Latest comments banner

Your comments

We are very keen that people who use our services tell us about their experiences, good or bad to enable us to learn and improve. If you have used one of our services please visit our services pages, find the service you have used and leave a comment.

If you need to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), you can find contact details here: http://oxleas.nhs.uk/your-views/make-a-complaint/patient-advice-and-liaison-ser/​

705 Comments

Service: None

thank you ivy willis house all for the support and patience you have given me during the past year .it has been a long and rocky road,but the stff have been wonderful.thank you.

Dear John

Thank you for taking the time to leave a message about the positive support you've received from Ivy Willis House. It's especially heartening to hear how the staff have been instrumental in this; we know they take great pride in their work, and make huge efforts to deliver care that is personal and that matters.

We will pass your words onto them, and we know they'll be grateful and enormously pleased to hear this.

Kind regards

Dr Derek Tracy
Associate Clinical Director.

Service: Podiatry Service

Held on for over 25 minutes to get through to book an appointment for my mother for end of March.
Told they cannot book an appointment because they do not have clinic schedules beyond next week. And they are running 4 or 5 weeks behind schedule.
Told I must call back next week but if they are so far behind and they only have schedules for 10 days, it seems I will have to call every week until I get lucky.
It is no wonder they have in excess of 100 calls a day, and that the time to wait to speak to somebody is so long.
An organised operation knows exactly when staff are booked on holiday, training, etc. and it should not be beyond the capability of the NHS to organise appointments for a minimum of a month forward.

Dear Robert

I am sorry to hear about your negative experience with regards to the podiatry access team. The team is currently in the process of change to improve the experience of the service users. Your comments are valued and I have shared these with the team and actions taken to prevent re-occurrence in the future.

If you would like to discuss this issue further, please email me at karen.rodwell@oxleas.nhs.uk with your telephone details and I will contact you on receipt of your email, or alternatively you can call me on my direct dial 020 8319 7111.

Kind regards

Karen Rodwell
Head of Integrated Community Teams

Service: None

What a FANTASTIC, welcoming and friendly clinic. I had a horrific experience while having a cervical smear taken at my gp practice, which I'm sure you ladies know is not nice at the best of times but due to my bad experience, I was too freaked out to go back which led to it being considerably overdue.... Not good. I had previously taken my daughter to the source for her imms, so thought I would try there as the Dr/nurse was lovely. She made me feel very relaxed and calm about the whole procedure..... Needless to say, I would never go anywhere but "THE SOURCE"
Sincerely grateful for such a wonderful service and such wonderful staff, many thanks. xx

Thank you Hannah for taking the time to share your experience at The Source.

I have shared your comments with the team, these comments are very much appreciated.

We will continue to strive to provide a high standard of care, and ensure a positive experience for all our service users.

Kind regards

Bridget Lawrence
The Source

Service: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Team

Just finished the pulmonary rehab course. I can't praise this service highly enough - informative, educational, very helpful and FUN. The staff are friendly and certainly know their stuff! Thank you Helen & co, hope Oxleas know what an asset they have in you.

Dear Anne

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely comment.

Helen and her team are delighted that you found the course so helpful.

Best regards

Lynn Orford
Community Respiratory Service Lead

Service: None

Had assessment in nov/dec last year. Was diagnosed over the phone 1st week in feb, now have to wait til april to see the SIT team, which i think is way too long! I have problems that need to be addressed and questions but whenever i ring ferryview i can never talk to a dr or anyone as nobody is available? Even though my gp has started my medication i think im slowly starting to deteriate, and obviously need help instead of waiting around?? Which is really not good.

Many thanks for taking the time to contact us and explaining your concerns. We understand that a member of the team has now spoken to you to hear these in more detail, and to give an explanation of how the service works, including what to do in an emergency whilst waiting for an appointment.

We have been told that you are happy with the outcome of this discussion, but please do get back in contact if you've any further comments.

Kind regards

Dr Derek Tracy
Associate Clinical Director

I came in for a referral last year - was told I would see a Specialist within two months. Didn't happen. Got the letter for the appointment almost a year later by which time I had realised I didn't need it all and went for self help options.

Dear Ebbie

I'm sorry to hear about your negative experience. I will shortly contact you directly to learn more about what has happened, how we can learn from this, and if we need to provide you with any assistance at this time.

Yours

Dr Derek Tracy
Associate Clinical Director

Service: Greenwich Time to Talk

Hello,

I have been assessed by Elizabeth. I was sent a summary of my assesment recently, in this assesment it indicates that I have been put on a waiting list for individual CBT therapy. Can you please advise on how long roughly applicants wait for individual therapy and if there is alternatives in the meantime (such as organisations where applicants can pay for treatment)

Thanks

Dear Harry

Thank you for your enquiry.

Waiting times vary depending on what your individual circumstances are and which treatment has been recommended. For example clients who are flexible about where and what time they can attend are usually offered appointments more quickly than those waiting for particular surgeries, days or times. However, our maximum waiting time targets from the date we receive a referral to the treatment start date is 18 weeks. NHS England have introduced new targets from April 2015, where they require 75% of clients to enter treatment within 6 weeks of referral and 95% within 18 weeks. We will be publishing our actual waiting times on the Oxleas website from April 2015 and we are working hard to achieve the new targets. You will be able to find these at www.oxleas.nhs.uk/gttt

If you contact the service directly (Tel 020 3260 1100 ) or via greenwichtimetotalk@oxleas.nhs.uk we can advise you about where you are on the waiting list.

