General Practice across the country is facing an unprecedented rise in the demand for appointments. To help with this new clinical roles have been introduced. This means that your condition may be better treated by seeing a physiotherapist, pharmacist, advanced clinical practitioner, paramedic, health and wellbeing coach, social prescriber etc rather than a GP.
At The Scott Practice we are doing a number of things to try to deal with this increased demand:
- Telephone First - We are now a telephone first practice, this will enable the Clinician to order any tests that need doing before you are seen and they will book you with the most appropriate member of the team. Where your condition can be managed safely over the telephone this will be done.
- Extra GP’s – Dr Vicary, Dr Hodgson, Dr Thomas, Dr Freeman & Dr Jameson have joined the team to offer more appointments.
- New telephone system – Our new telephone system allows patients the option to use an automated appointment booking system which will make telephone access easier, you can also request a call back from our reception team by pressing 0 , this will hold your place in the que and we will return your call when you reach position 1.
- Care navigation – our receptionists are all trained in care navigation to assist patients to access services which don’t require them to have a gp consultation first i.e Talking Shop, Muskoloskeletal Specialists, Eye Triage Specialists & local pharmacy services.
- Increased capacity – by offering telephone consultations in the first instance we can increase the number of clinicians who can work at any one time by having some working at other locations. Although the practice is large in comparison to some, we are actually very short of rooms for people to work in the practice.
- Practice extension – The Surgery is undergoing a one storey extension and full refurbishment. We apologise for any disruption this may be causing regarding car parking, however we continue to offer all services and appointments.
The Scott Practice will always offer face to face appointments, following the telephone consultation, where it is appropriate to do so.
Sometimes, the GP isn’t really the best person to see. In some cases you could be seen and treated quicker by another Clinician and in some cases, the GP practice might not be the right place at all for the query. This is why when you call for an appointment you will be asked for your name and date of birth and brief details of what your appointment is for so that you can be booked in with the correct professional. All our receptionists have been put through specialist training and possess additional skills to provide a crucial practice role in improving access to primary care. All with the aim of helping patients to get to the right service faster.
Some of the services we may navigate to are
| Service |
What they can deal with? |
How to Access |
|
Minor Ailments Scheme
|
- Conjunctivitis
- Allergic Rhinitis / Hay fever
- Cold Sores
- Constipation
- Fever
- Fungal Skin Infections
- Head lice
- Pain (acute)
- Scabies
- Threadworms
- Vaginal Thrush
|
Most Local Pharmacies Take part in this scheme and If you are exempt from prescription charges this service is FREE!
Patients not exempt from prescription charges will
be offered advice and can
often purchase OTC medicines at a much lower cost than a prescription charge.
|
|
IAPT – (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies)
|
- Feeling Low / Down
- Feeling depressed
- Feeling Anxious / worried
- Dealing with Phobias
- Feeling stressed
- Problems with worry or anxiety
- Panic Attacks
- Poor sleep
|
If you feel IAPT can help call them on 01302 565556
|
|
Social Prescribing
|
A service for customers with one or more of the following:
- Poor mental wellbeing affected by social circumstances
- Frequent attendance at GP practices or other Health and Social Care services
- Mild to moderate depression or anxiety
- Long term physical or mental health condition
- Social isolation
What can we help with?
- Making Connections
- Housing Solutions
- Looking after emotional wellbeing
- Managing money and welfare issues
- Managing symptoms
- Healthy lifestyles
- Work Volunteering and activities
- Help to stay living at home
|
If you feel Social Prescribing can help speak to a receptionist who can refer you.
|
If you cannot keep your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible to enable us to allocate that time to another patient. If you booked your appointment using the online service you can cancel it through this service as well. Cancellations can also be made by telephoning the surgery, by sending a text message to 07986301156
Online Consultations
We are now able to offer a online request for a routine appointment. This can be done by using the "Request routine appontment" page on our website. This will allow you to complete a online form detailing the problem and our care navigators will then contact you with a appropriate appointment. This will help to reduce our waiting times to get through on our telephone system.
Self Check-In System
Due to the refubishment we currently do not have a self check in service, please ensure your arrive early for your appointment to check in with the receptionist.
Length Of Appointment
Appointments with a doctor are 10 minutes, If you have more than one problem to discuss please book a double appointment. Appointments with the nurses vary depending on what you are attending for. Each appointment is for one person only; if more than one person in your family needs a consultation please make separate appointments for each person.
Appointments FAQ
There are no pre-bookable appointments for 2 weeks but my problem cant wait that long, what can I do? If you feel it's urgent for that day then tell the receptionist and you will be seen the same day by either a doctor or nurse
Why Does the receptionist ask what my problem is? Are they qualified to decide how urgent it is? No they aren't however the reception team do need to know a brief reason of what the appointment is for so they can book you with the correct Clinician for your problem/procedure.
I'm told my problem is dealt with by the nurse but I'm worried it may need a doctor to deal with it, what can I do? See the nurse, you may be surprised by the range of conditions our experienced nurses can deal with. If they do feel you still need to see the doctor then you will be seen by the doctor covering our emergency clinic.
What if I can't get into surgery or just want to speak to a doctor? You can ask for a telephone appointment. We cannot guarantee a particular time for calls but if you're not available at/until a certain time then we will try to accommodate this. Also if you miss the call don't worry, we will try again. If you are physically too unwell to leave the house and need to be seen in person then we will consider a home visit but a doctor will call you back first. If necessary, visits are usually done over lunchtime so please call in the morning before 10.30am if possible.
If you have any questions or comments about our appointment system then please feel free to contact our Reception Manager Amy Ledger or Practice Manager Mrs Rose Fells.
Try the NHS App
You can now use the NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services and your GP account on your smartphone or tablet.
You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms and get instant advice, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record, access your Covid vaccination status and more.
If you already use online access you can continue to use it. You can use the NHS App as well.
For more information go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp