Dear Patients,

We would like to inform you about a necessary change in how we now manage GP Appointments, particularly on Mondays, due to the consistently increasing demand for our services and patient feedback.

In response to the rising number of patients seeking GP consultations (often directed to do so by other healthcare services, or where patients have been on prolonged hospital waiting lists and managed in the community) we are implementing new strategies to enhance our appointment system. These adjustments aim to address the growing patient demand, ensure timely access, and improve our practice's overall efficiency.

There will now be no routine pre-bookable appointments on a Monday (Tuesday if a Bank Holiday Monday) and instead the introduction of more on the day face to face appointments are being introduced. We have also included more on the day face-to-face appointments throughout the rest of the week as requested by our patients following the feedback from the annual patient questionnaire. 

Routine pre-bookable appointments will only be available Tuesday-Friday and up to 2 weeks in advance to reduce Did Not Attend (DNA). These can be booked and canceled using our 24/7 appointment line along with on-the-day GP telephone consultation appointments (available between 8.00 am  and 09.00 am) and defined appointments for nurses and HCAs. The 24/7 appointment line number is 01446 500578. but you still have the option of calling our reception team on the main surgery number 01446 722792.

While we understand that changes to appointment scheduling can be inconvenient, please know that this decision is driven by our commitment to providing high-quality care to all our patients. By optimising our appointment system we strive to minimise waiting times, enhance patient access, and deliver a more seamless healthcare experience.

Working with our Patient Participation Group we are dedicated to adapting our services to meet the evolving needs of our patient community. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding.

These changes will also support our migration to a new clinical system (EMIS Web) during August 24. More information on this will follow in due course, but this will be a significant change for the practice team due to the complexities involved in migration to a new clinical system. There will be a period of downtime (2 weeks) whilst the migration and switchover of the system takes place.

Should you have any questions or require further information about the revised appointment management process, our team is here to assist you. We’d like to thank you for your continued support and we look forward to continuing to serve you with the highest level of care.

Warm regards

_{Gareth Thomas - Business Manager}

_{On behalf of Dr. R Lewis & Partners}