Reports in the press of three week waits to see your GP are like stories from another country for us in Silverton. Appreciative patients regularly ask me how we manage to offer the service we do, with appointments always available on the day or within the next few days depending on patient preferences. The truth is our approach has hardly altered over the last 30 years.
We have always made access for patients one of our top priorities. We think that this creates a positive and facilitatory healthcare circle rather than a vicious downward spiral. We ensure we always have some available GP appointments at the beginning of every day and as a result we know that we will, literally, have room to adapt to whatever that day brings. Helen, our senior receptionist, brings many years of knowledge of how to balance our appointments so that we have enough both short and long term available when patients ring. We think that if patients are confident that they can get an appointment when they need one they are more likely to wait to see if their symptoms start to improve before booking one. Continuity of care is also vitally important. Seeing your own GP means patients are less likely to return quickly hence needing less appointments.
We run a one stop shop. GPs and nurses all take blood tests themselves which is highly unusual. Normally if a GP requests a test then patients have to make another appointment for a phlebotomist to take their blood. Doing everything in the same consultation, although slightly longer, makes the whole process of presentation to diagnosis much quicker. It also saves appointments. As we are rural we dispense medication ensuring the smooth flow from diagnosis to collection of treatment. Through this additional contact we also get to know patients better and this enhances our whole holistic approach to healthcare that we think is essential to the service we can provide.
Ultimately the most important components are the people involved. It is a whole team effort that starts as soon as a patient enters the surgery or we answer the telephone with everyone working very hard to make ourselves accessible and efficient.
The other part of this healthcare team is you, the patients. Understanding and respecting a valued service works both ways. Our patients are always happy to wait or adjust if one of the GPs is called out on an emergency and happy to adapt their timetables to fit with ours if we are busy on a particular day. So whilst patients do praise the service regularly, we also need to thank you for using it so responsibly. This completes yet another positive feedback loop that makes it all possible.
Anthony O’Brien, Wyndham House Surgery