St Mary's Surgery
37 St. Marys Street, Ely, CB7 4HFContact details and opening times
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Reviews
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Review titled "Catch Me If You Can", again. (Edited to 3000 characters)
Rated 3 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 10 February 2024
Dear Practice Manager, I note with interest other people's comments on this website, the comment made on the 27th of October 2023, “catch me if you can” made me smile. I also have “no quibble with the care”. I requested a psa test via a paper letter in Nov 23, I had the test and it was explained that I wouldn’t be contacted unless there was a problem with the result. Since then I have been called back for 2 retests. Naturally I was a little concerned so I resorted to discussing the issue with the receptionist who was very helpful and informed me that my psa reading was ok, but there was another problem. Getting to the bottom of what the problem was has been a cause of much frustration: Text received Wednesday 7 Feb 24 inviting me to arrange a telephone consultation with Dr x via Ask my Gp at 7:30 or via the Patient Services Team on the surgery number option 1 at 8:30. Fri 9 Feb 24, I made multiple attempts to log in to Ask my Gp from 0730 to 0750 and St Mary’s Surgery remained “offline”. I screenshot the evidence, pasted it into a letter requesting an appointment with Dr x iaw the text of the 7th and posted it through St Mary's Surgery letterbox before returning home in time to phone Patient Services at 8:30 iaw text. When the receptionist answered she was very helpful, though she stated there were unfortunately no more appointments available on Friday as they had all gone. I said that previously for non-urgent matters such as this an appointment could be made in the future, perhaps a month or six weeks ahead. The lady said that I should keep on trying each day next week as everything was done ‘on the day’ now. I suggested that this could be an iterative process that could go on ad infinitum if this morning was anything to go by. I asked if it would be possible to speak to the Practice Manager to discuss this as it simply is not practical to spend the best part of two hours ‘day in day out’ trying to make an appointment. The receptionist stated that the Practice Manager did not do “face to face”. The 1st lady then passed me on to another very helpful admin lady who went through my test results with me. Approx. 10 mins after I had put my phone down the 2nd admin lady phoned me back to say that she had spoken to Dr X and my results were nothing to be concerned about. Mission accomplished. I had intended to ask you why we now have this ‘on the day’ situation, the practicalities of which are above. I’m sure a lot of other people reading this would agree that the ‘on the day’ service is far from ideal because of the practicalities detailed above. Would it be possible for you to post an explanation as to the rationale behind this policy in order that other patients can read it. Also, if possible for the benefit of other veterans such as myself, could you please let us know what in practical terms the following from your website means? “Armed Forces veteran friendly accredited GP practice.” I look forward to reading your response.
Visited February 2024
Review titled St Mary's Surgery
Replied on 16 February 2024
Dear Sir, I am sorry to learn of the issues which you have experienced in accessing care via our Ask My GP portal. Unfortunately there are times when we face either extreme demand on our service (exceeding 250 requests in 30 minutes) or suffer from staff sickness (which was the case on Friday 9th February). We are aware of issues that some patients have experienced with accessing our Ask My GP portal and whilst acknowledging that no appointment system is perfect, we appreciate that improvements are needed. Therefore, we are currently working on updating our operational model for patient access, with improvements hoping to be implemented by April. Unfortunately appointment systems are complex and take time and planning to ensure adjustments are satisfactory and safe. We are confident that the changes which we are introducing will bring enhanced access and satisfaction to our patients. With regards our status as an "Armed Forces veteran friendly accredited GP practice", I would highlight the following link from NHS England as providing a useful overview of the service which is currently provided - https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/armed-forces-community/mental-health/veterans-reservists/ Many Thanks, Tony Davies Practice Manager
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Review titled Slow to respond
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Jonathan - Posted on 07 February 2024
Getting an appointment is the first challenge. The phone line is often closed by 8am as the expectation is to book online at 7.30am. Try calling the surgery at lunch time and you get no answer at all (clearly getting staff to stagger their lunches is out of the question). I have been suffering with extreme pain in my hand for several weeks. I know it’s a case of tendinitis as I’ve had it before. At my previous GP near Bishops Stortford, I would be seen and given a steroid injection on the same day and the pain and stiffness would be gone within the hour. At St Mary’s, I am being referred to a specialist at Addenbrookes and a physio in Ely. I have now also been offered an injection on the 5th of March so I now have four more weeks of painful sleep disturbed nights ahead of me. This seems highly inefficient and also seems to lack any consideration for the impact this is having on my ability to sleep and get on with my life. It literally takes 2 minutes to give the steroid injection. Why can’t this be done during a normal GP visit?
