Appointments

Getting time with your doctor and the practice team

A consultation with a doctor or nurse is by appointment only. Please be aware that it might not always be possible to get an appointment with your GP of choice on a day and at a time of your choosing due to some GP’s only having limited sessions throughout the week.

Once you have made that appointment we urge that you keep it or inform the reception staff if you are unable to make it. Not keeping appointments is unfair on other patients who otherwise have to wait longer. You will get more satisfaction from your appointment if there is enough time to deal with the problem. Try to indicate to the person booking your appointment just how much time you think you are going to need.

If you need an appointment:

• Decide whether your problem is best dealt with by a doctor or a nurse.
• Ring 0151 645 6936 between 8.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. An automated appointment system is also available via this number 24/7, but the surgery will need to have your phone number recorded on our system.
• Give the person booking your appointment some idea of the amount of time you think you will need with your doctor or nurse

For administrative purposes, the office is closed between 12:30 and 13:30, but telephone access is maintained at all times.

It may be, however, that you simply want to talk about an ongoing problem with the doctor of your choice. In this case you can book a telephone consultation. The receptionist will give you an indication of when the doctor will telephone you.

Sometimes an individual problem requires longer than the allotted appointment time and we may therefore run a little late. We ask for your patience in these circumstances.

Patients can also help by remembering the rule that they should only raise one problem in a ten minute appointment. It is also acceptable for patients to make a double appointment if they think that they will require more time. This facility must be used wisely however as a double appointment may mean one less appointment for others.

We have recently reviewed the appointment system in an effort to improve access for our patients.

You said:

• • we can’t get through on the phone in the morning

• • we can’t get the time of appointment that suits us

• • we can’t always see our preferred doctor

In response we have:

• • increased the number of prebookable appointments available

• • asked people to ring between 08.30am and 10.00am only for appointments & emergencies

• • promoted the use of the online appointment system

• • promoted the use of the new appointment telephone booking system

We will continually monitor our appointment system to see how effective these measures have been.

In future when you call for an appointment you will be encouraged to consider whether your problem can be dealt with by telephone.  National research has indicated that more than half of problems can be handled in this way.  if you feel that the subject of your consultation does not require an examination then it probably can be handled by telephone which makes it:

• • Easier for you because you don’t have to come to the surgery

• • Better for all our patients because there will be more appointments available

If after a telephone consultation both you and the doctor agree that you need to be seen then that will be arranged so you have lost nothing.

We believe that this new approach will:

• • Create more appointments

• • Reduce the pressure on the telephone system first thing in the morning

• • Allow us to be more flexible with pre-bookable appointments

• • Make accessing our services easier

So next time you phone for an appointment think:

• • Can this be dealt with by telephone

• • Does it need to be dealt with today?

• • Do I really need a doctor or can a Nurse Practitioner deal with my problem