Hollies Practice
Tamworth Health Centre, Upper Gungate, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7EAContact details and opening times
Patient ratings and reviews
Leave a review
Help others by sharing your thoughts and experiences about Hollies Practice.
Reviews
-
Review titled Referral feedback not great
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Kirsty Frazer - Posted on 17 October 2024
my father has dementia and following a doctors appointment was referred to good hope as suspected of having some mini strokes. the doctor told my mother that if they had not had a phone call from good hope by wednesday 16th, to visit ed, explain and to take things from there. I visited your reception thursday 17th only to told that he's referral to good hope had been rejected and moved to burton/derby hospital, was they not que to maybe ring us and explain what had happened? Instead we could be sitting at ed good hope for a whole day due to your lack of communication. As I have stated my dad has dementia that could have had a detrimental impact if we'd had to sit in ed for hours on end. I now cannot speak to burton/derby hospital because they do not have me as a 'speak on my dads behalf' (which you do) so I have to go through that process but please understand this could have been avoided if you had contacted us.
Visited October 2024
Review titled Hollies Practice
Replied on 17 October 2024
Dear Commentator We take all feedback seriously and are committed to addressing any issues our patients may experience. However, in order to thoroughly investigate and respond to your concerns, we require specific patient information. To ensure the confidentiality and security of your father’s personal information, we kindly ask that you contact the practice directly to provide the necessary details this can be done via our website: https://holliesmedical.co.uk/services/managing-your-health-online/online-forms/contact-the-practice/ Once your father’s details have been provided we will then be able to conduct a comprehensive review of your concerns and respond appropriately. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve our services and patient experience. Kind regards Kathryn Armstrong Office Manager
-
Review titled Rescheduling an appointment
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Rebecca Owen - Posted on 13 October 2024
It would be very helpful if you could include a re-booking option when cancelling appointments. It's 11.30 am on a Sunday morning and I have an appointment for a routine blood test scheduled for Monday at 8.20 am. Due to not feeling very well I wanted to reschedule it for later in the day or later the same week. I had no problem cancelling the appointment but found it impossible to reschedule. Firstly the nhs website advised me to phone the surgery (it's closed), secondly I tried going on the Hollies website and eventually got to a message saying the form to book the appointment would be available at 6 pm. Why? It's an online system. Surely it should be available 24-7. It's not as if someone needs to be there when I submit it. This is a routine appointment that has to be done at specific intervals so needs to be booked asap. Incidentally, this review was initially declined because it contained words in capitals so I have had to un-capitalise nhs and asap, even though autocorrect suggests capitalising them! Maybe you should review that.
Visited October 2024
Review titled Hollies Practice
Replied on 15 October 2024
Dear Commentator Thank you for reaching out to us with your feedback, we appreciate the opportunity to explain our current approach. While we understand the convenience that online booking can offer, we have found that patients sometimes inadvertently book appointments with clinicians who may not be best suited to address their healthcare needs. This can lead to delays in receiving appropriate care and can impact the efficiency of our practice. We currently manage appointments through our triage system, meaning we are able to guide patients to the right clinician based on their needs. We understand that having 24/7 access to our website would be highly beneficial for our patients, especially for accessing services at their convenience. However, due to the increasing demand on our resources, we are currently unable to maintain round-the-clock availability. Our practice is committed to providing high-quality care, and we must carefully allocate our resources to ensure that we can meet the needs of our patients effectively. While we ask patients to use our website for none urgent requests only, we were receiving urgent requests over the weekend while the practice was closed. This posed a safety concern so the availability of the website was therefore reviewed and patients are directed accordingly over the weekend. We strive to keep our website accessible as much as possible, there are times when certain features may be temporarily unavailable due to system maintenance, updates, or resource limitations. These measures are necessary to ensure patient safety, security, reliability, and efficiency of our online services. We would like to clarify the NHS review website is an independent platform designed to collect patient feedback and reviews about healthcare services. While we value the insights and feedback shared on this platform, it is important to note that the website is not directly linked to our practice. As such, we do not have the ability to modify its settings or functionalities, including it’s handling of capital letters in your submission. The restriction on capital letters may be part of the website's automated system to ensure consistency and readability across reviews. This is a common practice on many online platforms to prevent the use of excessive capitalisation, which can be interpreted as shouting or may affect the overall presentation of the content. We understand that this may have caused some frustration, and we apologise for any inconvenience you experienced. We encourage you to reach out to the support team of the NHS review website directly if you have further questions or require assistance with your review submission. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us identify areas for improvement, and we are committed to finding solutions that balance demand with available resources. Thank you for your understanding and for bringing this matter to our attention. Kind regards Kathryn Armstrong Office Manager
-
Review titled Very helpful staff
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 12 July 2024
I had to visit the practice regarding my 92 year old mother. The receptionist who I saw was extremely helpful in every way
Visited June 2024
Review titled Hollies Practice
Replied on 12 July 2024
Dear Commentator Thank you so much for your kind words about our receptionist. I am delighted to hear that you had a positive experience when visiting the surgery with your mother and that our admin staff were able to assist you effectively. We strive to provide excellent service to all our patients, and feedback like yours is incredibly motivating for our team. I will be sure to pass on your compliments to rest of the team here at The Hollies. Kind regards Kathryn Armstrong Office Manager
-
Review titled Statins
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by A McDonald - Posted on 24 August 2023
I believe there is a shortage of 20mg statins. A fortnight ago my wife and I received 10mg statins and were told to take two each day. Of course these only lasted a fortnight and we expected the same quantity a fortnight later. None have materialised. Can I ask who is managing this situation.
