Holmcroft
Holmcroft Road, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST16 1JGContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled worst practice in Stafford
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 01 December 2023
They force you to use a system called Patches to make an appointment, when you fill out the form, you never hear anything back, you ring up, only to be told they did not get a request. You tell them that you got an e mail to say that the surgery received, You then have to explain to them what you typed in on this rubbish system. so you waisted a day. Today at 08:00 it was saying all the appointment have gone, yet the appointments are released then? I am now on hold on the phone to try and get an appointment? I will be on hold for about 1 hr, they will say its because the system is down.
Visited December 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 27 December 2023
Firstly, I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and frustration this situation may have caused when our online system doesn’t work like we need it do. We understand the importance of timely access to healthcare, and your experience falls short of the service standards we aim to uphold. Patchs is used as an alternative to calling the practice. Your patch request then goes to our care co-ordinators to ensure you are booked in with the most appropriate clinician. We are hoping this process will eventually reduce the waiting time on the phone for patients who are unable to use our online service. We offer a number of appointments daily and when we have reached full capacity for the day, we close Patchs for safety reasons. On very rare occasions, Patchs will only be closed at 08:00 for unforeseen circumstances such as sickness and we must use Red Alert appointments only for that day. On the other hand, our surgery is open from 08:00 – 18:30, you can access our service via our phone lines or coming into the surgery. Again, I would like you apologise for any disruption caused. Your feedback is important, and we appreciate the opportunity to address and rectify this matter. Kind regards, Kate Challinor - Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Unbelievably Frustrating
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Jim - Posted on 14 December 2023
Have been with this surgery for fifty years and have never known service like it. Ever since they teamed up with Stoke they have nose dived concerning customer service and Satisfaction. Today I have tried to ring them because my disabled wife is feeling very unwell and I have been customer number four for half an hour which is absolutely ridiculous.
Visited December 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 27 December 2023
I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to acknowledge and address the concerns you raised regarding the challenges you are facing while attempting to schedule an appointment at the surgery. Firstly, I would like to apologise regarding your waiting time on the phones. We recognise the importance of timely access to healthcare, and your experience falls short of the service standards we aim to uphold. We currently have several new members of staff who have started in reception, and we are in the process of training regarding the importance of taking calls efficiently within a timely matter. We have different pathways you can take to book an appointment at Holmcroft. You can call the surgery or you can come into the surgery and our receptionist can help to refer you via our online system called Patchs. Patchs is used as an alternative to calling the practice. Your patch request then goes to our care co-ordinators to ensure you are booked in with the most appropriate clinician. We are hoping this process will eventually reduce the waiting time on the phone for patients who are unable to use our online service. This is currently still a working process. If you can access our internet, please use the link before for future appointment bookings. https://www.holmcroftsurgery.nhs.uk/online-consult Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we appreciate the opportunity to address this matter. Kind regards, Kate Challinor, Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled worst practice in Stafford
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 November 2023
Many years ago, this was a great practice, since being taken over by the NHS, it has become the worst practice in Stafford, Before there was around 11 doctors, 5 practice nurses, it was a busy practice, you would get to see a Dr you have been seeing for years who knew about your complications. The patches system does not work, you get an e mail to state the surgery has received your message, you ring up to find out why no one has contacted you, they claim its not received? Happens every time. You now have a choice of 1 Dr, and I have lost confidence in him. No staff at reception, with a note saying they are short staffed, been on the window before the pandemic, Don't bother complaining, as no one responds. phone them and your in a queue for 30/50 minutes Reception staff leave every two months. No Management to run the place, always on the sick. I am leaving this run down surgery. Everyone that was there 3 years ago, apart from 3 Drs and 1 nurse has left, two of the Drs only work 1 day and the other works 2 days. The Nurse is leaving in December. It wont be long before it shuts down?
Visited November 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 27 December 2023
Firstly, I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience and frustration this situation may have caused when our online system doesn’t work like we need it do. We understand the importance of timely access to healthcare, and your experience falls short of the service standards we aim to uphold. Patchs is used as an alternative to calling the practice. Your patch request then goes to our care co-ordinators to ensure you are booked in with the most appropriate clinician. We are hoping this process will eventually reduce the waiting time on the phone for patients who are unable to use our online service. We offer a number of appointments daily and when we have reached full capacity for the day, we close Patchs for safety reasons. On very rare occasions, Patchs will only be closed at 08:00 for unforeseen circumstances such as sickness and we must use Red Alert appointments only for that day. On the other hand, our surgery is open from 08:00 – 18:30, you can access our service via our phone lines or coming into the surgery. Again, I would like you apologise for any disruption caused. Your feedback is important, and we appreciate the opportunity to address and rectify this matter. With kind regards, Kate Challinor, Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Havin a laugh
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 03 December 2023
They are meant to be doing a survey on how the patients view the practice, they have a table, box, pens, but no forms? Its been like that for weeks, I asked for a form at reception, she told me she had to print one off? , I was given a complaints form instead? I wonder if they don't want anyone to fill out these forms to show what a dismal service they give? Such a shame that this surgery has gone from the no1 to the worst in Stafford!