Visited February 2024
Review titled St Mary's Surgery
Replied on 16 February 2024
Dear Jonathan, I am sorry to learn of your issues with accessing the Ask My GP portal. I appreciate that this must be incredibly frustrating. Please be assured that we are currently reviewing our existing operational model, with a view to making changes in the next 2 months, which we believe will make a significant difference to patient access and experience. Appointment systems are complex and take time to adjust, however once these changes are made we hope to see improvements for our patient population. With regards your issue regarding your hand, I am afraid that I am unable to answer that specific query here without having all of the requisite information available. Please feel free to write for my attention at the surgery and I will investigate in further detail for you. Many Thanks, Tony Davies Practice Manager
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Review titled Difficult to reach
Rated 4 stars out of 5
by Katharine Betts - Posted on 22 November 2023
I have no quibble with the care - always been pretty good. Access is another matter. For instance yesterday I attempted to leave a message on Ask my GP. Available time was between 7.30 and 7.48. What sort of online service is that? All I wanted to do was update the doctor on recent communication over a referral.
Visited November 2023
Review titled St Mary's Surgery
Replied on 27 December 2023
Dear Mrs. Betts, I am sorry to hear that you recently experienced issues with accessing the surgery via our Ask My GP system. Unfortunately, there are times when access to the service has to be restricted to ensure safe levels of working and this can occur at unforeseen times, for example due to staff sickness. We are constantly reviewing how we can improve access to our services and hope to introduce further improvements to our system in the early part of 2024. Yours Sincerely, Tony Davies Practice Manager
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Review titled AskmyGP feels like "catch me if you can"
Rated 2 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 27 October 2023
It's been a week I've been trying to book an appointment that cannot be classified as 'emergency' and thus needs to be done through AskmyGP. I log in at 9am and the Surgery has already reached capacity of safe working levels and thus nothing can be done until the next morning. The safe working level is definitely not from the patient's point of view who is left helpless. The advertised service times are until 12 noon except from Friday, but this is very misleading is every day for a whole week the Surgery has reached capacity already by 9am. The whole experience with AskmyGP feels like "catch me if you can" and the answer, for me, has been "I can
Visited October 2023
Review titled St Mary's Surgery
Replied on 27 December 2023
Dear Sir/Madam, I am sorry to hear that you have had issues in contacting the surgery via our Ask My GP service. The system is open from 07:30 from Monday to Friday and due to high demand, can be turned off, to ensure safe levels of working. We encourage patients to log on to the Ask My GP system early, to ensure that they are able to submit their request. If a patient has issues with accessing our services, we would always suggest that patients phone our Patient Services Team, who will advise them on the best course of action to take. Yours Faithfully, Tony Davies Practice Manager
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Review titled Quick response
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 26 July 2023
I logged a request for a consultation after 8am and, following a callback, was at the surgery for an appointment with a doctor at 9.30. This system works really well for me.
Visited July 2023
Review titled St Mary's Surgery
Replied on 31 July 2023
Dear Sir/Madam, Many thanks for your kind words, which I will ensure are shared with our practice team. Yours Faithfully, Tony Davies Practice Manager
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Review titled Great Practice
Rated 5 stars out of 5
by Anonymous - Posted on 20 June 2023
From booking appointment to having tests done plus follow up and referral process has been seamless by caring ,thorough and highly professional manner.
Visited June 2023
Review titled St Mary's Surgery
Replied on 20 June 2023
Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you very much for your kind words regarding St Mary's Surgery, which I will ensure will be shared across our entire surgery team. Many Thanks, Tony Davies Practice Manager