Spring Hall Group Practice
173C Spring Hall Lane, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 4JGContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Poor telephony service
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Janet - Posted on 13 December 2023
Your phone system is a shamble. At 8am today I called First call - 41 minutes and 30 seconds the call was picked up I heard them say hello, when I spoke back they did not hear me and terminated the call (Number 38) Second - call was 51.24 and the same happened again (number 46 Third call – I cut it off as I was number 30 with the intention of just leaving another review Fourth call, thought I was ringing the reception number, no Im in the queue 26 I have already been asked to manually fill in your complaint form, which I thinks is extremely poor service, why could the email and my stinging review be enough. I have not doubt that by the time I get through to person, all appointments will have been taken for the day, so again will have to wait a week to go through this fiasco. However, I am hoping my request to move to a more competent surgery is accepted
Visited December 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 18 February 2024
I am sorry that you have had this experience and can assure you we are doing all we can to improve this service. We are in the process of commissioning a new telephone system across the surgeries and this will enable the called to request a call back if you are a high number in the queue without losing your place. This should be in place by April 2024. I am sorry you had such long wait times on the phones, we have employed more staff to try to cope with the vast amount of calls we receive however we did experience a large amount of sick leave over the winter months, as I am sure other services have too. I hope that in future the services we provide will continue to improve and you will find the service more user friendly. As stated in previous responses we are not a finite service although we do our utmost to ensure the appointments we have are utilised for problems which cannot be dealt with by other services. To do this our reception staff are trained to use software which enables them to correctly signpost patients to the most suitable service for their problem, this is not always the GP. If you would like to discuss this further of here about other changes and improvements we have made over the last few months, please come along to one of our Patient Participation groups being held over the next month and advertised on our website.
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Review titled used to be a great practice
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Daphne Clegg - Posted on 06 November 2023
Too many practices why take on more when you cant cope with the one you have, I went into hospital on the 18th October came out on the 21st was told to book an appointment with the doctor for my staples removal on the 1st of November which I did I got an infection managed to get through after umpteen times trying to get through sent district nurse that was the first and last time I had any help from this practice visit, what happened to aftercare rang up on the 3rd and was told by reception I would have to go to A&E disgusting as they shouldnt be having to do GPs job they have enough to do. I dont go to doctors unless really essential, I am thinking of trying to find a doctor who thinks of their patients, not money
Visited October 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 09 November 2023
I am sorry that you are unhappy with the services provided by spring Hall Group Practice. I have reviewed your records and note that you were spoken to by a GP on the 25th of October and seen by the surgeries Acute visiting service on the same day, and a prescription was arranged. On the 30th you were seen by the DN team to review your wound. An appointment was arranged for the staples removing on the 1st of November at the surgery however, it is noted that you did not attend this appointment, and had not cancelled it. During the month of September, we had a total of 747 appointments not attended and not cancelled. This has a huge impact on the appointments system and is why we ask all patients to cancel any appointment you are unable to attend. I am sorry you were advised to attend A&E for your staples removing however we have a limited number of appointments available on each day. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact via the secretaries’ email address wyicb-cal.secretariesspringhallsurgery@nhs.net
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Review titled Disappointing
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 19 September 2023
I was called for a 60 year old check up, August 2022. Reluctantly attended ( I do not go to doctors, unless absolutely desperate) still waiting for the results. Informed twice that the person with the results was off work. When I rang, I was advised not to ring again, as they would ring me. Still waiting 13 months on! In the process of trying to get an appointment, this is only through sheer desperation. There has been a distinct decline in service.
Visited September 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 09 November 2023
I am sorry you have had this experience at the practice. Unfortunately, as I don't have your details and I am therefore unable to investigate further. If you would like me to review this further, please email your complaint to the secretaries email on calccg.secretariesspringhallsurgery@nhs.net
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Review titled deteriorated since combining with other practices
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Disgruntled - Posted on 14 September 2023
Why bother sending text messages to invite people to follow a link to book a covid/flu booster when within minutes of getting the text and attempting to book an appointment there are none available for the next four weeks and none offered for after those dates. Pointless and very frustrating exercise.
