27/08/2025
โ๏ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!โ๏ธ
We have listened to your feedback regarding our appointments system and have implemented some changes to improve access to the Practice.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ...
We have amended the way we book medication reviews. When you contact us for a medication review, you will now be put on a triage list and a member of our nursing team will check for any pre-review tests you need and who can carry out your review (this will be dependent on the medication you take). Once the nursing team have completed their checks, we will text you with the necessary appointments you need, such as a blood test on one day and then a review with a specific clinician on another day when the results are back. We will also ensure you do not run out of medication before your review is completed so you do not need to panic about trying to get an appointment. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป ๐ฏ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐...
We will be extending our appointment books to six weeks in advance every day to ensure we are continuously six weeks ahead. However, in order for this work effectively without getting booked up in the first hour of releasing, we have asked our staff to ask you specific questions to ensure you are booked in with the most appropriate clinician (which may not be a GP) or service and in the most appropriate timeframe.
This means we require the support of our patients in being open and answering honestly about the issue at hand. One of the reasons we often run out of appointments so quickly is because patients do not want to tell our staff what the problem is, which then results in inappropriate appointments with a doctor that could have been dealt with more quickly by a more suitably qualified clinician or service. Services such as the Common Ailments Scheme and Community Pharmacy Services are able to deal with acute things the same day without the need to pay for treatment. Likewise, we may ask you to attend the CRI instead of the surgery as they will be able to deal with acute problems more quickly than we can. Please note that if you choose to decline using any of the community services that we suggest, this will not guarantee a same-day or urgent appointment at the surgery and and may result in a longer wait for you to have an appointment at the surgery.
If patients do not support our care navigation process then we will be in the same position where all our GP appointments will fill up immediately and for a lot of them, inappropriately. We may also need to revert back to two weeks in advance if this does not work well so please support this.
๐๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐...
We have introduced a call-back feature on our phone queue system. This will hold your place in the queue until you get to queue position one and then one of our team will ring you back to save you holding on the phone.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐...
We have introduced a call monitoring system so that we can continuously see how many are in the queue. If there are a high number of callers waiting, we can ensure that more staff are available to answer calls. We can review in live time how many callers are waiting versus how many staff members are taking calls. Our staff may be doing other admin tasks but if the queue is building they will prioritise answering the phones.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐...
We have removed the ability to book GP appointments online. This is because we have to offer equitable access to all patients as part of our access standards imposed by Welsh Government. This means that everyone requesting an appointment must be given the same care navigation and access to the most appropriate clinician at the most appropriate time.
We have found that some patients have been 'abusing' the booking online system, and have booked several GP appointments in advance, in one go. A lot of these appointments were inappropriate and should have been dealt with an alternative clinician or service, ensuring that our GPs had more availability for more complex cases that other clinicians cannot deal with. This may seem like a step backwards but with patients working with us to support our booking 6-weeks ahead system and a thorough care navigation process, we are confident that patients will get the access they need, in the right timeframe and the first time they contact us.
๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ...
โ๏ธEnsure we meet access demands
โ๏ธDeal with the patient requests the first time, instead of patients having to ring back, sometimes several times
โ๏ธImprove patient experience
โ๏ธOffer a completely equitable service to all of our patients
โ๏ธMake best use of the services available to us and our patients
โ๏ธReduce inappropriate/wasted appointments and over-testing/over-reviewing patients.
โ๏ธAvoid patients having to worry about running out of medication before their review comes around.
We really hope these changes will benefit everyone and your support is invaluable to make improvements works. We will monitor these changes and keep you up to date with how things are progressing but we are confident that our efforts will make for a better experience for both patients and our staff.
Thank you ๐
