Anyone experiencing even greater issues securing a GP appointment with Tessa Jowell GP practice?

[Penguin68]

The average UK patient load per GP, which is acknowledged to be too high, is now 2,300, which suggests that the surgery should have a little over 6 FTE fully qualified GPs on its books. In order to meet what is seen as an over-loaded average. Anyone know what their actual FTE strength is? For permanent staff. Remembering that a lot of staff are now part-time in General Practice. 

Edited to add current reports suggest nearly 90% of GPs are part-timers. 

Edited March 12, 2024 by Penguin68

[Froglander]

Part time GPs are because many of them are female and want to work part time to fit in childcare. 

[Moovart]

As far as I understand ten 4 hour sessions would be full time so if you work anything less than 40 hours a week as a GP you will be considered as part time.  A 35 hr week that is full time for most people would be part time for a GP.

[Froglander]

12 hours ago, Moovart said:

As far as I understand ten 4 hour sessions would be full time so if you work anything less than 40 hours a week as a GP you will be considered as part time.  A 35 hr week that is full time for most people would be part time for a GP.

Where is this info supplied?  So 40 hours without a break are considered full time?

Edited March 13, 2024 by Froglander

[Moovart]

Apologies.  10x4hrs is full time for Hospital Consultants.  For GPs it's 37.5 hrs for full time according to the BMA and anything less is part time.

 

[Froglander]

Do those hours include a lunch break? When I did a 40 hr week, we were entitled to a 1 hr lunch break in theory but often ate lunch at desks and worked at same time.

[Lynne]

My husband went to TJ for a blood test, booked properly through Swiftqueue after his consultant had asked him to get one done. One receptionist said they didn't take consultant's letters,another said they did but neither could find his appointment on the system. When asked what he should do and what they could do, they replied that it was up to him to sort it it. A nice reply to a man of near,y 80 with cancer.. Badly trained and indifferent sums them up.

When he went to fill in the official complaint form this morning, after his consultant had hit the roof, the form was rejected because he used a proper name, ie Tessa Jowell. Now, it seems difficult to complain about the Tessa Jowell centre without using the words Tessa Jowell. He didn't see the funny side of it.

[Sue]

38 minutes ago, Lynne said:

My husband went to TJ for a blood test, booked properly through Swiftqueue after his consultant had asked him to get one done. One receptionist said they didn't take consultant's letters,another said they did but neither could find his appointment on the system. When asked what he should do and what they could do, they replied that it was up to him to sort it it. A nice reply to a man of near,y 80 with cancer.. Badly trained and indifferent sums them up.

When he went to fill in the official complaint form this morning, after his consultant had hit the roof, the form was rejected because he used a proper name, ie Tessa Jowell. Now, it seems difficult to complain about the Tessa Jowell centre without using the words Tessa Jowell. He didn't see the funny side of it.

That's terrible. All of it. 

[Froglander]

4 hours ago, Lynne said:

My husband went to TJ for a blood test, booked properly through Swiftqueue after his consultant had asked him to get one done. One receptionist said they didn't take consultant's letters,another said they did but neither could find his appointment on the system. When asked what he should do and what they could do, they replied that it was up to him to sort it it. A nice reply to a man of near,y 80 with cancer.. Badly trained and indifferent sums them up.

When he went to fill in the official complaint form this morning, after his consultant had hit the roof, the form was rejected because he used a proper name, ie Tessa Jowell. Now, it seems difficult to complain about the Tessa Jowell centre without using the words Tessa Jowell. He didn't see the funny side of it.

So sorry to hear about your husband’s experience.  How appalling. When you say official complaint form, is this online?   I suggest emailing a complaint for the attention of the practice manager and the assistant practice manager, although the practice manager is fairly useless if it’s still the same one.  He’s a very slippery character.    Copy in everyone (official bodies who are relevant) and who were mentioned up thread by a few people. 

It’s  possible to leave a review about the practice online, do that as well.   Go to the nhs.uk site and to the find a gp section.  Type in your postcode. It should come up with the TJ Surgery even if you aren’t currently in their catchment area.   It says they are currently accepting new patients and that they are accepting out of area registrations.  Crazy.  There are 28 reviews on the site dating back to 2022 and none of them are favourable.  They’ve given up responding to the reviews. Last response was January this year and that was to a review left in November last year.

The practice email address is  [email protected]

Edited March 13, 2024 by Froglander
Additions

[alice]

What an awful experience. 
It seems like the phlebotomists are run completely separately from the GPs.  
That the swiftQue set up is a complete waste of money and slows down the whole process is bad enough but to be so thoughtless, ineffective and unkind. Shameful. 
 

