloods and then no follow-up information with a Dr or context. Information not being passed on in referrals so hospital then struggling to find out what is happening - very distressing when children involved. I understand there are pressures and it is not simple however unless the surgery is willing to engage with patients and is receptive to suggestions or feedback then sadly more people will suffer both staff trying to their best in such trying circumstances and patients whose conditions are getting worse!
Visited September 2022
Review titled Carn to Coast Health Centres
Replied on 28 December 2022
Dear Patient, We had sought to respond to this post some weeks ago inviting you to contact the surgery to discuss the issues you have raised. Unfortunately, it appears that response did not get through the system to be posted, for which we apologise. I can assure you that the surgery does welcome and act upon patient suggestions. However, we do often find that frustrations blamed on the ‘system’ are in reality the result of demand levels which those systems help us to manage, while virtually all surgeries are struggling – especially those who serve deprived areas. We engaged a remote first-contact physio in view of the much longer waiting times associated with a referral; we are sorry that this still involves waiting longer than one would wish. We acknowledge that prescriptions are taking longer to process than they would have in the past but the numbers are greater, while the shortage of clinicians and staff within the Health Service limits our capacity to respond. Similar pressures on pharmacies make the situation worse. We are sorry that this is the case but would assure you that those of us working in local surgeries are making every effort to cope with the demands. For a fuller understanding of the issues in general practice we would refer patients to the recent report by the House of Commons Select Committee on Health & Social Care: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmhealth/113/summary.html . Yours sincerely, Stephen Holby Managing Partner
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Review titled Hard working staff
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 28 July 2022
I have been with this practice for several years and always received excellent treatment. I have recently made contact via the online system to request different services. In each case this has been dealt with very quickly. On the last two occasions I have been contacted after 18:30pm, I think this is likely to be outside of the Doctors working hours, they really are going above and beyond to meet patients needs and I appreciate it.
Visited July 2022
Review titled Carn to Coast Health Centres
Replied on 01 August 2022
Many thanks for this positive feedback. With the pressures across the NHS at present many of our clinicians and staff are indeed working well beyond the hours one might expect and it is heartening to know that this is appreciated. The Partners