Feedback & Suggestions
Feedback, Suggestions & Complaints
If you would like to pass on any feedback or suggestions please complete the form below; we will pass the information on to the correct team and if they need to contact you they will get back to you.
Leaving contact details will enable us to investigate your queries, please be aware that details from your feedback may be reviewed by our Complaints team and may form part of our national data submission; for further details, please review our Privacy Notice.
We endeavor to offer the best service to all our patients. If you would like to raise a complaint please read our complaints leaflet (also available in Large format and Polish/Поʌскі). Complaints can be sent via the form below.
What is the Patient Experience Team?
The York Medical Group Patient Experience Team exists to push for improvement in every aspect of our patient care. We deal with complaints and concerns, as well as ‘celebrations of care’. If you have anything you want to say to the practice, please get in touch either through our website feedback page or email directly to our Postmaster email address, [email protected] if you have a query that needs addressing.
We strive to constantly improve ourselves through constructive patient feedback as well as celebrate our colleagues’ hard work through actual messages passed on from our patients.
Our primary way of submitting appointment requests is now through our Online Klinik system (this is the correct spelling of Klinik which is a third-party software package all practices use in York), which can be accessed through our website. If this is something you are unable to access, please give us a ring or call in to one of our sites where our receptionists will be pleased to assist you with requesting an appointment. This often involves one of our reception team completing a Klinik form on your behalf, so please be prepared to answer several important questions relating to your personal details and symptoms/care.
We introduced this system to allow our patients to share their health concerns in detail and not wait for a long time on the phone. This helps our triage team with a doctor on hand to work out who is the best person to see you for your condition and in what time frame. We try to give you an appointment with the right clinician first time. For those that do not have access to a computer, they can call the phone line, there should be less of a wait time than previously and one of our phone team will complete the form with you.
Our phone lines are constantly monitored between the hours of 8:00am and 6:00pm, Monday to Friday. We are aware that wait times can vary in length, usually much busier first thing in the morning, and at times can cause waits of over 30 minutes. This is something we are keen to address and are actively working on improving.
Please be aware that all calls are recorded for training and development purposes.
If you have submitted an urgent request and our Klinik triage GP determines that your case isn’t urgent, you will be put on a list for a routine appointment. If during this time your complaint becomes more urgent or you feel this isn’t correct you can re-submit your request with more information if possible or if you have phoned let the call handler know. If you have requested a routine appointment currently due to various pressures and recent focus on urgent care cases, our routine appointment wait times have been extended. This is something we are very conscious of and are working to improve so that all our patients can get timely and effective care. We apologise for the inconvenience this can cause. If during the time you are waiting your complaint becomes more urgent that you are now unable to wait, you can re-submit your request using the ‘urgent appointment’ tile.
Over the past couple of years the world has seen many changes and challenges. Healthcare is no exception. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we transitioned most of our appointments into telephone-based consultations to protect our patients and staff from infection. As the country has gradually been opening up and we are learning to ‘live with COVID-19’, we have steadily increased our face-to-face appointment availability.
Although we now offer many face-to-face appointments at most of our sites, we have learned that many health concerns can be treated very effectively over the phone. If one of our triage team or the clinicians themselves determine that a face-to-face appointment is necessary, this will be offered to you. The availability of face-to-face appointments at the different surgery sites does vary from day to day. So, on occasion we may offer you an appointment at a different surgery from the one that you are used to attending – we are grateful for your support in coming to alternative sites where possible.
You may also receive appointments with doctors you are not familiar with. Unfortunately, due to various challenges and demands, our clinicians are asked to work throughout all of our sites and so won’t always be working from their usual surgery. We also utilise several external services to work alongside us at York Medical Group. These services include Push Doctor – a virtual locum doctor service, using video consultations to cover short term GP sickness rather than cancelling appointments. We also use Pharmrefer – a new NHS/government scheme to pass minor illness cases to a local pharmacist who can normally see you or speak to you on the same day, among others. Please be assured that we strive to only refer patients to these services if their condition deems it appropriate.
The ongoing relationship between patient and clinician, especially when requiring further or follow up treatment, is an aspect of healthcare we pride ourselves on. Please be assured we endeavour to do whatever we can to maintain a good level of continuity of care throughout any medical condition you may experience.
Our patients’ continuity of care is very important to us, and we will try to minimise the effect that may occur as a result of government restriction, dealing with COVID-19 backlog or workload pressures. We will continue to strive for strong relationships between patients and clinicians and put an emphasis on ensuring you are cared for through follow up treatment with a suitable clinician.