APPOINTMENTS
The demand for appointments is currently extremely high and continuing to grow. We have ensured that there are always appointments for urgent medical problems that need to be seen on the same day but you must be prepared to see any doctor.
We have noticed an increase in patients failing to attend their booked appointments. Failure to keep your appointment not only causes inconvenience, but also denies others the opportunity to see a doctor, nurse or HCA. If you cannot attend your appointment for any reason, please inform us as soon as possible so that your appointment can be offered to someone else.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS DATA - JULY 2022
Appointment Type | Total Appointments Missed |
Blood Pressure Monitoring - Ambulatory 2 of 2 | 1 |
Blood Test | 15 |
Childrens Vaccine Clinic | 3 |
Default | 13 |
Diabetic Clinic | 4 |
Ear Syringe Clinic | 3 |
ECG | 4 |
Minor Ailments Appt | 2 |
Minor Surgery | 1 |
OTD Only | 1 |
Pre Bookable F2F | 19 |
Respiratory Clinic | 2 |
Routine | 4 |
Smear Clinic | 6 |
Spirometry | 5 |
Total | 83 |
Clinician Type | Wasted Appointment Minutes |
Doctors | 315 |
Nurses | 580 |
HCAs | 625 |
Total | 1520 (Approx 25 hours) |
If you have a mobile phone, please ensure that we have your this number recorded on your medical records as you will then receive an appointment reminder text before your appointment with the option to cancel if you are unable to attend.
BOOKING APPOINTMENTS IN ADVANCE
During the Covid-19 Pandemic we were unable to book advance appointments at the patient’s request as the Clinician needed to ‘Triage’ to ensure that the patient did not pose any Covid-19 risk to either clinicians, staff or other patients, prior to attendance at surgery. This system was National Guidance that we had been advised to follow during the pandemic.
We are now in a position that we are able to reintroduce pre-bookable appointments. Due to the current high demand for appointments we are continuously monitoring the appointment system to try to ensure maximum capacity and efficiency and to ensure that we have sufficient appointments for on-the-day urgent care. We are offering a small amount of pre-bookable Face-to-Face appointments with the doctors. These appointments are available to be booked no more than two weeks in advance.
BOOKING APPOINTMENTS ON THE DAY
If you wish to make an appointment with a doctor, please telephone 01952 620138, choosing option "2" on our automated telephone service. We are currently operating a system of dealing with calls ‘on the day’ so if you telephone for an advice call and the clinician feels you need to be seen in person then the appointment will be on that same day. If you are not available to attend if necessary, you may not be offered the advice call and you will be asked to call back on a day when you are available to attend. You are free to consult any available doctor within the practice bearing in mind the information above. If you are asked to attend surgery for a face to face consultation, appointments are usually for 10 minutes and are for one problem only. Although we endeavour to keep to time, sometimes complicated problems or medical emergencies arise, which means that appointments may become delayed. We apologise for this.
When you telephone the surgery, the Receptionist will take your details and the doctor or triage nurse will contact you as soon as possible. You will be asked for a few details by the doctor or nurse in order to assess your needs and offered the most appropriate treatment. You may be offered advice, or be invited to attend the surgery to see either a doctor or a nurse.
Our practice nurses are trained to offer advice on the management of a wide range of common illnesses and minor injuries. If you are suffering from illnesses such as earache, sore throat, coughs and colds, conjunctivitis, urinary tract infections, or diarrhoea and vomiting, one of our nurses will be able to offer you quick and efficient advice on your particular problem.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY ON ABUSE TOWARDS ALL OF OUR STAFF.
We aim to offer a sympathetic but fair treatment to all of our patients and in return expect patients to behave in a polite and considerate way towards all of our staff, doctors, nurses and receptionists. Any person(s) considered to be abusive either verbally or physically, over the telephone or in person may be asked to register elsewhere.
VIDEO CONSULTATIONS
Please click here for our guide and further information to arrange a video consultation.