"Great change"

Wonderful that our system is working for people. The reason we changed the appointment system was exactly what you describe above, GPs being so booked up that patients were having to wait weeks to be seen and were often arriving at appointments having to explain that they had sorted the problem already. We know that it has been hard for patients to adjust to the new system and that we have had some bumpy moments particularly at the start. We have been consistently working on the system since we started it to improve it and get it to do what it needs to do, namely to improve access for people. Although people find it hard that they can't book a face to face appointment without first talking to the GP, it is only by doing this that we can be more responsive and create more capacity. Because a number of people have important things that can be sorted over the phone, this creates time for us to see people who do need to be seen face to face. As you know, if you and your doctor agree that you need to be seen, then you will be. I think we still have some work to do on continuity and ensuring patients speak to their own doctor but we are working on it. Thanks so much for this very encouraging feedback, it is a real boost to the practices morale. It is hard when you make a huge change to try to make things better and can be difficult to manage intially so this is very welcome.