End to hated '8am scramble' for doctors' appointments after GPs sign new deal

Just because repeat prescriptions are ordered online doesn't mean the recipient is computer literate, quite often a family member could be doing it.
My SIL has access to mine in case I am unable to manage at any time.

But an efficient online system leaves the phone lines free for those who can’t use it. A good thing all round, surely?

We’ve heard it all before.

eazybee

We have online forms, but you can only access them when the surgery is open, so you cannot request an appointment during the weekend or evening, only the four and a half days the surgery is open.
So still attempting to complete the form at 8am, or at work.

But completing a form at work is easier and quicker than hanging on waiting for the phone to be answered. Most people, even at work, have a break some time during the day.

I think it's important that the people who would benefit from seeing a regular GP are prioritised - it will be mainly the elderly.

There's only so much GPs can do, especially when practices still have so many vacancies.

harrigran

Just because repeat prescriptions are ordered online doesn't mean the recipient is computer literate, quite often a family member could be doing it.
My SIL has access to mine in case I am unable to manage at any time.

If a family member is helping with prescriptions, surely the same family member could help with making an appointment.

My mother would have been 94 this year and she was computer-literate. The problem she had was describing her symptoms, but she had problems doing that face-to-face anyway. She would have been better preparing a description offline and typing it into the box on e-consult.

People complain about their "frailty scores", but it is people with higher frailty scores who should be prioritised for continuity of care and early consultations.

eazybee

GPs have agreed to 'bring back the family doctor'after being offered a 7% funding rise for practices.
Under the deal doctors would be paid more for identifying patients who would benefit the most from regularly seeing the same GP.
All practices would be required to to offer online booking in an attempt to free up phone lines. This should bring to an end the industrial action at GP practices which began last August.
So, a pay rise for doing what they used to do without fear or favour.
Wes Streeting: rebuilding the broken NHS starts with GPs.
Apparently giving into their pay demands helps.

Good points here, well made.

Maybe. And then maybe not.

The '8am scramble' will just go online and the Internet will be log-jammed. Same difference really.

mae13

Maybe. And then maybe not.

The '8am scramble' will just go online and the Internet will be log-jammed. Same difference really.

My surgery closes and re-opens the online service throughout the day, so it isn't just 8am.

What do you expect GP surgeries to do? They're overwhelmed.

Teazel2

eazybee

GPs have agreed to 'bring back the family doctor'after being offered a 7% funding rise for practices.
Under the deal doctors would be paid more for identifying patients who would benefit the most from regularly seeing the same GP.
All practices would be required to to offer online booking in an attempt to free up phone lines. This should bring to an end the industrial action at GP practices which began last August.
So, a pay rise for doing what they used to do without fear or favour.
Wes Streeting: rebuilding the broken NHS starts with GPs.
Apparently giving into their pay demands helps.

Good points here, well made.

Over the years they've had their funding cut in relation to overall NHS funding. They've also been bombarded with targets, which have taken up more and more time - apparently these have been cut, which is a good thing.

The number of GPs has decreased. If giving into their demands means it's easier to see a GP, I'm all for it.

Our surgery is starting this triaging system, this month. To be honest, they’ve been doing something similar for a while. I’ve had several appointments where I’ve been sent a link to my phone in order to outline my symptoms. Frankly I’d sooner do that than tell the receptionist what I’m ringing about. I am fully able to manage such things on my phone but I know those who can’t or won’t.

Teazel2

eazybee

GPs have agreed to 'bring back the family doctor'after being offered a 7% funding rise for practices.
Under the deal doctors would be paid more for identifying patients who would benefit the most from regularly seeing the same GP.
All practices would be required to to offer online booking in an attempt to free up phone lines. This should bring to an end the industrial action at GP practices which began last August.
So, a pay rise for doing what they used to do without fear or favour.
Wes Streeting: rebuilding the broken NHS starts with GPs.
Apparently giving into their pay demands helps.

Good points here, well made.

Except that the elephant in the room has been ignored. A 7% rise to GP practices is not the same as a 7% pay rise for GPs. It provides significant additional core funding for practices, which enables them to employ more staff and change their systems. Don’t expect overnight miracles, but it will definitely make a difference in time to the way they operate.

Under the deal doctors would be paid more for identifying patients who would benefit the most from regularly seeing the same GP.

I think that's important. I know I've read reports in the post which have shown that elderly people especially benefit from continuity of care. I would think people with mental health conditions and some disabled would also benefit. I suspect we'll be coded in some way to ensure that happens. (And then people will moan that it's agesist or ablist - can't win really.)