[KalamityKel]

It's really important not to confuse the surgery with the health centre.  They are two VERY different services.

SwiftQueue is marked as the health centre not surgery.

I think much of the time receptionists don't use their common sense (no offense meant to the individuals) when trying to ascertain where a patient is coming from or to what.  On many occasion I've witnessed passing the blame on to the patient for coming to the wrong place (many assume the whole building is the same thing) in a very unfriendly way or just a blunt "it's nothing to do with us" response instead of trying to help a stressed/scared/unsure patient regardless of whether they are part of the surgery or referred/looking for a different department.

Yes, of course there are times where the service you receive from receptionist, or whatever the title is these days, can be "impressive" (what they should be doing all the time) but it seems these occasions seem rare. Getting past a receptionist is common and long standing groan but this isn't necessarily specific to this surgery.  Still, it's not acceptable.

The online service excludes those that don't want to download yet another rarely used up to their device or be dependant on the digital world.  Yes, we all know we're being forced to join the "this is the way of the world now" attitude but not everyone is there yet or now, many are removing themselves from being it all.  My family have highlighted this to the surgery management team numerous times and the response given given each time is the surgery are always happy to help those that cannot use the service.  When asked how, the answer is anyone can give us a call.  When asked how can you get through on the phone we were told someone is always there to pick up.  Questioning it any further or pointing out what they think is happening isn't what patients actually experience, your comments, it feels like, are dismissed.  Failing to acknowledge there is an issue at the beginning of a patient's journey is frustrating.  

If you're not experiencing the expected service, complain and keep complaining!

[trinidad]

I tried to book an appointment on the myaskgp site on Tuesday, these are the messages I have received on their system?

• Tessa Jowell GP Surgery wrote12/03/2024 08:01

  Form Tessa Jowell - Text message received has been successfully submitted by ++++++ +++++++

• Tessa Jowell GP Surgery wrote12/03/2024 08:01

  Thank you for your request regarding text message you received. If this was submitted during the temporary closure of the askmygp request service, we will promptly respond once the service re-opens. Otherwise, kindly check your email inbox for correspondence from [email protected]. Please ensure that your phone is readily available, as we might need to contact you directly.

• Tessa Jowell GP Surgery wrote12/03/2024 08:01

  Thank you, the service is open, and we will respond as soon as possible. Please look for any emails from [email protected]. Please have your phone available as we may need to call you. Calls may be recorded by the practice for training, monitoring and audit purposes.

• ++++++ ++++++++, administration wrote12/03/2024 08:12

  ++++++ +++++ completed this request

  Did / do I have an appointment? I waited for two days, noithing. so I have logged another request on their system this morning:

   

  Tessa Jowell GP Surgery wrote14/03/2024 08:00

  Form Tessa Jowell - Text message received has been successfully submitted by +++++ +++++++

  Tessa Jowell GP Surgery wrote14/03/2024 08:00

  Thank you for your request regarding text message you received. If this was submitted during the temporary closure of the askmygp request service, we will promptly respond once the service re-opens. Otherwise, kindly check your email inbox for correspondence from [email protected]. Please ensure that your phone is readily available, as we might need to contact you directly.

  • Tessa Jowell GP Surgery wrote14/03/2024 08:00

    Thank you, the service is open, and we will respond as soon as possible. Please look for any emails from [email protected]. Please have your phone available as we may need to call you. Calls may be recorded by the practice for training, monitoring and audit purposes.

    do these messages mean I have an appointment? this is such a unclear, confusing service. If I am going to receive a call, will it be today, tomorrow, next week? what time frame? do i have to put my life on hold until i hear from someone, very strange service. 

    If anyone is receiving bad service, please, please, please complain by email. They are extremely bad at responding to complaints which is why I have a live complaint to the South east London Independent Care Board. I intend to keep complaining until things change, which does not seem any time soon 😞 terrible admin service you provide TJ. the online service closed at 8:05am today, a window of five minutes to an appointment, its a discussing service.

   

 

[Slocky]

I sent a formal complaint to the practice manager on 23 February. They haven’t bothered to reply or even acknowledge. I have forwarded to Helen Hayes MP.

[Sue]

This is a stupid question, but has anybody raised these issues with the GPs at the practice?

Are they aware of the situation, and if so isn't there some pressure they can bring to bear to change it?

 

[sweetgirl]

This really needs media attention!

the service is diabolical 

[jameser]

They're not interested in the slightest. Its ran just like a business. Have you tried to call any company that you need service from? 

