Appointment Capacity during Busy Summer Period

Appointment Capacity during Busy Summer Period

Dear Patients,

As you will be aware the practice continues to be extremely busy, and demand for appointments is high on a daily and weekly basis.

We operate an appointment-based service and due to current level of demand, it can be a number of days before an appointment is available for routine medical issues. When you call to make an appointment, you will be offered the next available appointment.

When all appointments are filled on a given day, and where patients feel they need to be seen sooner, we operate a Cancellation List for acute / urgent issues. You will be asked for some details of your symptoms if you want to be added to the Cancellation List, as the list is triaged (assessed) by the GP and cancellations are prioritised based on medical circumstances. If an appointment becomes available, it may be offered at short notice due to the nature of cancellations.

We have a have a limited number of appointments each day, in the interests of patient and staff health and safety. Reception staff or clinical staff will not add extra appointments or squeeze in additional patients.

Please do not get aggressive or harass Reception staff about appointment availability. This is a difficult and frustrating situation for both patients and GP practices and is not helped by aggression or abuse. Please also note that verbal abuse or threatening language and behaviour will not be tolerated.

Requests for general practice appointments nationally have continued to increase because of massive patient demand and Government policies in relation to GP services. The number of GPs is also in decline due to retirements and low numbers of new doctors for locum and long-term positions. There is pressure on GP appointments across the country. Added to that, there is almost no locum availability and we have not been able to get locum cover for GP leave at all this summer.

If you feel you need to see a doctor urgently on a given day, and cannot wait for the next available appointment, please contact the Out of Hours Doctor service, D-Doc on 1850 22 44 77 from 6pm each evening and throughout the weekend and Bank Holidays.

If you feel your issue is a medical emergency, you should go to your nearest hospital A&E or call an ambulance at 112 or 999.

We continue to do our best to provide healthcare services that are in the best interests of all of our patients and would appreciate your understanding and calmness in the face of high demand for appointments.