New GP Appointment System.. gone live Wednesday 28 June 2023!
Dear patients
We would like to let you know about some significant and exciting changes to our appointment system that went live 28 June 2023. Before we explain what we have done , we would first like to explain to you why we changed our system. We ultimately hope that our new system will significantly improve your ability to access the appropriate care when you need it.
Why did we change the system?
Put simply, the system we are currently operating, no longer does what we all need it to do. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic we had to change the way we worked overnight and were directed to use a “total triage approach”. We have done our very best to keep up with the rapid changes and challenges within the NHS and to modify our systems to rise to these challenges.
We know that your ability to access an appointment with us is sometimes less than ideal and we assure you that this is not because we don’t want to help you. We now look after over 1500 more patients than we did at the start of the pandemic and despite employing more clinicians than we ever have, we have struggled to keep up with the demand that a pandemic and a challenged system has led to. We recognise this. Set alongside the national backdrop of extreme challenge across all aspects of the NHS and a decline in the number of qualified GPs looking after an increasingly complex population, we know that we need to change how we operate.
Furthermore, the government has recently announced that GPs are obliged to offer an increasing number of appointments to patients and to make wider use of the expanded group of healthcare professionals they have facilitated.
What has changed?
We removed the 08.30 AM rush for “on the day” appointments as much as possible. We have allowed the booking of direct face to face appointments and the pre-booking of telephone appointments with clinicians.
How can we now do this?
The only way we can do this is to triage requests for appointments. Triage means an experienced GP assessing your needs on a case-by-case basis and deciding the most appropriate way to help you. By doing this we can offer a face-to-face appointment to patients who clearly need those, and telephone appointments to those who clearly need those. Triaging will also allow us to signpost elsewhere requests for appointments where these are not actually necessary, or where a GP is not the best-suited person to consult regarding a problem. We believe that by triaging all requests for non-urgent appointments, we can streamline our systems and allow us to see more people, sooner and in the way that is most appropriate for the problem.
What does this new system mean practically to us as patients?
Urgent problems
Same day appointments are only be available for urgent conditions requiring same day attention. These appointments will be booked as usual over the phone starting at 08.30. If you feel that your condition is urgent for the same day, our admin team will ask you some more information about the problem. If appropriate they will book you directly for a same day telephone call and the clinician that you consult with will arrange a time for you to be seen face-to-face if needed. If following the information you give, our admin team are not sure that a same-day telephone call is the best approach, they will discuss your symptoms with the on-call GP who will decide the most appropriate next step. Please understand that our admin team have had extensive training from us in how to respond to symptoms described by patients and using this system will make sure that people who need to be consulted urgently, can be so.
Non-urgent problems
This will be the biggest change you will notice as patients. Patients with problems which do not need our input the same day, will be asked to do an Online Triage form available from our website from 08.00 daily. These have proven easy to complete for the majority of our patients who have already used them, and our admin team can help advise you how to do it if you are unsure. The more information you give, the easier we will find it to help you. If you are genuinely unable to complete a triage form for whatever reason, please call the surgery and one of our admin team will complete it on your behalf by asking you some specific questions that we have trained them to ask.
Your Online Triage form will be reviewed within 24 working hours by an experienced GP who will decide how best to help you. The following may result from your triage form:
· An offer of a telephone consultation with a clinician within a specified time frame – you will be able to book these yourself using a booking link within a response text message – this will show you the availability of all telephone consultations within a time frame that we have decided is appropriate to your needs.
· An offer of a direct Face to Face appointment with a clinician within a specified time frame - you will be able to book these yourself using a booking link within a response text message – this will show you the availability of all face-to-face consultations within a time frame that we have decided is appropriate to your needs.
· An offer of a Face-to-Face appointment with another member of our team, for example
o A practice nurse or health care assistant
o One of our First Contact Physiotherapists who can deal with most acute musculoskeletal problems
· Advice via text message – examples might include:
o Signposting you to a community pharmacy for minor ailments
o Sending you a FIT note
o Giving you some self-care advice
o Signposting you to a hospital secretary to chase up appointments
Summary
We changed our appointment system because we want to improve your timely access to us, and we need to manage the ever-increasing demand for our services at a time of unprecedented strain in the NHS. We truly hope that these changes will make things easier for you and improve our already excellent care. We know that these changes will not suit everybody and for that we are sorry. Projects similar to ours are underway up and down the country and we ask for your ongoing patience as we strive towards our next chapter as a practice.
Our new appointment system went live on 28th June 2023 and rest assured that we will be monitoring and reviewing the new system on a daily basis. As with any big change, we understand this can be daunting and that there may be some teething issues. We thank you for your patience with us and your support for us as a practice and as a team.
With best wishes
The Partners