You will undoubtedly have noticed there have been some changes in the way we are booking G.P. appointments. I wanted to take the time to explain the reasons and also how our appointment system now works.
As G.P. surgeries contracted to the N.H.S. we are expected to meet certain contractual requirements. The latest update to the contract required ‘improved patient access’. Whilst Tisbury has always historically performed well in this area, as I’m sure you have heard from friends and family, many patients at other surgeries have struggled to get an appointment in an appropriate time frame.
Therefore the contract was updated by N.H.S. England to stipulate that the time from patient contact regarding an appointment to being signposted to a service or having a telephone or Face to Face appointment must be within 2 weeks. This meant we had to review and change the way we offer appointments at Tisbury. Anonymised data is extracted by N.H.S. England from our clinical system to ensure compliance.
Secondly, our patient population has increased considerably, as has the number of patients with chronic long term conditions, but unfortunately space and resources at the surgery have not! We have a wonderful trainee nurse practitioner who is helping with the G.P. workload but Dr. Bintcliffe has just gone on maternity leave and one of our trainee G.P.’s recently unexpectedly left at short notice. Naturally we have plans in hand to cover Dr. Bintcliffe’s maternity leave.
So how do the G.P. appointments at Tisbury work?
Every patient who feels they need to see/speak to a G.P. the same day will be offered a telephone consultation or contact form. Statistically we can offer considerably more appointments by using a telephone first system which is why this is offered initially. If the G.P. would like to see the patient face to face, they have the availability to offer an appointment later that day. For unwell patients who need to be seen face to face in the first instance, an appointment may initially be offered with our trainee advanced nurse practitioner.
As an alternative, the contact form can be filled out by the patient and will be reviewed typically within 24 hours by a doctor. They will then be able to offer electronic advice, book an appointment or prescribe medications where appropriate. It is important to include as much information as possible on these forms to allow the G.P. to understand the problem fully.
For routine appointments we only allow bookings for up to 2 weeks ahead. This is partly driven by the contractual requirements mentioned above but also due to the higher incidence of ‘Did-not-attend’ appointments when they are booked further ahead.
Between April 2023 and March 2024 638 appointments were wasted.
Routine appointments are released weekly and can be booked online or by phoning reception. On the rare occasion that there are no routine appointments immediately available to be booked, you may be asked to call back within a few days.
If you feel your problem is not necessarily an urgent same day issue but equally you do not feel it can wait 2 weeks for a routine appointment, you will be offered a contact form for the G.P. to review your condition and decide on an appropriate time for you to be seen. For patients who cannot access the internet or might struggle to use the contact form, our trained reception staff can fill it in on your behalf if needed. You will need to go through the issue with them in person or on the phone to do so. We do find that some issues can be resolved just from the information listed in the form.
If you work and have issues with accessing a G.P. in normal working hours we do have some appointments available outside the usual weekday working hours of 0800-1830. Please discuss this with reception when you phone.
Dr. Adam Smith