Dear Patient
We are writing to you today about your Surgery and the rebuild GP campaign.
Across most of the UK, legal restrictions around Covid-19 have lifted or are being phased out which means most businesses are able to run how they did before the pandemic.
However, in GP surgery the Covid safety procedures set by the NHS that we must follow have not yet fully changed. We are constantly reviewing the way we work, and it is untrue that we have not been open throughout the COVID crisis.
Between the 1/1/2022 to 31/5/22 our Surgery has given 25,857 appointments including GP’s, Nurses, Health Care Assistants, Physio, and a range of other services.1033 patients booked appointments and did not attend, resulting in 222 hours wasted hours.
During the pandemic, we had to change the way we work as directed by NHS England for safety reasons. We moved to a telephone triage appointment system. This system allows your consultation to be performed over the telephone resulting in a Face-to-Face appointment if the clinician felt it necessary to examine you. This met with infection protection guidelines and limited numbers of patients in the Surgery at any one time preventing the spread of COVID and protecting everyone.
As restrictions are lifting, we would like to explain how we currently operate.
Please see below:
- Our telephone lines open at 8am
- Appointments are released at 8am on the day – (between 90 – 120 appointments per day)
- You will be given the option of a telephone or face to face appointment - subject to availability
- Once all appointments are full you will be offered (where available) an extended hours telephone appointment between 6pm and 9pm (some weekend availability at other times)
- Alternatively, you can submit an e-consult – our reception team will provide you with the details
We appreciate it can be frustrating to get through on our telephone lines, however in most cases you will be given an appointment avoiding long waiting times previously around 3 – 4 weeks.
Regrettably, we have a noticed a change in behaviour towards our staff, particularly our reception team. Cases of aggression, verbal threats, physical assaults, and inappropriate language will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
We appreciate that patients feel frustrated on occasions however our staff are working hard to provide a service and we thank you for your continuing support.
Yours sincerely,
The Partners of Moorside Surgery