Friends & Family Feedback – January 2025
The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is a feedback tool used by the National Health Service (NHS) in England. It allows patients to provide feedback on their experiences with NHS services, helping to identify areas of improvement and what’s working well.
We’re committed to transparency and responsiveness to your feedback. As part of this commitment, we’ll be sharing feedback from the Friends and Family Test (FFT) to highlight what we’re doing well and identify areas for improvement. This feedback helps us to better understand your experiences and make our services the best they can be.
We’re pleased to share that we received nearly 300 responses to the Friends and Family Test (FFT) throughout January. Of those, a fantastic 91% of respondents rated our services as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
To further enhance transparency and responsiveness to your feedback, we’re sharing a summary of the top five areas where patients praised the practice, as well as the top five areas identified for potential improvement.
Top 5 Positive Highlights
- Punctuality and Professionalism: Responders appreciated the team’s timeliness and professional demeanour during calls, highlighting their efficiency and helpfulness.
- Attentive and Thorough Care: Responders stated that staff consistently demonstrate attentiveness, thoroughness in examinations, and clear explanations, fostering trust and satisfaction.
- Positive Demeanour: Patients value the friendly and pleasant interactions with the doctor, emphasising the importance of a positive bedside manner.
- Proactive Problem-Solving: Responders recognised the team’s ability to proactively address and resolve medication-related concerns demonstrating their commitment to patient well-being and attention to detail.
- Detailed Consultations: Patients reported feeling reassured by the thorough and structured approach to consultations, indicating a high level of care and attention.
Top 5 Recommendations for Improvement
- Time Management: Some patients noted concerns about appointment timing and delays.
- Checking In: Some respondents expressed frustration with long wait times for check-in.
- Addressing Past Concerns: Feedback suggests that previous visits may have had unresolved issues, highlighting the importance of tracking patient history and following up on past concerns.
- Communication Clarity: Several patients reported receiving inconsistent information from the practice, leading to confusion about their appointments or care.
- Appointment Scheduling: Some respondents noted that appointment scheduling was unclear at times, particularly regarding the timing of expected phone calls.
Final Thoughts
We strive to keep clinics running on time, but occasionally a patient’s case requires more attention due to its complexity, a difficult diagnosis, or personal circumstances. Our clinicians prioritise providing each patient with the necessary time to thoroughly address their concerns. If you’re concerned about a long wait or think you might have been overlooked, please check in with our reception team, who can review the clinic schedule.
We have two self-check-in kiosks available for all appointments, and encourage patients to utilise them. To further streamline the check-in process, starting Monday, February 10th, we’ll have posters with QR codes throughout the practice. Simply scan the code with your mobile device to check in for your appointment—no need to queue at reception or the kiosks. We hope this makes your check-in experience more convenient.
We’re reviewing and standardising patient messaging about appointments and clinical information. By providing our administrative and clinical teams with improved messaging tools, we aim to reduce instances of patients reporting inconsistent or unclear communication from the practice.
Overall, the feedback reflects positively on the team’s professionalism, patient care, and problem-solving abilities.
Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback with us!