Visited September 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 09 November 2023
The surgery has been holding COVID/FLU vaccinations clinics each Weekend throughout September and October. Unfortunately these clinics booked very quickly. As these clinics are booked outside normal surgery hours we only add a few clinics at a time to ensure they book fully each weekend. I am sorry you found that the clinic was full when you tried to access the link but i trust you were able to evntualyy book one via the link
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Review titled No care and attention
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Jackie McCormack - Posted on 03 August 2023
1) My mom had an appt on 24/7 and couldn’t get there, as I couldn’t get through on the phone to cancel on the morning of the appt I drove to the surgery and cancelled in person and rearranged for 23/8 (1st available one). I was told I would get a txt and I didn’t. So I called in again today, when passing, as I couldn’t remember the time, to be told the last appt was cancelled by the patient and nothing had been rebooked. It’s a good job I couldn’t remember the time otherwise we would have just turned up presumably to be turned away. 2) I messaged and asked if a tablet for my dad could be put on repeat dispensing along with his other medication to save me having to remember to order in time. Was told that would be ok so whilst I was there I checked with the pharmacy who said it hadn’t so back into the doctors I went and the receptionist confirmed it hadn’t and she would sort. He will be due a batch of medication soon so I am hoping it will be sorted. I believe you have grown too big, your staff are not trained properly, do not take care and are causing unnecessary work ie my two extra visits today in person as I do not have the time or patience to sit at number 41 in the queue. If you are dealing with so many new patients you need a dedicated call centre run by professionals with enough staff to cope with your demand, you are putting added pressure on genuinely Ill people.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 10 August 2023
I am very sorry you have had these experiences and would be more than happy to review what happened if you could contact the practice directly by email for the attention of the Practice Manager. Unfortunately it is difficult to review what has gone wrong in these instances as i have no details for your parents. I look forward to hearing from you
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Review titled Unable to contact, no medication
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Robert Gray - Posted on 27 July 2023
A message was left for me over two weeks ago now to book a blood test for my annual medication review. I am unable to keep my phone with me at work and appreciate that the practise has at least three times tried to phone. However, I have also tried to phone back on no less than six times, spending a total of nearly two and a half hours in total waiting for someone to answer the phone. Its no fun having time and again to listen through the best part of 5 mins of annoying introductions, only then to be chastised by what can only be described at best as an intimidating lecture. Finally then you get in the que where you are then forced to listen continuously to some of the most violent and loud music ever composed. All this, it has to be said, without a que countdown either. It really does feel like it is been made as awkward as possible in order for people to give up and put the phone down (they then wonder why some people are ready to tear into the receptionist after been put through all that). Not rocket science but obviously is to some. Why, in my case, is it not possible to have a direct number left on the message given by the practise in order to call straight back? After all, the surgery knows what is occurring with my procedure, it would save time on the surgeries part and a hell of a lot of frustration on the patients part. Meanwhile, I still cannot get through today to sort this blood test and my medication ran out three days ago.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 27 July 2023
I am sorry that you are having issues getting through on the phones. We are currently in the process of training new staff to speed up the waiting times. It is not possible to give every patient a dedicated number to contact the surgery to arrange and appointment as this would just be as busy as the current appointments line. I will pass on your comments about the classical music which is played whilst on wait and see if they have anything softer. the phone messages have been changed in the last few days in line with patients feedback. We do understand the frustration caused by long waiting times on the phones and are working hard to improve them. If you would like to discuss this further please contact the surgery to speak to the Practice Manager
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Review titled A downhill slope
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Cate Payne - Posted on 10 July 2023
Southowram Surgery used to work effectively and quickly, appointments were available and the village health was managed really well. We moved here 4 years ago and have watched as it was merged with Spring Hall and the service started to deteriorate as appointments were taken centrally as well as prescription services. So it became much more difficult to get a doctors appointment and often prescriptions were held up centrally causing me some distress. So, we go through a pandemic which has decimated our NHS resources and caused a deficit in staffing, all of which I completely understand. Until recently I have found it relatively easy to get an appointment online with doctors calling me back, albeit not at the time stated which is annoying as I work and am often in meetings. But now, it is almost impossible to catch the appointments calendar and calling when you are 31st in the queue is not really a great experience. I stand up for the practice whenever I can as I do believe it is a resource that the village needs but to be told that there is a skeleton staff at a practice that had several doctors in the past is somewhat concerning. Did we lose all our doctors or are they at other parts of the practice, leaving Southowram short staffed? I am also concerned about the generic responses to the reviews on this site and wonder if there is something that is taken from the generally negative comments made. If they are discussed at practice meetings then it would be useful to know what actions are being taken to rectify these issues as it seems to be getting worse rather than better.
