APPOINTMENT SYSTEM CHANGES

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING ALL GP SURGERIES TODAY IS TRYING TO MEET THE APPOINTMENT DEMANDS OF ALL ITS PATIENTS.  AS A RESULT WE ARE MAKING A SERIES OF CHANGES TO TRY TO ESATBLISH AN APPPOINTMENT SYSTEM THAT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR PRACTICE POPULATION. 

THERE MAY BE FURTHER CHANGES IN THE FUTURE HOWEVER WE ARE TRYING TO ENSURE WE HAVE A SYSTEM WHERE-BY ON THE DAY & PRE-BOOKABLE APPOINTMENTS ARE READILY AVAILABLE TO MEET THESE NEEDS 

** IF YOU NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR FOR A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE SEEN ON THE DAY.

Please tell the receptionist if you feel your problem is MEDICAL EMERGENCY.**

WE OFFER APPOINTMENTS MONDAY TO FRIDAY & SATURDAYS ONCE A MONTH*

* Saturdays are strictly pre-bookable only. We are unable to offer  emergency medical care during this time.   

Directly bookable GP clinic appointments:

• A number of pre-bookable appointments for the GPs are available 4 weeks in advance for patients wanting to book specific dates and once a month on a SATURDAY morning.
• We release GP appointments nearer to the day for those patients needing to see a GP within a few days.
• We then have a number of on the day appointments available.

On the day telephone assessment appointments:

An alternative to pre-booking is the use of ‘on the day’ telephone assessment surgeries run by the GPs and the Nurse Practitioner. When a patient asks for an appointment, it may be more appropriate or convenient to be telephoned rather than having to attend the surgery.  If you are offered one of these appointments, the Doctor will phone you and discuss your problem as it may be that he/she can deal with this over the phone rather than you having to come in.  Alternatively, if the Doctor should feel that you need to be seen, they will book you an appointment for that very same day.

Many issues can be dealt with effectively over the phone and our feedback from patients is that this alternative offers them greater flexibility by being able to carry on with their day to day lives as this call does not have to be to a land-line, it can be a mobile phone as well.  Evidence suggests that approximately 50% of doctors’ appointments can be dealt with over the phone, thus freeing up more time for the GP’s to see those patients that need a face to face contact.

Pre-bookable GP telephone consultations:

Telephone consultations can be booked up to 4 weeks in advance with a GP or Nurse Practitioner.