We endeavour to see individuals as soon as possible so they do not have to consider the option of private therapy. We therefore do not recommend organisations where our patients would have to pay privately for treatment because they are on a waiting list with us.

Regarding other resources, all of the Greenwich libraries stock 'books on prescription' which are a wide range of evidence based self-help books for mild to moderate mental health problems and other issues.

Finally, in addition to this there is also Big White Wall. Big White Wall is an anonymous service. Using Big White Wall will not affect how long you have to wait for treatment: you will still receive counselling or CBT from us when a therapist becomes available.

What is Big White Wall?

www.bigwhitewall.com is a place you can go when you’re feeling down, or struggling with mental health issues. It’s an online service for everyone over 16, designed to help you feel better and take control of your mental health. Big White Wall is safe and anonymous, with trained professionals online to support you 24/7.

95% of people who use Big White Wall say it helps them to feel better.

What can I do on Big White Wall?

- Get things off your chest, and share with people experiencing similar issues to you
- Express how you’re feeling with words and images
- Learn practical skills to help you cope with the things you’re struggling with
- Take part in online Guided Support courses

How can I join Big White Wall?

Simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and select ‘join now’ to enter your postcode where it says ‘check if free in your area’, this will take you to setup your unique and anonymous login.

I hope this is helpful

Katy Grazebrook
Clinical Lead
Greenwich Time To Talk

I would like to tell you about the great experience I have had at The Source. I started using the source when my 4 year old was just a few months old and they are great. Friendly and professional, and fantastic with kids. Was especially impressed that not just an emergency service but also arranged injections for both my children.
Whenever I have visited The Source the team have been polite, professional and I have never waited for more that 10 minutes to be seen. This is a very different experience from a trip to my local GP. So Thank you and please pass on my comment to they team there.

Dear Kim

Thank you for your lovely comments which are very much appreciated by our team. Our team at the Source really are very caring and committed and they continue to always do all they can to support the health and well being of our local families. It is great to be able to share your feedback with them.

Kind regards

Jane
Service Director, Adult Community Services

Service: None

My nan arrived to this care home after leaving hospital, on several visits staff were either rude or no where to be found. My nan was left in wet underwear for half a day and we were told by my nan that they spoke to her much nicer when we were there and when she was alone they were impatient with her.unfortunately our nan became ill again and was taken back to hospital but in another way this was a silver lining for us as she no longer spends another day in a adequate care home. On another note we were not even told that out nan was taken to hospital it was not until my sister went to visit that she was informed even know my nan was taken to hospital the night before. there response was we had 48 hours to collect her belongings at that moment in time the welfare of our nan was far more important. we understand this care home is due to closing we are not surprised and glad another family does not have the experience we encountered.

Dear Michelle

We are sorry that your nan has not had a good experience and grateful to you for raising these issues. We will ensure that myself or our clinical director Sarah contact you later today to discuss further. We will be discussing with the matron and head of nursing immediately.

Best regards

Jane Wells
Director of Adult Community Health Services

I have been with your services in the Bromley 48 Mason hill for nearly 2 yrs in which I have seen roughly 8 Drs ,all which were great, but for some reason they have all left .Now I have been given Dr A, I have had nothing but problems with her, 7 different Dr agree on my medication as I was on 3 different benzodines and was taken off 2 of them and calculated them and now only take one with the lithium, it has taken years to get the right medication and dose, finally your Drs got it right. In the notes if anyone looked I had said it was the first time I had felt normal in years. I Lost my grandmother, my grandfather, and broke up with my partner all in the space of 3 months, I was actually coping well until for no reason Dr A decided to change my doses n put me on another medication with side effects of thickening of the blood and said not to take in have heart problems and I have had 2 heart attacks and have a blood clot in the chamber of my heart !!! So needless to say I didn't take it ,so because I didn't take it I then wasn't perscribed any of my medication !!!! Why touch something that is working ???? Because it was someone else that got it right and not her !!!! I've asked to see someone else over a week ago and have not heard anything .. I think it is discusting . I don't need someone to tell me how I'm feeling, I should be telling the Dr.. She does not listen just talks over me. I have contacted a solicitor , She is playing with my life, this is not a game, but Dr A seems to think so......

Dear Amanda

We are very sorry to hear about your concerns, particularly as you feel a treatment combination that was working was changed.

There are always pros and cons to taking medication, and we regret that the conversation on this with your doctor does not appear to have been as clearly explained as perhaps it might.

I have spoken to the team at Stepping Stones who have been advised of your thoughts on this. I have been informed that your next appointment will be with a different doctor, who will be made aware of these important issues in advance of your review.

I trust that you will be able to have a clear and considered discussion on these issues at this time, including the rationale for any commencement, change, or discontinuation of any medication.

Kind regards

Dr Derek Tracy
Associate Clinical Director

Leave a general comment

Your contact details:

Comments will be moderated and published on this website.

Your telephone number and email address are required in case we need to contact you directly. These details are treated in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with any third-parties.