West Berkshire Community Hospital
London Road, Benham Hill, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG18 3ASContact details and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
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Reviews
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Review titled Useless and difficult website for booking appointmenta
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 06 February 2023
After the recent "improved version" of the website it has become even more unusable. You cannot see the calendar at all. The computer only tells you what are the next two-three appointments! Absolutely ridiculous! Hard to find the correct site to book the appointment. This is impossible for sick elderly people (that are forced to book online) to navigate this charade. I have been complaining for the last 8 years about the site but nobody has bothered to reply to me. Goes to show how much NHS cares for the patients. Absolutely disgusting. Shameful! Third world countries have better service - you can walk in, have your test and have your results withing half an hour.
Visited Phlebotomy services on February 2023
Review titled West Berkshire Community Hospital
Replied on 07 February 2023
Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for your posting and I am sorry to learn that you have experienced difficulties when booking an appointment. Please contact me directly, in confidence, so that we can discuss this in more detail. We can then investigate fully and provide you with a full response. Alternatively, you could contact your local Healthwatch organisation for assistance. Healthwatch are the consumer champions for health and social care. Contact details can be found on our website. www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk Kind regards, Trevor Lyalle Patient Advice & Liaison Service Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Tel: 01189043467 E mail: pals@berkshire.nhs.uk
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Review titled New Sangix blood test booking system
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Chris Hoar - Posted on 12 February 2023
I am a regular user of the sangix blood test booking system. I am very tech savvy. The old system worked perfectly. The new system is definitely not fit for purpose and extremely customer unfriendly. It is nearly impossible to book an appointment more than 2 weeks in advance and no explanation of what a “waiting list” is! The calendar is too small, the print is too faint. I expect the telephone booking system must be very busy as people will be put off booking online. I have read your response to other comments similar to mine and do not accept your excuse that you are not responsible for the look and operation of the system. Surely you had some patients beta test the system before it went live! Some sort of timescales as to when the system will be changed to a more user friendly system would be appreciated. I would like to book a blood test at the beginning of May 2023. Not put on a waiting list which does not help with planning.Some help would be appreciated
Visited Phlebotomy services on February 2023
Review titled West Berkshire Community Hospital
Replied on 17 February 2023
Dear Chris, Thank you for your posting and I am sorry that you experienced difficulties when using this platform. We can only apologise for this. Our booking system underwent a mandatory upgrade and we do not have control over the appearance of it. However, we will take your comments back to the provider, as we need the system to be user friendly. Our Service Manager is kept updated with service user feedback and is in contact with the service provider. Please contact support@sangix.co.uk and they will follow up with you and guide you through the process. I hope that this helps and please contact me if I can assist further. Kind regards, Trevor Lyalle Patient Advice &Liaison Service Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Tel: 01189043467 email:pals@berkshire.nhs.uk
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Review titled Appointment booking process is useless
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 09 February 2023
Trying to book an appointment for an 85 year old who is not tech savvy is an absolute waste of time. Tried to create a new user in the Sangix system and it will not go further than the select the hospital screen, so apparently the West Berkshire community hospital does not exist!! Good luck with trying to use the automated phone booking system and be prepared to answer the same questions over and over then getting cut off. Another wasted hour of my life
Visited Don't know on February 2023
Review titled West Berkshire Community Hospital
Replied on 10 February 2023
Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for your e mail and I am sorry to learn that you experienced difficulties when using this booking platform. We can only apologise for this. Our booking system underwent a mandatory upgrade and we do not have control over the appearance of it. However, we will take your comments back to the provider, as we need the system to be user friendly. If I can assist further, please contact me. Alternatively, you could contact your local Healthwatch organisation for assistance. Contact details can be found on our website. www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk Kind regards, Trevor Lyalle Patient Advice & Liaison Service Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Tel: 01189043467 E mail: pals@berkshire.nhs.uk
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Review titled Booking system repeated failure
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 March 2023
Having spent the best part of two hours on the phone to book a blood test for my daughter last week. (Can't do online booking as she's a child). I was promised a call back to book her in as she's a child, within 48 hours of speaking to them, it was unclear why they weren't booking me in at the time as the phone line is meant be book for booking children and urgent appointments, but I accepted that's the way it works. I never got that call back and it's six days later. Having waited two hours on the phone today and gone from being 14th to 2nd in the queue I was cut off. I'm now on the phone Again!! 11th in the queue Still, running out of battery and at my wits end. She really needs this test and we've already lost a week since being sent for testing. On top of all this when you first get through (having tried multiple times as initially you can't and just get 'user busy' repeatedly) you then get the menu of options, press 3 too book urgent/child appts, then it takes you through to the same menu of options again, Four Times!! before it put us in the booking queue. This isn't new as I remember the same thing happening a long time ago when I had to book an appointment. The booking system is completely broken and there is no other way to get in touch but to sit for hours not knowing if you'll get through at the end of it.
Visited Phlebotomy services on February 2023
Review titled West Berkshire Community Hospital
Replied on 23 August 2023
Dear patient, Thank you for your posting and please accept my apologies for the delay in responding. I have a response from our Phlebotomy team and we are sorry that you experienced problems when booking a blood test on behalf of your daughter. A new phone system has been implemented across Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and the phlebotomy department had just switched over from the old hospital system and implemented the new system, WebEx. Initially an issue was identified with the phone lines, which caused patients to be stuck in a loop and continue to queue for long periods of time. We are extremely sorry for this and for the obvious frustration it caused you, particularly as you were trying to make an appointment for your daughter. This has now been rectified although the phone lines remain busy, especially first thing in the morning. The team are exploring the possibility of running a remote telephone hub with the ability to open up more phone lines to alleviate long telephone waiting times. If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me. Alternatively, you could contact Healthwatch for assistance. Healthwatch are the consumer champions for Health and Social Care. https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/ Kind regards, Trevor Lyalle Patient Advice& Liaison Service. Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Tel: 01189043467 E mail: pals@berkshire.nhs.uk
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Review titled Poor appointment booking service
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 08 February 2023
spent 30 minutes this morning trying to make an appointment in March that will be convenient for me. On-line option not available - unsecure sangix website - and telephone alternative a very aggravating series of questions. Might suit NHS AI but a dreadful experience for the service user. Finally got there - yes, 30 minutes
Visited Phlebotomy services on February 2023
Review titled West Berkshire Community Hospital
Replied on 10 February 2023
Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for your posting and I am sorry that you experienced problems when using this booking system. I have contacted our Service Manager and we can only apologise for this. Our booking system underwent a mandatory upgrade and we do not have control over the appearance of it. However, we will take your comments back to the provider, as we need the system to be user friendly. Please contact me if I can assist further. Alternatively, you could contact your local Healthwatch organisation for assistance. Healthwatch are the consumer champions for health and social care. Contact details can be found on our website. www.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk Kind regards, Trevor Lyalle Patient Advice & Liaison Service Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Tel: 01189043467 E mail: pals@berkshire.nhs.uk
Information supplied by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust