Right to Respond

As part of our commitment to providing an honest and transparent view of health and social care services, Healthwatch Birmingham encourages providers to respond to comments the public have left.

Alongside ensuring providers can have a fair say in discussions about their services, replying to reviews demonstrates evidence of responding to patient feedback for the CQC, who regularly monitor our Feedback Centre. It is also an effective way to recruit service users for any wider engagement work at your organisation.

Guidelines for provider responses:

  • Keep language appropriate and civil
  • Remain professional and treat people’s comments fairly
  • Engage with the content of the review by addressing specific points and avoid cut and pasting a standard response
  • Don’t disclose the service user’s personal details or any potentially identifying information
  • Where appropriate leave organisational contact details e.g PALS or patient engagement teams for people to get further information

Remember: your response will be seen by everyone who uses the Feedback Centre, not just the original reviewer. All responses are moderated in accordance with our moderation policy.

For full terms and conditions, including a guide to how right to reply works for service providers download this guide.

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Original feedback for

Handsworth Wood Medical Centre


Appointment system is an absolutely shambles.

This surgery does have a few really good doctors if you are select as the chosen one, you are extremely lucky (also has a couple of extremely bad Doctors as well....avoid Dr 'I' if possible as she is beyond rubbish).The appointment system is awful and doesn't make sense. In a nut shell, to get an appointment, you are required to call from 8am (along with the rest of the world....or so it feels like it). My record stands at 365 calls before i got though to request a call back from a doctor. Things should be going back to normal after the pandemic, but you still have to call to request an initial call back first to be assessed to have a appointment in the actual surgery. Most of the reception staff soooo look as though they hate their job and don't have any customer service skills at all. They do look absolutely worn out. (There is actually one proper decent one). The atmosphere in the surgery is gloomy and it looks a bit worn. We the patient are not asking for the world we just need you to make the appointment system easier, treat us like humans and with respect and listen to the patient so you can diagnose us properly. we get told not to go to A and E but of patient are just getting the service and are not being seen. What are we supposed to do. Modality sort it out.