How to book appointments at the practice
The practice is currently providing a ‘triage-first’ service for GP/Clinical Team appointments. This lets the practice identify and deal with concerns which are a medically urgent earlier and provides more capacity to deal with demand than an appointment based service.
Consultations are initially by telephone (or video), and a face-to-face appointment will be offered by the clinician if it is appropriate and necessary for your care.
We can respond to more patients each day with this model compared to an appointment-based system, and we can prioritise those patients with medically urgent needs regardless of the time they contact us. The majority of consultations can be dealt with safely by telephone, and reduced footfall to the practice helps to keep those patients who do need face to face care and also staff safe.
We know this is a different way of working than people are used to, and many would prefer to book an appointment rather than wait for a call. We therefore ask you to understand that the ‘triage first’ system provides fair access to all who need it, with those with an urgent medical need prioritised first.
If you wish to speak with the Clinical Team, please:
- Submit a request through KLINIK or call the practice. Please provide as much information as you are able to as this helps us to identify the priority for your call. You may be asked to provide a photograph(s) of the problem if this is helpful to us.
- Your request will be reviewed by our clinical team.
- If your request is considered urgent, it will be flagged for a priority response.
- The Clinician will discuss your concern with you initially as a telephone consultation, and the majority of needs can be dealt with safely in this way. However, if they feel you need to be seen they will arrange this with you.
If you would like to be seen please discuss this with the Clinician when they call, as many conditions can be safely dealt with by telephone and do not require a face to face appointment. Unnecessary face to face appointments also increase the risk of exposure to Covid-19 for staff and patients.
For Nursing and HCA appointments, appointments are made by our Reception Team. Please request an appointment by telephoning the practice or via KLINIK. Most appointments offered are face to face, though some appointments are offered as telephone consultations such as Chronic Disease reviews.