East Trees Health Centre
100A Fishponds Road, Eastville, Bristol, BS5 6SAContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Staff is always helpful
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Alice Bottini-Hall - Posted on 25 April 2023
We are fairly new to the surgery but have always found thoughtful and helpful staff who try and accommodate our needs. We used the online form the other day and got a reply and an appointment promptly. Thank you
Visited April 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 25 April 2023
Dear Alice Thank you so much for such nice comments. I will pass them onto our team who work really hard to accommodate our patients. Kind regards Val-practice manager
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Review titled Bizarre triage phonecall
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 11 April 2023
Just wanted to give some feedback on the conversation I had with the receptionist this morning. Unfortunately (for them, as it must be a huge struggle in this job) their English was pretty poor which made it very difficult to communicate and for me to understand what they were saying. They asked very odd questions, I'm used to phoning and speaking about this chronic condition and the questions asked were wildly different to what I usually need to explain. Basically it felt like they had had no training, seemed really unsure of what they were saying, I felt like they were guessing what questions were appropriate and certainly asked some questions which were wholly inappropriate. It was honestly bizarre. The condition I have required an immediate appointment or a telephone consult on the day and I was offered an appointment two weeks ahead. I said you have to be kidding this is clearly very urgent and then they said "oh well I guess you could come in today" ... the whole thing was weird, disconcerting and left me with zero confidence in that person's ability to do their job.
Visited April 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 12 April 2023
Dear patient, thank you for your feedback which also puzzled me somewhat! I would like to investigate further but as you are anonymous I am unable to. Would you kindly email me on val.denton@nhs.net and I will gladly investigate and feed back? Thanks Val-Practice Manager
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Review titled Bad information
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Ian Ward - Posted on 22 April 2023
I came to the practice to get a Doctors letter for a Blue Blue, I completed the form and later received an email that i din't need a letter I could just apply online. The result: "With reference to your recent application for a Blue Badge, unfortunately we have been unable to proceed with your request as the following information is required. Please provide medical evidence to support your application, for example, diagnosis letters, evidence of the progression of the condition over time or confirmation of ongoing treatments." This is why I applied or a letter in the first place. The reception needs training on following procedure.
Visited March 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 23 April 2023
Dear Mr Ward Thank youfor taking the time to write. I have forwarded this to our operations manager who deals with these requests and she will respond as soon as she is able. I apologise for any inconvenience caused and certainly will use this as a learning point for reception if we are incorrect. Kind Regards Val-Practice Manager
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Review titled Knee Problems
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by James Tuffrey - Posted on 10 March 2023
Had a great meeting this morning with Mr Head. Thank you all very much. In the end everything has been worked out for the best. Very pleased with the service provided.
Visited March 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 11 March 2023
Good Afternoon James Thank you for this positive feedback. It is always encouraging to hear about your experiences and I will certainly pass this on to the team Kind regards Val-Practice Manager
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Review titled Awesome admin staff
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 09 May 2023
The telephone admin staff have really improved over the last few months. They are polite, friendly and really try and help. The same is true when you go into the surgery, the reception/admin staff are brilliant - kind, caring, patient and compassionate, when all too frequently they are on the receiving end of the exact opposite. You are all unsung heroes of the NHS, thank you.
Visited March 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 10 May 2023
Dear patient Thank you so much for your positive feedback. I have sent the team a copy. We have made real efforts in our 'customer service' approach and hope we treat our patients as we would want to be treated. Once again, many thanks. Val-Practice Manager
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Review titled Very Difficult to Make an Appointment
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 30 March 2023
Currently online appointment booking is suspended at this practice and website advice suggests that appointments also cannot be made in person - though I suspect that this is how some people are now accessing the appointment service. On the previous two occasions that I have called by telephone to make an appointment (in the last 3 months) I have waited 70 mins and then 90 minutes in a call queue. I have rung again today, as I am requested to schedule a 3 month meds review - and I have started in the call queue at number 11. So, based on previous experience, this is likely to at least a 60 minute wait. I am lucky that the type of work I do enables me to sit with my phone on speakerphone waiting, while I continue at my laptop. But for most people it's a huge barrier in the working day and a considerable risk to patient access to healthcare. I'd really encourage an update or review of the appointment booking service and methods for patient access.
Visited March 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 30 March 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for your valuable feedback. It prompted me to check our website and you are quite right about booking appointments as this information is out of date! I have asked our website provider to remove the incorrect entries. For information, there are certain clinics that patients can book in to but not routine or urgent appointments as these need to be triaged for prioritising. Patients are welcome to come in to see us to book appointments as we value seeing you. We can book on the day for emergencies, and up to 2 weeks ahead for routine appointments with your GP as we encourage continuity of care. You can also use our e-consult service on our website, for routine issues. Our telephone system has been overhauled but waits are created when staff sickness hits and we have had quite a few difficult months recently. I am hopeful we are back on track so please bear with us. Thank you for contacting me and pointing out these issues. Val-Practice Manager
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Review titled Almost impossible to get an appointment
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 21 March 2023
The medical staff in this practice are excellent but the booking system makes it almost impossible to see them, even when they have requested to see you. The waiting times on the phone are ridiculous and reception staff have put the phone down on me multiple times after long waits on hold. There is no dedicated line for important services like smear tests which is highly likely to put people off booking them with obvious implications for health. Online appointment services exist in theory but in practice, are never available to book. Surgery reception staff have also changed my appointment time but failed to contact me about this causing me to arrive 'late'. Practice manager is also very defensive and not open to patient feedback. I'd change surgery but these issues seem common. GP services need an overhaul where reception staff act less as gatekeepers and more as care facilitators.
