Announcement of New Appointments System

We are pleased to announce that we are making some changes to our appointments system: 

• Audits undertaken over the last year have repeatedly shown that the number of people who genuinely require an emergency appointment on the same day is quite low, compared to the number of people who would find it convenient and medically safe to book an appointment in the future.
• Our aim is to increase the number of appointments that can be booked in advance, compared to the number available to book on the day.
• Appointments will be released at regular intervals over a two-week rolling period, so that appointments can be booked a few days or up to two weeks in advance. 
• This will improve continuity of care, by having appointments available with your preferred clinician that you can book in advance for follow up.
• We hope that this will alleviate the 8am rush on the telephones.

There will be a transitionary period, lasting a couple of weeks, as we gradually move to more pre-bookable appointments and less on the day appointments:

• This is a big change, and we want to monitor the system to ensure it goes smoothly.  For this reason, we have suspended the facility to book appointments with doctors online and the ability to book ahead may be affected for a short time.  This means that during the transition period we will have more control on a day-to-day basis and be able to manage any unforeseen issues that arise proactively.

We will continue to ask you the reason for your call:

• So that we can get the right type of help for you, our trained patient advisers will ask you for some information regarding the reason for your call.  This information has been requested by the doctors.
• Our patient advisers will ask you about your problem, how long you have had symptoms, what you have already done or tried, to resolve it. 
• Our patient advisers are qualified to direct you to the most appropriate member of team, such as a GP, Nurse, First Contact Physiotherapist, Clinical Pharmacist, Social Prescriber, local pharmacy, minor injuries unit, urgent care centre or A&E. 
• All enquiries will be dealt with in the same way, whether they are received by telephone, face-to-face, or on-line consultation.

We hope that this change will be very positive and help to meet the needs of our patient population.  We are aware that the ‘perfect’ appointment system does not exist, and many local GP Practices are trying different ways to manage demand, which continues to increase despite limited funding and resources in primary care.

Thank you for your support and understanding during this transition.