Watford MP meets patients and staff at Bridgewater Surgeries

Dean Russell spent four hours at Bridgewater Surgery on Monday meeting doctors, nurses, call handlers, admin staff, and patients to find out how the GP surgery is operating.

The visit came in the same week the head of the Royal College of GPs said medics had recently come under attack from some politicians and sections of the media who have called for surgeries to become more "accessible" to patients.

Mr Russell was given an entire tour of the surgery in the west of the town , which has around 30,000 patients following a merger, by practice manager Lisa Mackin.

The MP learnt about the work of the on-site paramedic, and was shown the various treatment and consulting rooms situated within the surgery.

He spoke directly to those responsible for answering around 450 patients calls a day at Bridgwater's main site in Printers Avenue and spoke in length with Mrs Mackin about how they deal with the abuse from patients that can come their way.

There were four people answering calls on Monday morning - the surgery's busiest hours. Dr Simon Hodes says Bridgewater will always offer a face-to-face appointment if it is "clinically appropriate" and that "100 per cent of the time" at Bridgewater, the face-to-face appointment will be offered for the same day or week.

He added if a patient would prefer a face-to-face, the surgery will always try and offer one - but telephone appointments and consultations have soared since the beginning of the pandemic with telephone appointments up 300 per cent during the height of the pandemic.

Unlike other surgeries in Watford and further afield, Bridgewater says it remained completely open to patients throughout the pandemic and that it never stopped face-to-face appointments.

Bridgewater's hard work has been rewarded after the results of a 2021 patient survey showed 94 per cent of Bridgewater's patients described their overall experience of the GP Surgery as 'good', which was the highest in the locality.

Bridgewater Surgeries has also just been named GP practice of the year by the Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group.

left to right: Dr Simon Homes, Watford MP Dean Russell, practice nurse Sam Roderick, and healthcare assistant Kim Imberg

Dr Hodes said: "We were very grateful that Dean took out a whole morning to meet the team and experience first hand behind the scenes how we have adapted to remain open throughout the pandemic.

"He was here from 9am to 1.30pm and happened to see a Covid-19 vaccine clinic that was running too. Dean was really warm and approachable and met several patients; one of whom was explaining how she always gets to see her named GP for her chronic health issues and how important this is to her wellbeing.

"Dean saw first hand the pressures we are under in General Practice with increased demand for services along with providing mass vaccination for seasonal flu and Covid too.

"We hope he is able to feed back to Sajid Javid, and the health and social care select committee."

Mr Russell, who is a member of the above committee, hailed the work being done by all staff at Bridgewater acknowledging the amount of work that can go in for just one appointment.

He said he learnt running a GP surgery the size of Bridgewater is "complex" and that all staff have a "vital role to play".

He added: "The pressures on GPs are considerable given that they are the first access point for 90 per cent of all NHS patients, but Bridgewater continues to deliver fantastic patient care. The comments that I heard from patients were nothing but positive and this is thanks to all of the staff at the surgery.

"The visit was also a reminder of the important role of technology, and this is something I will take up as chairman of the Digital Health All Party Parliamentary Group."

Mr Russell says he believes patients do want to have face-to-face appointments and encouraged other surgeries to open their doors to patients if it is safe to do so.

He added: "My main message to residents is make sure you do contact your GP if you are worried about your health and mental health. Places like Bridgewater and Manor View do a fantastic job to make sure people do get seen, so I'd say to anyone don't put off booking an appointment."

Dr Hodes added: "We encourage all our patients to call in if they feel it is necessary. There are other ways of getting information, eg. local pharmacies and the NHS website, but how to get information should be the choice of the person.

"For all non-urgent problems, where patients or relatives have access to a computer, we do encourage the use of secure web forms (eConsults) off our website.

"These are very popular with patients and we usually respond within one working day. Please note 111 is open 24/7 and can now also book a slot with your own GP."