Feedback and Complaints

Thank you for taking the time to complete the North Central London Integrated Care Board-led patient survey, which was sent to all patients in 2023. We have carefully reviewed the valuable feedback, considered different perspectives, and implemented measures to develop an ongoing action plan.

Since September 2023, the team at St Andrews Medical Practice has been focused on key improvements to our system and workforce. These enhancements are guided by patient feedback and insights from our intensive six-month General Practice Improvement Planning Programme. This initiative was designed to support our transition to a modern general practice access model.

View the results of the survey here.

We have significantly reduced average wait times from 9 minutes 19 seconds to 3 minutes 14 seconds and we have a call-back function, which allows you to hold your place in the queue without waiting on the line and once you reach the top of the queue we will call you back.

We have re-trained administrative staff who will now offer further support for our patients who cannot use the online consultation form. Our team can support you to complete this on your behalf, if you have challenges with accessing us online. 

We launched a triage model in December 2023, enabling us to offer patients appointment with the right person at the right time. We have expanded self-book links for nursing appointments which allows patients the options to choose appointments which suit their availability. We improved digital inclusion efforts to help patients navigate the access model changes and the NHS app.

Patients have been attending workshops to help support their knowledge and confidence in using digital platforms and we have more planned.

We have changed our website provider; our new website can be found here: St Andrews Medical Practice

We have improved our website accessibility, we aim to keep finding better ways to give our patients clear, accurate information.

We attended the Totteridge Residents Association meeting to connect with our community and gain insight into local challenges. Additionally, we met with our local MP, Dan Tomlinson, to discuss the pressing issues facing General Practice. To support the transition to our new access model, we have conducted digital inclusion workshops in collaboration with our network of practices.

Moving forward, we are planning open events at St Andrews to help patients better understand our access model and guide them toward available support groups.

Our GPs maintain named patient lists, ensuring continuity of patient-centred care. We conduct daily clinical ‘huddle’ meetings to discuss complex cases, allowing the entire team to better understand and support our most vulnerable patients. Additionally, our GPs have dedicated time to manage and oversee the care of complex cases, reinforcing our commitment to continuity of care in the evolving landscape of general practice.

Our triage system supports this continuity of care as when triaging patient requests, we aim to ensure patients are seen by the right person at the right time. We utilise our wide ranging multi – disciplinary team to care for our patients with long – term conditions. Our clinical team attend both frailty MDT meetings and paediatric MDT meetings to review our complex patients with the support of wider colleagues from secondary care, such as consultants and psychotherapists. We have access to mental health link workers who support the needs of our vulnerable patients and social prescribers who connect patients with community resources and support.

St Andrews Medical Practice Appointments – Here are the changes we made.

• Urgent Same-Day Appointments: Call the surgery from to 8:00 AM.
• Routine Appointments: Use the AccuRx Patient Triage system to submit an online consultation request. This can be accessed via our website St Andrews Medical Practice or via NHS app. If you have difficulties using our online provider you can call or reception staff who will assist, when further support is needed to complete the form on your behalf.

We have implemented a triage system for our Routine appointments in response to patient feedback and increasing demand. This enables us to prioritise patients in accordance with their medical need and ensures we can support patients to be seen by the right clinician within our Primary Care Team.

Key information:

• Developed by Dr. Joanna Yong & Dr. Michelle Mendonca in late 2023 to manage increasing demand.
• Aligns with BMA’s Safe Working in General Practice guidelines to prioritise urgent cases.
• Positive patient feedback to date and increased appointment availability.

How It Works:

• Online Submission: Patients complete a straightforward online form when seeking routine access, preferably using AccuRx's Patient Triage solution, known for its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with the clinical system (EMIS Web). This can be accessed via our website St Andrews Medical Practice or via NHS app. If you have difficulties using our online provider you can call or reception staff who will assist, when further support is needed to complete the form on your behalf.
• Triage Workflow: All online requests are first reviewed by our Care Navigators. Medical requests are passed to a clinician to decide the next steps, while other queries are sent to the right team to handle.
• Triage by Clinician: All online requests are carefully reviewed by our team. Urgent requests are dealt with as soon as possible, while less urgent issues are scheduled within appropriate timeframes. Every request is handled based on its priority to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time.

Looking Ahead:

We greatly value patient feedback and are committed to ongoing service improvements. As part of our efforts, we plan to re-survey patients later this year to measure the impact of the changes we have made. We encourage all patients to join our Patient Participation Group (PPG), which plays a vital role in shaping the future of our services. You can express interest in joining the PPG via our website. 

Your voice matters, and your insights help us deliver better care for everyone in our community.