Visited November 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 12 December 2023
Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. We have had a number of new staff at the surgery recently and rightly so, you have pointed out that we had ran out of our Family and Friend Forms in the reception area. I can assure you this is now being monitored and added to our receptionists daily task list. I am sorry you feel disappointed by our service currently. Please would you be able to contact the surgery and speak to one of Operations Managers to discuss this matter further. Kind regards, Kate Challinor, Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Terrible Service
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 22 September 2023
Called surgery on Tuesday to ask for advice about travel vaccinations for my daughter who is going on a school trip. I was on hold for 25 minutes which I expected. Got through to receptionist who informed me that you do not do travel vaccinations and advised me to ring the chemist next door. The call ended and I rang the chemist, as advised to be told that they do not do them and to ring the doctor back as GP should offer certain vaccinations for free. Called doctors again, this time on hold for 45 minutes! Receptionist informed me that you don’t do them as you have lost the funding for vaccinations. I point out that on NHS website it states that certain travel vaccinations should be given for free by GP in interests of public health and it is a child who needs them. Receptionist then puts me on hold and when back tells me that she has made an appointment for the nurse to call my daughter on Friday. I ask whether this is going to be an actual appointment or just to tell us that you don’t do them and she tells me it’s to go through what vaccinations are required. Nurse calls my daughter this morning and just says we don’t do them and this is down to not having the staff to do them, a contradiction on the reason I was previously told. I asked to speak to a manager and raise a complaint and I was told that no one was available but the practice manager would call me back this morning. I have waited for a call all day and needless to say, I did not receive one! May I point out that the BMA, CQC, NHS and Government websites all state that certain travel vaccinations must be offered for free due to public health risks. This is for a child going on a school trip, yet this surgery thinks it is acceptable to force a child to get private healthcare which will cost in excess of £600 when others are getting these free from other local surgeries. I will be making an official complaint and taking the matter further as this is discrimination and not acceptable.
Visited September 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 07 March 2024
Good Afternoon, Firstly I would like to thank you for taking the time to review your experience when trying to arrange travel vaccinations for your daughter and I am sorry to hear that this was not a positive experience. Could you please contact me directly with the full details of your compliant by sending and email to holmcroft.queries@nhs.net, including your daughter's name and date of birth and I will do a full investigation into this matter and respond to you directly. I am very concerned to hear that you have had such a negative experience which I would like to look into further. Thank you again for highlighting this and I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Diane Salmons - Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Used to be a great surgery but sadly isn’t anymore
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 11 August 2023
I twice tried to call the surgery this morning. First call, I was on hold for 30 minutes and the call cut off. Second attempt, I was on hold for 35 minutes and the call cut off again. Disgraceful. Although we’re told not to attend A&E unless it’s urgent, you can understand why people go to A&E when they can’t get through to their surgery when unwell. If you’re looking for a surgery to register with - try another - Holmcroft Surgery definitely doesn’t provide the service it used to.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 07 March 2024
Good Afternoon, Firstly I would like to thank you for taking the time to review the service you received from Holmcroft Surgery recently and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise that you feel let down. I understand it can be frustrating for patients trying to get through on the telephones during busy periods. We have recently introduced an online service called PATCHs which a lot of our patients find to be a much easier way of contacting the Practice. You can find full details of this by clicking on the PATCHS link on our website. This system allows patients to request appointments, order medication and ask clinical questions and patients will receive a response within 48 hours, however you will often get a response within the same day. If you wish to discuss any of your concerns with either myself or one of the other Operations Managers here at Holmcroft Surgery, please contact us via holmcroft.queries@nhs.net and we will get in touch with you directly. With Kind regards, Diane Salmons - Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Poor communication and systems
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Rebecca Rodi - Posted on 08 August 2023
I've been trying to get my daughter a medical appointment for 4 weeks now. I've emailed them, used their (rubbish) new system Patches and spent time on hold without success. It's great having a system you can access at all times. Not great when that system has no appointments available. Not great when you email this and get no response. Not great when you try to call again and again and have to hang up due to running out of break time without getting through to anyone. Not great when it is very clear from a system prospective that a child was "granted" and appointment and has still not be able to have one. I've never had this problem with this surgery. I don't know what has happened but it has not improved the service.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 07 March 2024
