Weaver Vale Practice
Hospital Way, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2UTContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled Poor Practice
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Valerie Hale - Posted on 16 December 2024
I tried to order a repeat prescription online and one of the items I’ve been taking for many years had disappeared from the list. I called the surgery and spoke to a receptionist who said I needed to redial the surgery number again and choose #2 from the options to speak to the prescription service. I tried to do this three times but couldn’t get through so I called the receptionist back who said she had checked the line was working and asked me to call it again. However this time, after choosing the #2 option and waiting in the queue again for some time I somehow managed to get back to the receptionist again. After the receptionist spoke to the prescription service once again I was told I’d need to make an appointment to see a doctor because it seemed the medication had been deleted from my repeat list but they didn’t know why. Unfortunately as there wasn’t any appointments available I was told to keep calling the surgery daily until one became available. So I have been left high and dry because of the surgery’s actions with little of my medication left. Could I respectfully suggest that if medications are being deleted from the patients repeat medications that a courtesy text or email be sent to the patient rather than the patient suddenly finding out when trying to re-order and then having to waste time trying to sort out the mess made which on this occasion was far from straightforward.
Visited December 2024
Review titled Weaver Vale Practice
Replied on 08 January 2025
Thank you for your comments, we are sorry to learn that you are unhappy with your recent contact with the practice. When contacting the practice you will be presented with the different options to ensure that you speak to the correct person. The recorded message on the phone informs you to choose option 2 if you have an enquiry about a prescription, the message also advises that the prescription line is open from 11am- 1pm and 2pm - 4pm, if you call outside of these times you will receive an automated response. We are not aware of an issue with the prescription line, however we have asked our IT to check the lines to ensure that there is no problem that we are unaware of, thank you for bringing this to our attention. In relation to medication, I can assure you that medication is not deleted from a patients records. However, if a patient does not regularly order a medication on their repeat medication list as a safety feature within the clinical system the medication will be moved to a past list, this will then remove it from a patients repeat medication list and they will no longer be able to order it via their NHS app. The reason for this feature is to ensure that medication it up to date and if a patient ceases taking medication, a doctor review would be required to ensure that they can safely continue to prescribe the medication and ensure that there are no changes to a patients health that would require a medication change. A medication would only drop into the past if a patient has not ordered it for a long period of time i.e. 12 months, I am unable to comment on you personally due to confidentiality, however if you have not ordered the medication for over 12 months this will be the reason the medication has dropped from your repeat medication list. If the reason that you have not ordered for some time is because you had a stock pile and have been using this, then I would suggest that you contact the prescription clerk to explain that is the situation. However, if you ceased taking the medication you will now be required to book an appointment. We hope that this offers you an explanation, however if you contact the prescription clerk she will be able to look into this in more detail for you.
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Review titled Appointments
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Display - Posted on 17 January 2024
I have always been seen whenever I needed to, if no appointments the duty doctor will speak over phone and if they feel it is something needed that day you will be fitted in.Always feel I am listened to and dealt with professionally. The practice has recently updated the phone system, and keep patients updated by text. Nothing to complain about personally at the health centre. I do notice the number of patients that do not turn up for appointments which is displayed in reception, why not cancel.
Visited January 2024
Review titled Weaver Vale Practice
Replied on 19 January 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I am happy to hear that you are happy with the service you have been provided. I am very aware of the number of appointments that are wasted by patients failing to attend and not cancelling in advance. I understand that there are occasions whereby patients are unable to attend, however I am reviewing our policy to look at repeat failures to attend appointments and consider removing these patients from our list. Thank you for taking the time to leave a positive review. I will share this with my team as they do all work extremely hard and don't always receive the positive feedback they deserve Dawn Practice Manager.
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Review titled Diabolical
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 04 October 2023
I waited 4 weeks for an appointment which was for 5 Oct. Today (4 Oct) I received a text to say that my appointment was cancelled and has been moved to 3 weeks later as a Dr was on long term sick...which of course cannot be helped. Phoning to enquire as to why my appt was cancelled I asked if it was the Dr I was seeing that was off sick to be told "no" but as he is the lead Dr in the practice all of his appts have to be cancelled...really.... how is this fair? I advised that I was now in extreme pain and had no medication to control the pain and needed to be seen so I can be prescribed the medication I need, to be told to phone at 8.30 in the morning. I am furious as this is not a one off appt that has been cancelled it happens on a regular basis. My son has had 4 appointments moved also in the last 2 months due to a Dr being off on long term sickness. He needs his scan results to start private physio but has been told that he has to wait for this Dr to come off long term sick to get the results and no other Dr can provide this information; this is very poor service by the practice...why can only 1 Dr in Weaver vale provide the results of a scan? Priority should be given to patients who have waited weeks for an appointment, although most of the time when making the initial appt it may not be urgent, having to wait a further month or so for another appointment would exasperate their condition.
Visited October 2023
Review titled Weaver Vale Practice
Replied on 18 October 2023
Dear Patient, Thank you for your review. I am sorry that you are unhappy with the service that you have received from the practice and would like to offer our apologies for the appointments which have been changed. Unfortunately we have had five doctors become unwell over the last few months, two of which have been hospitalised, and we are very aware that patients appointments have been changed and for some patients on more than one occasion. Unfortunately this is outside of our control and not something that we are able to plan for. When a doctor is unable to attend work we must prioritise our sickest patients and this is thouse who are accessing a same day urgent appointment and who will become very unwell or be hospitalised if not seen on the same day. We also have to ensure that our doctors who are in work have a safe workload to ensure they can make safe decision for our patients. This means that patients who have a routine appointment booked will be rescheduled. We are aware how difficult it is to obtain an appointment, due to demand on the system, so we will always provide an alternative date rather that just cancel the appointment. If you have an urgent medical need that would result in you becoming seriously unwell if not seen you can contact the practice for an urgent same day appointment. If a doctor has reviewed a result and has asked the patient to make an appointment, they will have a plan in mind as to what the next action is for that patient. Therefore another doctor would be unable to see the patient because each doctor would have a different management plan for their patients. Your son can request a copy of the scan to enable him to start his private physio sessions he does not need to see a doctor to start private treatment. I hope that this explains and once again offer our apologies that your appointments have been rescheduled.