APPOINTMENTS
Sheringham Medical Practice is pleased to announce the introduction of a new system for booking doctor appointments from 12 January 2009. Our aim is to put you, the patient, in direct contact with your GP as soon as we possibly can, whilst also improving efficiency at the practice.
It’s called TTT – “Total Telephone Triage” - but just think of it as your new “Doctor Access System”. In the past you’ve phoned the practice and had to wait anything between three hours and three weeks before speaking to or seeing your doctor of choice. Now we intend to put you in direct contact with your doctor. Often this will be within two hours of you making your call if they are on duty that day.
It’s as Easy as One, Two, Three
So how will it work? From the patient’s point of view it is really very easy
1. Phone your GP Surgery
2. Give your telephone contact details to the receptionist
3. Speak directly to your doctor, often within two hours of calling the surgery
When you phone the practice your call will be answered by a receptionist, just as it always has been. However, instead of searching the system to try and find you a suitable doctor’s appointment, the receptionist will ask who your preferred doctor is and take your contact details so your doctor can give you a call back to discuss your requirements.
If your preferred doctor isn’t in the building that day, you will be given the option of waiting until he or she is next available or speaking with someone else.
Either way we aim to give you a call back within two hours of you contacting us.
Benefits for Patients
Under this system, patients
- Don’t have to be first through on the phones to secure an appointment
- Have direct contact with their doctor much sooner
- See their doctor sooner when appropriate
- Get more time with their doctor when they need it due to a reduced pressure on appointments
- Save time and expense by avoiding unnecessary appointments
Benefits for Doctors
For doctors this represents
- Improved patient communication and care
- More efficient use of time and NHS resources
- Increased professional satisfaction through enhanced patient care and more effective workload management
Nurse and Health Care Assistant Appointments
- Health Care Assistant Appointment – Our health Care assistants are available am and pm five days a week for blood tests, blood pressure, ear syringing, ECG, new patient checks – bookable in advance
- Nurse Appointment - Our nurses are available am and pm five days a week for general treatment room appointment – bookable in advance
Minor Illness Clinic
Specialist nurses will be able to deal with specific problems by telephone or appointment, which may have previously been dealt with by the GP. The nurses in the clinic will be able to see a variety of conditions including:-
Upper Respiratory Tract
Sore throat, swollen glands, mumps, earache, colds & flu, sinusitis, cough, acute asthma, fever, hayfever, nosebleeds (epistaxis)
Eyes
Sore eyes, styes
Skin & Mouth
Rashes, acute itchy rashes, a rash in a seriously ill patient, a rash in a mildly febrile patient, purple rashes, other rashes, warts and verrucae, molluscum contagiosum, boils, infected wounds/cellulites, ingrowing toenail, head lice, moles, insect bites and stings, sunburn, mouth problems, dental infection
Abdomen
Diarrhoea and vomiting, urinary tract infection/cystitis, threadworms, balantis (sore penis)
Women’s Health
Vaginal discharge, missed pills, intermenstrual bleeding, emergency contraception (EC)
Injuries
Head Injuries, bites
In future, when you contact the surgery, the receptionists will require you to answer a couple of simple questions in order to ensure you are booked with the most appropriate person. The questions they will ask have been agreed by the GP’s and nurses to be appropriate in order for the service to run efficiently, but also to protect confidentiality rights.