However if you owe them a few quid......

[Rokit2022]

Have now been waiting 3 weeks for blood test results (having received a text from the surgery saying I needed to speak to a GP).  Have tried repeatedly to book an appointment - have succeeded three times, and on NONE of those occasions has a GP called me.  Managed to secure an 'slot' yesterday - but has anyone been in touch since... NO.

This morning (yet again) got online at 8am - and was greeted by a full capacity message - at the stroke of 8am - so it's obvious they are not taking any appointments whatsoever today (Friday).

 

[Scruffy Mummy]

17 hours ago, Sue said:

This is a stupid question, but has anybody raised these issues with the GPs at the practice?

Are they aware of the situation, and if so isn't there some pressure they can bring to bear to change it?

 

I have and the GPs are amazing - I've actually been successful now in getting support and some continuity of for my husband and that is down to the two GPs I spoke to.  They didn't say any of this but MY perception of the situation is that there has been high turnover of GPs, many of the current GPs are younger and less confident perhaps to demand change and that the company running the surgery is very resistant to change.  

Edited March 15, 2024 by Scruffy Mummy

[Froglander]

23 hours ago, Slocky said:

I sent a formal complaint to the practice manager on 23 February. They haven’t bothered to reply or even acknowledge. I have forwarded to Helen Hayes MP.

Unfortunately, that’s  not surprising. In the NHS site that I mentioned there are 28 complaints and the most recent answer from TJ is in January to a complaint posted in November last year.

 

it might be worth asking for a meeting with the practice manager and a doctor. I did this once when they had different management (2012) and took along a friend as a witness. If everyone did that they might be tempted to pull their socks up.

Edited March 15, 2024 by Froglander

[Penguin68]

On 13/03/2024 at 19:30, Lynne said:

My husband went to TJ for a blood test, booked properly through Swiftqueue after his consultant had asked him to get one done. One receptionist said they didn't take consultant's letters,another said they did but neither could find his appointment on the system.

Just to note that the phlebotomists must have a form (with tear-out elements) which they then affix to the vials which are sent to Kings for analysis. Without the form the results can't be linked to patient records. The forms are issued by GP surgeries - the phlebotomists are an outplaced NHS department of Kings. I am not sure that private consultants can use the service - if if was an NHS Consultant then he/ she should still have provided a necessary form for the phlebotomists to use - but I believe that King's consultants can book a session on-line, but normally I think with the in-house Kings department. Without the necessary paperwork the phlebotomists in TJ cannot process the blood. This was unfortunate, but I'm afraid it may reflect more poor instructions and advice from the consultant than any malice or even incompetence from the Kings Phlebotomy Department at TJ. The Swiftqueue booking system is only part of the process, the correct paperwork from the medical practitioner is a necessary part as well. Which of course does not make it any better for the patient.

[Lynne]

It was a NHS consultant. When he returned to Kings the consultant's secretary booked him an appointment, giving him the choice of Kings or TJ. Not surprisingly he chose Kings.  Thanks goodness we live nearby. The people at Kings seem to believe that their system is compatible with TJ's.

I offer no opinion. Two years of frequent NHS  appointments for both myself and my husband have left me mildly pleased when any part of the system works. (usually Kings). I almost said grateful but on reflection I don't see why we should be grateful

[trinidad]

I raised my complaint on 7th February with the Practice Manager, s/he is yet to respond. My concerns are now with the ICB with a response date of 23rd February. I am assuming the ICB would be in some form of contract with management at the surgery. I am not expecting a massive change from the ICB, in which case I will forward to the Health Ombudsman. I received a call from a GP on Friday regarding my appointment request on Tuesday and Thursday. The management dont seem to care at all.

 

In regards to people mentioning we should have at least 6 eft GP. This is what is posted on ask my GP below. I dont know how accurate or up to date this is, as reception staff told me they only have 100 appointments each day :

When is your clinician available?

