Dear Patient,
We are pleased to announce that we will be changing the way the Practice appointment system works. We know that it has been difficult and frustrating time for patients and staff and we are working hard to create a safe and robust solution. That solution is ‘Total triage’.
On 6th November 2023 we will be changing to our new appointment system. This will be an online system where our clinicians will triage all appointment requests, ensuring that you are seen by the most appropriate clinician in a timely manner. We hope that this will help make better use of the valuable appointments we have available.
Patients who are unable to use the online form will be able to ask the Patient Services team to fill it in on their behalf. Please do not request further information at this time as we are finalising plans. There will be more detailed information on our website as soon as possible, this will appear in our News section and will include a more in-depth explanation on how the system will work, as well as some tips on how to get the most of it.
To allow us to do this, and have appointments to provide in our new system, we will not be booking routine GP appointments from Tuesday 29th August 2023, we will have some availability for Book on day appointments and we will use this capacity by priority of need. Medically urgent issues will still be dealt with appropriately.
There are a small number of exceptions where routine GP appointments will still be able to be booked in advance:
- Mother and baby checks
- Coils/implants
- Appointments requested by our GPs
We will also be switching off the ‘Request a routine appointment’ and ‘Get help with any health problem’ forms on our website.
Please note that we will still be offering advance bookings for our nursing team as usual during this time.
We acknowledge that this may be a difficult transition period as some people have already been waiting for an appointment, but we need to do this to give the best chance for the new system to work. Please be patient with us during this change and treat our staff with kindness and respect as they also adjust to a new way of working.
We are confident that our new system will improve our capacity and ensure that our patients are seen by the right clinician at the right time along with being a fair system for all based on clinician triage. It will take time to embed as we get used to the changes but our loyal and committed team will continue to strive to deliver the best possible service to our patients.
Deddington Team