Visited March 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 22 March 2023
Dear patient, thank you for your feedback. It is important that we receive comments so that we can improve our services. We have recently had high volumes of sickness among staff, resulting in longer waits on the phone. Having checked the reporting system for the last week there have been no incidences of any member of the team hanging up on patients. Smear tests actually can be booked on line via the NHS App if clinics are available and we are looking at offering more online bookings in future. If patients have mobile phones and we change times of appointments we should always send a text message with an apology (I can only assume this was due to a clinician being off sick) and if you did not receive a text then I sincerely apologise. I do hope you were seen on that occasion. As this is the first occasion I have been made aware of such issues and unfortunately you are anonymous, I can't investigate further or respond fully but I can assure you that I take every comment or complaint seriously and am always happy to meet patients to discuss their concerns. Our reception team are care navigators, who are fully trained to non-clinically triage requests in order to signpost patients to the right service at the right time and this is not necessarily a GP. Please be assured we offer routine appointments up to 2 weeks ahead and always deal with urgent problems on the day. Kind regards Val Denton Practice Manager
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Review titled Worst gp experience
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 March 2023
Easily one of my worst gp experience. Firstly a gp should at least read a little bit about a patient’s medical history with a condition instead of making the patient explain everything in a short window of time when they are clearly in pain and some experiences can be a bit traumatic to explain over and over again. The gp (paramedic) also suggested I quit my current job which is one of the most shocking things I have heard. To quit my job and do what? Start claiming benefits and burden the system even more? How about address my condition. It was a very uncomfortable experience. For the benefit of doubt I saw the same person a second time, they showed no empathy whatsoever and when I told them I had take 3 tablets of a pain killer I was prescribed but was still in pain, they just gave me additional prescription of the same medicine saying take 3 tablets so I could have done that without seeing someone who is supposed to be a “professional”.
Visited February 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 27 March 2023
Dear patient Thank you for taking the time to feedback. It is always important to have as we can often learn from situations. However, the issues you mention cannot be addressed as you have opted to remain anonymous and I can't investigate your statements. Please consider writing to me or let me have your details so that I can look into this further. bnssg.easttreeshealthcentre@nhs.net Thank you Val Denton-Practice manager
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Review titled Unhelpful phone wait
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 February 2023
I phoned the centre this afternoon to make an appointment. I was number 12 in the queue, waited for 1hr4mins and then was cut off at 6.30pm (the end of the day? this wasn’t mentioned on the website or phone message). I will have to try again tomorrow to make an appointment, and am fortunate that I have the phone credit and time to do so. I understand that the centre has had staff illness and is running on tight resources, but a system like this is surely a real barrier to patients accessing services. I have otherwise always found the centre to be very good, with excellent staff and services.
Visited February 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 21 February 2023
Thank you for your feedback. This is really frustrating for us and patients but we have had a telephone service disruption compounded by a national issue with medical systems. This over a few days has caused serious delays but we are getting back on track. The system went down briefly again this morning and our provider is investigating. Looking at our statistics we currently have 9 patients in the queue and an average wait time of 17 minutes. Please accept our apologies for the delays, but often these are caused by circumstances beyond our control. Kind regards Val- practice manager
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Review titled Repeated disappointments
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 09 March 2023
It is always a last resort to try to see a GP here as the process of making contact and getting an appointment is so difficult. However, suffering a period of protracted and uncharacteristic mental health concerns, I felt it was necessary this time. I tried to use the e-consult system, and was assured that someone would be in touch before 6:30 on Weds 1st March, but no-one contacted me. Having spoken to my employer, it became clear that I really needed to see a GP and so - after waiting approximately 25 minutes on the phone on the morning of Thursday 2nd March - I managed to book an appointment for today, 9th March. I did receive a text apologising that no one had managed to respond to my e-consult form. Today, my appointment has been cancelled due to staff shortages (which must, I understand, be frustrating for the practice too) and re-organised for a day that I cannot make. When I called to try to talk this through with someone and to reschedule, I was number 26 in the queue (the longest queue I have been in with this practice!). I wonder if I have been deprioritised because my problem is to do with anxiety and stress, rather than something more physical or concrete. I feel completely disempowered and unable to get the advice and support I need - something I would not seek lightly. On a separate note, a prescription filed by the surgery has, I have just discovered, been sent to the wrong pharmacy for the second time, which seems to be an avoidable administrative error.
Visited February 2023
Review titled East Trees Health Centre
Replied on 09 March 2023
Thank you for your feedback. I can empathise with your frustration and apologise for the anxiety it has caused. The telephone lines are always really busy in the mornings and do go quiet after 11am but we aim to answer all calls and do offer appointments up to 2 weeks ahead. We certainly do not make judgement on appointment requests and consider mental health is equally important to prioritise. If you could kindly let me have your details i would be happy to look into this further and ensure you get the help you need. Please contact me via e-consult (which was delayed due to severe staff shortages) and I will respond to your concerns Kind regards Val Denton Practice Manager