Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS)

— 3 years ago

I have visited the podiatry department at Buxton on several occasions. I have found all staff absolutely excellent ranging from the podiatrists themselves to the admin staff.

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) responded:

On behalf of the Podiatric services, I would like to thank you very much for your kind words received in recognition of the treatment you received at Buxton Hospital. It is always appreciated when the service is recognised and I know your kind comments were very much appreciated by the team. Best wishes Podiatric surgery & community podiatry services manager

— 3 years ago

I just want to thank the team I had today at Coleman Street dentist. After a tired few days being heavily pregnant coupled with no sleep and severe pain and going round in circles with the advice I’d been given, the two ladies who resolved my problem we’re amazing. The understood my situation and made sure I was treated to prevent me from any more pain. They made small talk and reassured me after the treatment was complete.

I just want to say a big thank you.

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) responded:

Thank you for your kind comments, these have been fed back to the Service Manager.

— 3 years ago

Appointment booked for 17.30pm at London Road Community Hospital Sexual Health clinic. Was advised when booked that this is your allotted appointment time & you will be seen in time. Came in at 17.15pm still waiting to be seen & it is now 19.00pm. When I asked the receptionist why the wait she replied that they had an emergency and are running late, plus limited staff. Well at least inform your patients of the wait times when they book in. Don’t just sit there and drink coffee, communicate with your patients. Poorly run clinic

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) responded:

Firstly we would like to apologise for commentators experiences. Following a review of the clinic list, we have established that the clinic was very busy on this particular day. In addition to this, a new member of staff had joined the team and was on duty being supported. We are sorry for the delays encountered. We have reminded staff to update patients on possible waiting times and we are also exploring purchasing an electronic waiting time sign to display estimated waits. We hope these changes will improve people’s experiences in the future.

— 3 years ago

My daughter had a fall on Bank Holiday Monday and hurt her wrist for which she needed medical treatment. The local NHS websites indicated that for falls, patients should go to a Minor Injury Unit and not A&E. We duly went to Ilkeston MIU. Everything was fine except for one issue — the X-Ray dept. was not open on a Bank Holiday. Following the consultation the nurse said we required an X-Ray (this was obvious from the moment she fell – the wrist was swollen, the child in pain and humans have no ability to see through skin). The choices provided were… Option 1 – we go to a main A&E and block the very system you are trying to keep free for serious accidents or emergencies. Option 2 – we return to the MIU tomorrow to repeat the process, duplicate costs and run the risk of my child’s swollen wrist getting worse overnight. So, whilst inconvenient, the bigger issues are ones of system inefficiency and communication.

System inefficiency — whilst there may be no money for X-Ray staff in MIUs on Bank Holidays it may be worth analysing how many patients are being told to return tomorrow or go elsewhere and assessing the cost-benefit of properly staffing the unit.

Communication — you need to consider changing your on-line guidance for patients who believe they may need facilities such as X-Rays on days MIUs dot have such departments open? We could have saved 2-3 hours by going straight to the QMC, where my daughter was eventually traded for a buckle fracture.

Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust (DCHS) responded:

Thank you for taking the time to write to Healthwatch Derbyshire with your feedback. I am very sorry to learn of the difficulties that you experienced in accessing an emergency x-ray for your daughter when you visited Ilkeston Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) on bank holiday Monday. Though we provide the MIU Service, the Royal Derby Hospital (RDH) is responsible for the x-ray services department. As a result we are unable to influence the hours that the service is available, which is usually Monday-Friday, excluding bank holidays. We have reviewed our website and can confirm this advertises the correct opening times for both the MIU and the x-ray department and we will share your feedback with colleagues at RDH. I hope your daughter is recovering well and that this experience will not deter you from using our services again in the future. If you would like discuss your feedback further please call the Patient Experience Team on 01773 525119.