Why are GP practices working differently?
GP practices are open but the pandemic is not over
In South West London there are still thousands of people getting Covid-19 every week, with many being admitted into hospital and some into intensive care. Local GP practices treated people throughout the Covid lockdowns and continue to do so. We must make sure our practices are safe for our staff and protect patients who need to attend in person.
How are practices working now?
When people need seeing face to face this should happen as quickly and safely as possible and it is important that people are assessed first to decide who needs:
- to be seen in person by one of the team
- a phone consultation
- a video consultation
- help from a community pharmacy or another health service
We also want to avoid asking people to travel to practices, where they may come into contact with unwell or infectious people, when this is not essential.
How can I contact my GP?
You can still telephone your GP practice but, if your practice offers it and you are able to, the best thing to do is to use an online service on the practice website. You will then be contacted with the best appointment for you.
If you need help with minor injuries at any time or urgent care when your GP practice or pharmacy is closed visit 111.nhs.uk or dial 111. 111 can also book out of hours appointments.
You can access NHS 111, contact your practice and get your Covid Pass using the NHS App. Search NHS App in your app store.
Why do receptionists ask personal questions?
GP reception staff are skilled professionals and ask questions to make sure you see the right person at the right time and treat all information confidentially. If you don’t want to speak on the phone, you can use the online service on the practice website, if your practice offers this.
I wanted to see my GP, so why am I seeing someone else?
Many GP practices now include a range of professionals like physician’s associates, nurses, practice pharmacists and paramedics who can help you. This means you can often be seen more quickly and if you then need to be seen by your GP they will organise this for you.
Where else can I get help?
Always dial 999 in a life-threatening emergency.
Visit www.nhs.uk for advice on common symptoms and a list of local services or speak to your community pharmacist first for advice on minor illnesses nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-pharmacy.
Letter to all patients
Dear patient
Firstly we’d like to thank you for your patience and understanding during what has been an extremely challenging last 18 months. We have been working hard to offer you a good level of service and understand there have been occasions where you feel things haven’t gone the way you’d like them to.
We have taken on quite a bit of feedback from patients over the period of the pandemic into how we provide services to our patients. The way we provide care for you has understandably changed due to the impact of COVID-19.
We have though, remained open throughout the pandemic and have continued to see patients face to face when needed.
We have also added in new work streams to make it easier for other patient cohorts to contact a doctor or nurse. These include video appointments and text message communications which have both been warmly embraced and received very good feedback from our patients.
However, in line with instructions from NHS England we have had to change to a triage model whereby all calls are triaged at the point of contact before being assessed by a member of the clinical team. The clinician in charge then processes this and books an appointment based on clinical need and any potential COVID risk to other patients and staff.
I can assure you that reception staff do not make this call. All calls are discussed with a partner and assessed immediately. They are then dealt with based on clinical need and an appropriate time frame for an appointment is found.
We have found this system to work well in freeing up a lot of emergency slots on the day - resulting in patients with an actual emergency medical need, being able to see a doctor or a nurse on the day. Previously these appointments were being booked inappropriately at times.
Overall the response has been good and we will continue to review and improve our workflow systems to enable us to offer prompt medical care when needed. We are seeing a huge increase in clinical demand at the moment and are continually assessing how best we can service this.
We continue to see patients face to face when appropriate and will continue to assess how this can be best managed as the pandemic evolves.
Whilst he vaccination programme has been very successful and life is beginning to return to something like normal - a word of caution. We are unfortunately seeing quite a few cases of double vaccinated individuals contracting COVID-19 (in most cases the delta variant). It is for this reason that we continue to operate the way we do, with safeguards in place to keep both our patients and our staff safe. It has not been easy but we do this with the best of intent.
Please do remember that this virus is still looming and that is why we remain cautious.
Thank you for your feedback and I hope you find this explanation helpful.
The partners
TRP
Thank you
Dr Jonathan Christopher