Good Afternoon, Firstly I would like to thank you for taking the time to review the service you received from Holmcroft Surgery recently and I would like to take this opportunity to apologise that you feel let down. We have done a lot of work on our PATCHS system recently with the aim to iron out the initial problems some of our patients experienced during the initial roll out of the system. Hopefully, when you now use the system you will see the improvement, however if you still experience problems or if you wish to discuss any of your concerns further with either myself or one of the other Operations Managers here at Holmcroft Surgery, please contact us via holmcroft.queries@nhs.net and we will get in touch with you directly. With Kind regards, Diane Salmons - Operations Manager at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Clinic used to be good, but have declined in recent years
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 10 July 2023
Can never get an appointment, always on long queues to get through to a receptionist who then tell you they cant do anything. Now there is a new system to book appointments, but cant even do that as there is nothing available, no I am having to wait for the next day to try and book an appointment. Feel sorry for the older generation who don't have access to a computer to book online, who would find this process confusing.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 18 July 2023
Dear Patient Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on your recent experience with Holmcroft Surgery. I am sorry to hear that you feel disappointed by the service you have received and that you are not getting on with our new online system for booking appointments called PATCHS. We introduced this new system in an aim to cut waiting times on the telephones and as a way of contacting the Practice at anytime as we recognise that not everyone is able to contact us during our opening hours. The PATCHS system has proved to be very popular as it gives our patients the option of completing an online form, which is then reviewed within 24 hours by one of our clinically trained staff and triaged accordingly. If you need to be seen that day, you will be sent a link in order to book an appointment with the appropriate clinician, which range from Urgent Care Practitioners, GP Registrars, GPs, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses, Health Care Assistants and other visiting clinicians who hold regular clinics here at the Surgery. However, we do understand that not all of our patients can access the internet or may not wish to use this method of communication, therefore patient's can still call the surgery and a member of our Reception team will complete a PATCHS request on their behalf. Our clinicians always endeavour to see patients who need to be seen urgently on the day. If you have any problems accessing or completing a PATCHS request, a member of our Reception team will be happy to assist you with this. Again, thank you for highlighting your concerns and I hope I have been able to address these. Kind regards, Diane Salmons, Operations Manager Holmcroft Surgery.
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Review titled Would not recommend
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Emma - Posted on 18 July 2023
Would not recommend the surgery as the communication is abysmal. Was on hold for an hour and 20 minutes, walked into the surgery whilst still on hold, 2 receptionists at the front talking and 2 staff sat in the back office, when I asked if there was a problem with the phone lines, was told no there’s a wait yet there are 4 staff in the reception area?! Told by health harmony results will be there in a week, told by GP surgery can take upto 6 weeks, explained it wasn’t done by nhs hospital as I am aware of the waits, said no still 6 weeks, spoken to health harmony and they are saying a week. Advised to ring up every few days, who has time to do that when it’s over an hour on hold most of the time? Would not recommend overall due to communication, when you eventually can speak to a GP good service but poor to get to that point.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Holmcroft
Replied on 19 July 2023
Dear Patient, Thank you for taking the time to comment on your recent experience at Holmcroft Surgery. I am sorry to hear it was not a positive one, if you could contact me via email at holmcroft.queries@nhs.net with dates and more details I will look into what went wrong on this day. Yours sincerely, Sameem Anwar, Operations Manager (Reception) at Holmcroft Surgery
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Review titled Not good any more
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Moira - Posted on 06 December 2022
I changed to this surgery a few years ago because they were so good. Since covid it is terrible. I called today as I have had a cough for a couple of weeks and now it is making me heave and bring up rubbish. When I told the young lady she asked had I asked at the chemist. I am 75 years old and know if I need a chemist or a doctor. So she said I needed to go to the chemist then I got a message on my phone to call the chemist. This I did and on talking to the pharmacy it was stated that it was obvious I was having a problem breathing so they have reffered me back to the doctors. What ever is happening when a receptionist knows better than me and the doctors don't seem to care anymore. They don't have more patients than before so why can't we see one.
Visited December 2022
Holmcroft has not yet replied.