**Important Notice - We are changing our appointment system**
Why are we changing: During the COVID-19 pandemic we were instructed to change our appointment system to having all requests for GP appointments triaged by telephone first and operate an on the day appointment system. By clinically triaging appointments and dealing with as much as we could remotely, we reduced our waiting time with patients receiving GP care far quicker than previously. Frustratingly the NHS has a recruitment and retention issue nationally with Doctors in particular and the on the day system no longer meets the needs of our patients. General Practice is in crisis and we need to adapt to the change in demand and workload.
In addition, we have also listened to your concerns about difficulties in pre-booking appointments, telephone queues and the appointment waiting time. Unfortunately we have now reached a point where the level of patients requesting on the day appointments is unmanageable, inappropriate and unsustainable due to the level of pressure this is putting on our Clinical team.
From 27th February 2023, there will be a combination of the following appointments available for you to book.
Urgent on the day appointments – these must be for genuine on the day urgent appointments only. The Duty Doctor will call you first to ensure the reason for your call is of an urgent nature. For any non-urgent matters you will be advised to book a routine appointment as we do not have the capacity to manage non-urgent matters on the same day.
Routine GP & Practitioner Face to face appointments which will be available to book online at a time to suit you. There are a limited number of routine appointments available to book on the day but all other appointments will be pre-bookable approximately 2 weeks in advance.
Home Visit requests for our housebound patients MUST be requested prior to 10.00am and these will all be telephone triaged by the Duty Doctor prior to the visit being allocated.
Telephone appointment – your clinician will advise you if you need to book a telephone review appointment. Telephone appointments are for reviews and for problems only that do not require a face to face review. If you book a telephone review appointment for a problem that requires a face to face review you will be asked to re-book.
Follow up appointments – if the Clinician decides that a follow up appointment is appropriate, then you will be booked that appointment in advance by them. This is only for cases with that Clinician has specifically requested you to come and see them again. If they advise you to contact us in certain cases IF, for example, your symptoms do not improve, then this would be a matter of calling for a routine appointment on a day when you are available.
Important: you must be available to attend the practice on the day and time that you make your appointment or available on the same day if your problem is of an urgent nature. There is no longer the facility for the Doctor to call you at a time you stipulate. All our appointments will be timed so if you miss your appointment time you will be asked to re-schedule.
Online appointments for administrative requests – this has been introduced in an attempt to reduce the call queues on the telephone lines for patients requesting appointments for a Doctors letter, Fit (Sick) Note, Repeat Prescription, Test Results and questions about a referral. Where appropriate we will communicate with you via text message and if this request cannot be dealt with electronically we will advise you via text to arrange an appointment. We aim to respond to your request within 48 working hours. Please see our website for the link to make these requests: https://florey.accurx.com/p/P81067
Our reception team have all been trained in care navigation and may ask you questions about the appointment you are trying to make. We work with a multi-disciplinary including a nurse practitioner, advanced clinical pharmacist, first contact physiotherapist, physician associates, mental health practitioners, social prescribers who all support the Doctors and see patients. Our reception team are trying to ensure you are signposted to the most appropriate clinical person in an appropriate timeframe.
The reception team may also offer you a consultation with a local community pharmacy for a small number of minor ailments. This is part of a national scheme to help manage demands on general practice.
We will always strive to provide the best service that we can and we will continually monitor our appointment book and adapt our system in response to the feedback we receive from patients and changing circumstances.
Thank you for your patience and continued support.
The Healthcare Centre team.
If it transpires that you no longer need your appointment, PLEASE let us know. Appointments can also be cancelled online via Patient Access.
Practice Nurse appointments can be booked between 8.00am and 5.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
In addition, you can book to see the Doctor, Nurse Practitioner,Practice Nurse Healthcare Assistant on Tuesday evening from 6.30 to 8.00pm.
Enhanced Access to GP appointments
General practice is here for you for longer, as routine appointments become available on evenings and weekends.
Preston North and East Primary Care Network will be increasing access to pre-bookable, routine appointments at evenings and weekends. Limited appointments are available Monday to Friday 6.30pm to 8.00pm and Saturdays 9.00am to 5.00pm.
Please contact Reception for details and appointment availability.
Please be advised that availability is limited and will be by pre-booked appointment only. Access may not always be provided from this surgery and you may need to travel to an alternative practice within our Primary Care Network.
These appointments will not be available to book on line - therefore please speak to a member of our reception staff for further advice.