Most people have no idea how much demand there is for GP services. Each full time GP is responsible for around 2000 patients. My DIL is at the doctors pretty much every week - and I’m sure we all know people like this. Do the maths on that and you can understand why practices are struggling so much.

Our Surgery has an online form, which is only available Sun - Thurs 7pm-8pm. But it is for non-urgent medical requests.

Last time I used it, I had a text offering an appointment the following week.

mae13

Maybe. And then maybe not.

The '8am scramble' will just go online and the Internet will be log-jammed. Same difference really.

This hasn’t happened in our practice, mae13. Both my DH, daughter’s family and myself have used the system and as long as you fill in the form in the morning you seem to get a phone call in the afternoon, either with a doctor, nurse, or receptionist depending on what the request was for, often with an offer of a face to face appointment that day or very soon after. We have been very pleased with the system but our practice has always been quite thorough.

Each practice ought employ a receptionist who can make phone appointments to suit each patient's . There are a lot of patients and their carers who lack any knowledge of or access to computers.

Doctors are expensive to hire : receptionists are comparatively cheap to hire.

each patient's circumstances

Growstuff, I expect GPs to communicate intelligibly. An important part of the receptionists' remit is efficient communication. There is no excuse for GPs and their practise managers for any ineffective use of telephones.

The very least of GP services should be easy access to qualified receptionists at the end of the landline.

growstuff

One of the things I noticed in the proposed improvements is the re-introduction being able to make an appointment with a specific doctor.

Extra money (again) given to GPs who agree to do this “where there is a need”.

Perhaps they could’ve just taken Monet away from doctors who didn’t sign up to it?

It’s been proven to give better patient outcomes.

*money

I don't understand why they are making an issue about seeing the same GP regularly. In the past this was something to hope for, but now they need to find a way for people to be able to see a GP atall.
My surgery has most appointments by phone with a pharmacist a couple of days later. If you need an urgent appointment, you will usually be told to go to the Urgent Care Centre a few miles away. Routine GP appointments are sometimes available 2 weeks ahead, other times there are none.

Caleo

Each practice ought employ a receptionist who can make phone appointments to suit each patient's . There are a lot of patients and their carers who lack any knowledge of or access to computers.

Doctors are expensive to hire : receptionists are comparatively cheap to hire.

The trouble with making phone appointments is that people can hang on the phone for ages, which just isn't practical if you're on the way to work or have children running round your feet. An e-consult request takes minutes.

Secondly, lots of people don't like telling the receptionist what's wrong with them (look back at some GN threads on the topic). Personally, I'd father write a couple of sentences than tell an unknown receptionist what's wrong with me.

Thirdly, surgeries will need to make some provision for people who don't have internet access, don't have the capacity to make an online appointment or are blind, etc. Those patients will need coding somehow, so that if somebody rings up and says their name is X, the receptionist can check the records and see that this is somebody who needs to make an appointment by phone. I don't know how they'll do it - maybe you should contact your patient voice group (or whatever it's called) and make the point.

Elusivebutterfly

I don't understand why they are making an issue about seeing the same GP regularly. In the past this was something to hope for, but now they need to find a way for people to be able to see a GP atall.
My surgery has most appointments by phone with a pharmacist a couple of days later. If you need an urgent appointment, you will usually be told to go to the Urgent Care Centre a few miles away. Routine GP appointments are sometimes available 2 weeks ahead, other times there are none.

All surgeries seem to be different. My (admittedly very limited) experience is that I've made an e-consult request and been directed to the most appropriate person. I've had face-to-face appointments without a phone appointment. The only times a GP has rung me was when tests were slightly unusual and I've been given appropriate advice - I didn't need to see anybody face-to-face. I had a lengthy medicine review with the surgery's clinical pharmacist - again, I didn't need to see her face-to-face and it saved me the hassle of getting to the surgery.

If you really do have a need for an urgent appointment, you're probably better going to an urgent care centre, which is better equipped to deal with urgent cases.

Caleo

Growstuff, I expect GPs to communicate intelligibly. An important part of the receptionists' remit is efficient communication. There is no excuse for GPs and their practise managers for any ineffective use of telephones.

The very least of GP services should be easy access to qualified receptionists at the end of the landline.

Qualified in what? The trouble is that most receptionists aren't qualified in diagnosing medical problems and people don't like telling them what's wrong with them.

My surgery used to have on-line booking, but they stopped.it because they said it wasn't fair for those who had no access to a smart phone or computer...... wonder what they'll do now....