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

The Manor Practice


No longer provides Face to Face Appointments

Having been a patient of this surgery for nearly 30+ years, I always felt that the doctors genuinely cared about their patients. But over the last 5 years, the service has fallen apart and as a patient feel totally abandoned by the practice. My entire immediate and extended family are registered at this practice, and all, regardless of age or condition, are struggling to access any services. Average appointment waiting time is 2/3 weeks for an initial telephone consultation, then another 2/3 weeks if a face to face is agreed. This is the standard practice now, no face to face without a prior telephone consultation…and it can take days of calling to actually get through to the reception, with many of the receptionists clearly under pressure and consequently very combative or defensive, to the point of making it uncomfortable for a patient to call, especially if you call regarding test results. On many occasions I have been “told off” for calling for these, as “they would call me if it was serious”, but that’s missing the point, many patients want reassurance, not left in limbo, waiting indefinitely…especially if you happen to suffer with anxiety or ptsd related issues.