Select siteAll sites Tessa Jowell

	Mon18/03	Tue19/03	Wed20/03	Thu21/03	Fri22/03
Dr Negim Ali	08:00 - 18:30	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable	08:00 - 18:30
Dr Jordan De Carli	00:59 - 17:00	00:59 - 17:00	00:59 - 17:00	00:59 - 17:00	00:59 - 17:00
Dr Baljinder Dodd	09:00 - 17:30	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable	09:00 - 17:30
Dr Sebastian Garber	09:00 - 18:00	Unavailable	Unavailable	09:00 - 18:00	Unavailable
GP	Unavailable	09:00 - 17:30	Unavailable	09:00 - 18:30	Unavailable
Dr Anna Hourmouzios	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30
Dr Oyin Koledoye	08:00 - 16:30	08:00 - 16:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 16:30	08:00 - 18:30
Dr Sean Lambert	Unavailable	08:00 - 15:30	08:00 - 14:00	08:00 - 15:00	08:00 - 18:00
Dr May Myanmar	08:00 - 18:00	08:00 - 18:00	08:00 - 18:00	Unavailable	Unavailable
Miss Laura Neale	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30
Mr Julius Odiase	08:00 - 18:30	09:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30
Mrs Taiwo OLAJIDE	09:30 - 18:30	09:30 - 18:30	09:30 - 18:30	Unavailable	Unavailable
Dr gabriella SCOZZI	09:00 - 17:30	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable
Dr Tina Shivji	08:00 - 17:00	08:00 - 17:00	08:00 - 17:00	08:00 - 17:00	08:00 - 17:00
Mrs Alison Spence	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 18:30
Mrs Veronica Thorogood	Unavailable	Unavailable	08:00 - 18:30	08:00 - 14:00	08:00 - 18:30
Dr Lilly Udeh	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable

[Froglander]

On 15/03/2024 at 08:12, Scruffy Mummy said:

I have and the GPs are amazing - I've actually been successful now in getting support and some continuity of for my husband and that is down to the two GPs I spoke to.  They didn't say any of this but MY perception of the situation is that there has been high turnover of GPs, many of the current GPs are younger and less confident perhaps to demand change and that the company running the surgery is very resistant to change.  

Some of the GPs might be amazing.  You said the two GPs you spoke to were helpful in getting you support.   That doesn’t mean they are all helpful.  I had an unpleasant experience with a GP last week who called me to check on a prescription - I did not call them - and who refused to let me discuss anything else as it ‘wasn’t a consultation’.   His words.  

Edited March 17, 2024 by Froglander

[ianr]

Comparing the  TJGP team shown at https://www.tessajowellgpsurgery.co.uk/team/
with appearances on the TJGP Your Clinician's Availability timetable at
https://my.askmygp.uk/?c=G85132#/staffAvailability (as in Trinidad's post above):

Doctors (registered GPs):
Available : De Carli, Garber, Koledoye, Lambert, Myanmar, Shivji  6/8
Not listed: Goldsby-West, Parsons (clinical lead)   2/8

Nurses, etc:
Available: Olajide, Thorogood (ANP)
Not listed Ahmed (HCA), Akhigbe, Button, Gale, Onyiah

Listed as Available Clinicians but not included in TJGP team:
Doctors (Dr): Ali, Dodd,  'GP', Hourmouzios, Scozzi,  Udeh
Others: Neale, Odiase, Spence,

I may somewhere have copies of the available clinicians list from a year back or more.
I don't know whether the team size had been bumped up to eight GPs then, but the available clinicians list was of similar size.  It seems characteristically to have 10-12  shown available each day, most for a full day.
The current list shows Dr De Carli available 00:59-17:00  M-F.

 

 

[Froglander]

13 hours ago, ianr said:

Comparing the  TJGP team shown at https://www.tessajowellgpsurgery.co.uk/team/
with appearances on the TJGP Your Clinician's Availability timetable at
https://my.askmygp.uk/?c=G85132#/staffAvailability (as in Trinidad's post above):

Doctors (registered GPs):
Available : De Carli, Garber, Koledoye, Lambert, Myanmar, Shivji  6/8
Not listed: Goldsby-West, Parsons (clinical lead)   2/8

Nurses, etc:
Available: Olajide, Thorogood (ANP)
Not listed Ahmed (HCA), Akhigbe, Button, Gale, Onyiah

Listed as Available Clinicians but not included in TJGP team:
Doctors (Dr): Ali, Dodd,  'GP', Hourmouzios, Scozzi,  Udeh
Others: Neale, Odiase, Spence,

I may somewhere have copies of the available clinicians list from a year back or more.
I don't know whether the team size had been bumped up to eight GPs then, but the available clinicians list was of similar size.  It seems characteristically to have 10-12  shown available each day, most for a full day.
The current list shows Dr De Carli available 00:59-17:00  M-F.

 

 

In the recent past, I have asked which GPs are doing appointments that day and have never been given more than 4 names per day.  I’ve done this in case I can ask for a certain preferable GP.  I’m quite sure there are some who aren’t doing ‘consultations’ but are going through blood test results and other paperwork.   This relates to the telephone call I had last week and which I posted about upthread.  

Edited March 18, 2024 by Froglander