Visited August 2023
Review titled Hollies Practice
Replied on 14 September 2023
Dear Commentator, Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback following your recent experience. Due to confidentiality I can only respond to your general concerns. If you would like to discuss this in more detail regarding your individual circumstances please contact the Practice directly. There can sometimes be national supply issues or shortages of medications and this is unfortunately out of our control. The Practice tries to work closely with local pharmacies so that we are aware of any supply issues they are facing however there are times where we are first made aware of issues when it is brought to our attention by a patient. In these circumstances we try to issue our patients with a prescription for a suitable alternative medication or dose, this is usually a temporary alternative so the quantity of medication issued may be lower in a hope that the shortages will be resolved and patients can continue with their regular medication. Even with alternatives we do still require patients to order their prescription in the usual way when they have less 1 week’s supply. I hope this has addressed your concerns but explaining how the practice deals with this type of situation but again if you would like to discuss the matter in regards to your personal circumstances in this instance please contact the Practice directly. Kind regards Kathryn Armstrong Office Manager
-
Review titled Blood test.
Rated 1 star out of 5
by Karen pegg - Posted on 29 January 2023
I have regular 3 monthly blood tests due to medication I take. Since a certain member of staff left the treatment room I'm having continues problems with the nurses taking my blood. I probably expect a couple of failed attempts, which is frequently happening with me but not 7. Yes 7!! Three different nurses took 7 attempts. It was suggested at one point that I'd have to rebook but as I pointed out what would change? It would still be the same nurses trying to take my blood! Finally the seventh attempt was successful in the back of my hand which I try to avoid as this I find painful. I'm now left with bruising on both arms and the back of my hand. Surely this is unacceptable and if I'm honest incompetent! Why doesn't the practice have a trained phlebotomist? What's the success rate of the nurses being able to take a blood test first time, or maybe second? This cannot continue with me. Is there a GP in the practice that are successful in taking blood? No wonder my blood pressure was raised at my appointment. Something has to change for me as like I said this cannot continue. I await a response with a solution please. Many thanks. Karen Pegg.
Visited January 2023
Review titled Hollies Practice
Replied on 31 January 2023
Dear Commentator Thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience. Due to confidentiality I have responded in more depth to the complaint you raised directly with the Practice via our website. I am sorry you have had a bad experience during your recent consultation. I would like to reassure you that all of our Treatment Room staff are fully trained in phlebotomy. Our nursing team is trained to university level and phlebotomy would have course been a basic part of this training. Our HCAs are trained in phlebotomy and many other areas so they are able to carry out a range of consultations which benefit our patients where as a Practice Phlebotomist would only be able perform blood tests. The Practice offers a range of services which other practices do not and we hope this helps our patients as coming to the surgery is often the most convenient option for them. You can however, if you wish, ask for your blood test form to be printed by us and then you have the option of attending hospital to have your bloods taken. The Treatment Room staff take bloods routinely and during January alone there were 1130 appointments where blood samples were taken. Our GPs do not routinely take bloods, and while they are trained to do so, our Treatment Room staff are far more experienced as they do this daily. Due to the size of our nursing and HCA team, a GP appointment for bloods would not be something the Practice would be able to offer you as patients are signposted to the most relevant clinician for their requirements and this helps to free up GP appointments for those that really need them. I have spoken to the staff who attempted to take your blood sample during your last appointment and I have also discuss the issue with Sarah who is our Senior Practice Nurse. Sarah has advised that the Treatment Room staff have found it difficult to take blood samples with multiple patients over the last couple of weeks. She explained that the cold weather coupled with a known issue with the heating in the health centre which had been reported to the owner of the building and has now been rectified was making it more difficult for them to take a blood sample on the first attempt. This is because being cold can cause your veins to constrict and therefore be harder to find. She also advised that unfortunately some people are just easier to get blood from than others but there are things patients can do to try and make this process easier and that just attending the appointment can often cause some anxiety and blood pressure to rise. Sarah also explained that simple things like drinking enough water prior to your appointment can also help and felt that the link below may be useful for you: How to prepare for a blood test | Patient I hope this response has helped to answer your concerns but if you wish to discuss your concerns further please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards Kathryn Armstrong Office Manager