Visited July 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 11 July 2023
Dear Miss Payne I am very sorry you have felt the need to post this review. You mentioned your concerns around the generic answers on the website and I would like to assure you we do review each post however when comments are left as anonymous it is difficult to investigate specific issues, however the overall complaint is discussed in practice meetings. I would like to take the opportunity to assure you that we have not decreased the service at Southowram, contrary to popular belief we have in fact increased it when compared to the service prior to covid and the merger with Spring Hall. At the time of the merger Southowram had one GP who was running the surgery and one nurse 1.5 days per week. This was not sustainable long term. This was why the decision to merge was made to enable services to continue to be provided at this site into the future. Spring Hall Group Practice employ a range of prescribing clinicians including a prescribing nurse, Advanced practitioners, salaried GP, and Partners, as well as Physicians associates who currently work alongside the prescribing GP. We are also one of the largest training practices in Calderdale. Alongside this provision we also work closely with Central Primary Care Network utilizing the additional clinicians working within our PCN, these include first contact physios, podiatrist, mental health practitioner, social prescribing link workers and care coordinators. We are aware that there are large volumes of calls being received from 8 am and we are working hard to improve the speed at which we can respond to these. Our average wait time at present is 16 minutes from start to ending the call and our goal is to get this to under 5 minutes. Unfortunately, since the merger we have been busy recruiting for seven reception positions across the practice, this does have a dramatic effect on the speed at which we can respond to all the demand coming into the practice. Our main priority has been to recruit and train these new reception staff to ensure that our patients can get through to the surgery in a timely manner. We regularly review the number of appointments we provide each month based on the British Medical Association guidance for the gold standard number of appointments, and we offer way above the gold standard! However, we are not an infinite service, we have a limited number of appointments that each clinician can safely provide each day, this number is also based on the British Medical Association guidance for safe working practice. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the surgery to speak to the Practice Manager or join our Patient Participation Group and help us to develop our services for the future.
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Review titled Service has gone downhill
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 06 April 2023
No doctors, no appointments. Have been trying to get an appointment via Patchs system for past few days and nothing is available even at 8am which is when they supposedly start being available. You can't send messages for prescription requests or admin request any more, which is ridiculous even for their own staff because it means admin staff will be even busier than before. They don't allow you to book slots via the systmone online system any more, again more work for their own staff. Rang in at around 10:30 to be told no appointments available and all appointments had been taken up by 9:30. They merged about 4 surgeries and somehow have less appointments and worse service than before! This surgery needs to be revisited by CQC because their care is terrible, they always try and push the issue on to 111 or walk in centres that are 16 miles away, increasing their workload and annoying service users! The excuse of we have staff absences is ridiculous in a previous comment. Every business has staff absences, you should be dealing with them rather than using it as an excuse. I struggle to see how many staff absences you would have when you have so many doctors across the merged surgeries, including the pharmacist practitioners.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 15 April 2023
I am sorry that you have experienced difficulties booking an appointment at the surgery. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact the Practice Manager All of our available appointments open at 8 am and are available to book through engage consult, online access and over the phone. As with all services we do have a limit to the number of appointments which we can offer, and I am sure you can understand that as a large practice, with so many ways to book, the available appointments are often booked very quickly. Currently, the NHS is facing extreme pressures, and we are working hard to keep up with the demands placed on us. The appointments system is regularly reviewed to ensure we are providing the most appropriate mix of clinicians, face to face and telephone consultation appointments. All comments are discussed at length in our practice meeting and help to form future changes to our system alongside all current demands on general practice. Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.
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Review titled Unbelievable unprofessional and uncaring
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 14 April 2023
Mother discharged from hospital. Surgery yet to react to discharge note or follow up on recommendations after 5 weeks. Consultants sent feedback. Also ignored. Booked telephone appointment never happens.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 15 April 2023
I am sorry that you have found your mother's care with the practice less than satisfactory. We would like the opportunity to investigate your concerns, however it is difficult to do so in detail as I am unable to investigate due to the post being anonymous. If you would like the practice manager to investigate this further please complete the complaints form on our website and email it to the secretary's email wyicb-cal.secretariesspringhallsurgery@nhs.net Once again please contact the email address above if you would like us to review the complaint further
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Review titled Shockingly bad
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 24 April 2023
The care service provided after the recent merger is non existent, there is no possibility of booking any kind of appointment - it appears that all of the telephone calls, for what used to be 4 GP surgeries, are now answered by 1 receptionist so the average waiting time is 40 minutes just to find out that there is nothing available and you can call, again in 2 weeks. I've tried using online services and Patchs app, but the functionality is terrible and there are no available appointments to book. Extremely disappointing.
Visited April 2023
Review titled Spring Hall Group Practice
Replied on 27 July 2023
We are sorry that you have experienced issues contacting the surgery if you would like to discuss specific issues further please complete a complaints form at any of the surgeries and the Practice Manager will review and respond to you directly