"Completely unreliable"

Dear Anonymous, we are sincerely sorry you have had problems accessing appointments with us. If you want to send your details to wyicb-wak.feedback.hcf@nhs.net we would be able to investigate and respond fully to you directly.

In the meantime we would like to update you with some changes we are trying to make. As I am sure you are aware General practice is currently under a lot of pressure due to rising demand, increasing costs, and staff shortages. These challenges can make it harder for you to get an appointment with us. Recognising these challenges, we know we must rethink how we do things to reduce the stress on you when trying to get an appointment with the right person.

Many of you have been working with us through feedback and discussion to design options that could help improve our current ways of working. Your input helped us create three options:

Option 1 – Direct Booking: You can call us at any time to book an appointment, and our Care Navigators will schedule you directly into any available slot. The requests will not be reviewed by our clinical team.

Option 2 – Prioritising Vulnerable Patients: We will give priority access to appointments for our most clinically vulnerable patients. A clinician will not assess these appointments. Other patients will be offered remaining availability after priority patients are scheduled.

Option 3 – Clinically Led Triage: All appointment requests will be reviewed by our clinical team, which includes GPs, Nurse Practitioners, and Duty Nurses. They will assess the urgency of each case, match you with the most appropriate clinician, and consider which site you would prefer to attend. Once all appointments are filled, the clinical team may navigate you elsewhere.

Over the past two months, we’ve presented these options to you, our patients, to help decide what works best for your needs. The outcome of this vote, which included insights from recent roadshows, our PPG (Patient Participation Group), and the patient surveys, was Option 3: Clinically Led Triage.

Based on your chosen option, Clinician-Led Triage, and the valuable feedback you’ve shared, Here’s what we will focus on:

• All appointment requests will be clinically reviewed: This team will include a GP, an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Paediatric Nurse, and a Practice Nurse. This ensures every case is assessed for urgency and matched with the right clinician.

• We will prioritise vulnerable patients:

• We will focus on improved personalised care:

• We will point you to other services where appropriate:

• We will improve communication to you:

• We will simplify the online system:

We understand that no system is perfect, and with Clinician-Led Triage, there may be times when you need to wait a little longer for a response. This is because every request will be carefully reviewed to ensure you receive the most appropriate care tailored to your needs.

Feedback Team

On behalf of Health Care First Partnership