As of today, we have implemented a new way to be seen by a clinician. Following on from the recent post on the Headcorn Village Facebook page, we would like to take this opportunity to address several issues and concerns that have been raised.

Will all appointments need to be booked using the Contact Us form? What does on-the-day appointment mean?

•   No, not ALL appointments will need to be booked using the Contact Us form. Booking of routine nursing appointments will remain the same. Long term conditions appointments, for example asthma, diabetic reviews, spirometry, cancer reviews, blood tests for long term conditions remain the same. Patients are contacted by us and sent a booking link to their mobile number or email. Clicking on the link will enable them to book in to the appropriate clinician. On-the-day appointments are when patients have rung up or walked into the surgery asking to see a clinician because they have a symptom.

Why do we need to change how we book appointments?

• The previous model is that patients are still triaged anyway, whether they ring or walk in, but onto a telephone call with a clinician who will ring them back, make an assessment and book them into an appointment either same day (depending on urgency) or up to 6 weeks in advance. But there is a limited number of telephone triage available and the sheer number of patients wanting to be seen means that appointments are booked up weeks in advance.

Will the triage team need to trawl through every appointment request and then have the ability to set appointments into the future rather than just on the day? If so what is the LIKELY wait because some are saying they have waited many weeks

• Yes- the triage team are triaging all appointments and the wait may still be up to 6 weeks, BUT that time will be informed by the details of what the patient puts on their Contact Us form, rather than a first come first served basis, AND will allow us to signpost patients who don’t need to see a clinician about their condition to to other services without making them wait and without wasting their and the clincians time by using an appointment when one isn’t needed.

Will I receive an acknowledgment or a copy of the form I have submitted?

• Patients will receive confirmation that the form has been submitted. This will be sent to their mobile phone that they have confirmed during the filling out of the form. They will not receive a copy of the form but this is instead recorded onto their medical records and therefore viewable from Patient Access  check this

If I submit a form at 7am, will I get seen the same day?

•   Not necessarily. This is the point of the triage – to ensure that those that need to be seen urgently are seen either that same day or the next day. The triage team will make an assessment. If the patient needs to be seen same day, then they will be asked to book an appointment.

If these forms are being submitted throughout the day is there someone charged with viewing each one at the time it arrives?  Or will they have to wait for someone to see it?

•  There will be a clinician triaging the requests and designated receptionist who’s task it willbe to work through the forms.

How long will it take from when the forms are submitted to getting a response? If you receive more than 100 forms by 10am on a given day, would you be able to have enough time to read through all the forms?

• On the old system, it takes longer to respond to the online queries because we didn’t have a dedicated team to monitor the inbox. Receptionists were responding between answering telephone calls and emails. From today, we will have a dedicated team to review the forms submitted, which includes a clinician to make an assessment. It’s important to highlight that when filling out the form, patients should enter as much details as possible, as though they are speaking to a GP in a clinical room.

If you don’t read through them all before determining who is treated first, what happens if one arrives that needs an on-the-day appointment after you have already scheduled all of the on-the-day appointments? Do they automatically roll over to the next day?  If so, what happens to all the new next day requests if the appointments are taken by rolled-over requests?

•  All of the queries will be triaged by one of our clinical team, there will be scope for same day appointments, and then availability for appointments to be booked in the next day or 2, or a week or 2, whatever is deemed necessary. Having said that, we do still have a limited capacity, so if it is necessary for urgent care that same day and we were at full capacity, you would be directed to another local service, UTC or A&E, depending on the clinical assessment by our triaging GP. We have been and will continue to signpost patients to an appropriate service but with the new model, we will have more availability and better use of clinical time and appointments.

What if I do not have access to the internet or am unable to fill out the form? Will I be excluded and unable to make an appointment.

•  Patients can still ring and they can still come to the surgery to make an appointment. We are not stopping people from turning up at the surgery and asking for an appointment or calling us. We are trying remove the rush to beat the clock at 8am to get an appointment and give everyone a fair chance of being seen on the same day based on their needs regardless of what time they put their request in.

What if I do not want to tell the receptionist about my issue but am unable to access the internet?

• Our receptionists are highly trained in confidentiality and will not disclose your medical concerns without prior authorisation from you. However, if you would rather not tell the receptionist over the telephone, you can also visit the surgery. A private room with a dedicated computer is available for your use. If you have difficulty typing out the form, you can either have a relative, friend or our receptionist to help you

Where can I find the form?

The form is already online. It’s the big green Contact Us button/picture on the homepage. You can also click on on the following link to submit the form

Contact Us