APPOINTMENT DEMAND AND WAITING TIME: The practice is seeing an increase in the number of patients registering here either due to the new housing developments or movement from other practices.
We are also seeing an increase in the number of patients attending the surgery and the demand for appointments has increased. This is having an impact on appointment waiting times when attending for an appointment. It also means that you may have to wait longer to get an appointment with a particular clinician. We still offer urgent same day appointments, but you may not get to see your preferred clinician.
We are constantly looking at ways to manage the demand and pressure on the surgery. We have recently undergone internal renovation work to make an extra consulting room. Whilst this gives us another space to consult, we still only have the same number of clinicians and staff. We are, however, reviewing our appointments system so that we can maximise the use of this new room.
REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS: A few months ago, we changed our repeat prescribing process and employed the services of a pharmacist. This was to take some of the administrative workload from the GPs due to increased appointment demand and workload. Since the change, we have had comments and feedback about the turnround time. Whilst initially, we acknowledge that there were delays between ordering and processing, this has now been resolved. The turnround time for repeat prescriptions is 2 working days so a prescription ordered at 5.00pm on Monday would be ready by 5.00pm on Wednesday. A prescription ordered at 5.00pm on Friday would be ready by 5.00pm the following Tuesday. The 2-working day turnround is not a change to our previous policy. We have always stated this timescale on our posters and website; however, patients have been fortunate that on many occasions their request was processed quicker. Now that we use the pharmacist to manage this workload, we ask that you are patient and acknowledge that the request will take 2-working days.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS: Sadly, we have seen an increase in the number of patients who have not attended a booked appointment. We appreciate that there may be occasions when it is not possible to let us know however, there are many ways to cancel appointments including online, via the NHS app or by contacting reception. We provide reminders by text message which includes the option to cancel.
We thank you for your understanding.
