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Impossible to book an appointment

Story from nhs.uk

"Impossible to book an appointment"

About: Poplar Grove Practice

Immersive Reader

Poplar Grove does not make advance appointments, if you wish to see a GP you must call after 08.00am on the day. I called at exactly 08.00am but the line was already busy and it remained that way (I tried every few minutes) until 10.00am when I gave up and went to the surgery in person. A very pleasant receptionist sympathised but explained that this was 'the system' and that ALL the appointments for that day had been filled by 08.30am... It seems that unless you are very fortunate and get through in the first half-hour you will never see a doctor at this practice.

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Responses

Response from Poplar Grove Practice 3 years ago
Poplar Grove Practice

Submitted on 26/04/2022 at 14:13
Published on nhs.uk at 14:15

Immersive Reader

Dear Mr Taylor,

Firslty welcome to Poplar Grove Practice! I can that you registered with us this month and since then we have had a couple of consultations with you since you posted this review.

I can appreciate how extremely frustrating it can be when joining any new GP Practice to the navigate a new appointment system, especially if it is different to your last one.

We have tried over the years with different systems eg. book ahead appointments, e consult, book 2 weeks in advance and found that all systems have their pros and cons as I am sure you can appreciate.

For our Practice population we have found the 'book on the day' service is the most effective and safe, and also the best use of our resources. We are currently recruiting more GPs to replace those who have retired, left and are leaving, but this has been extremely difficult to do and is a national problem. Burnout is increasing and the workforce dwindling. Something I raised with our Local MP recently and councilor during their visits to us.

I am always looking for positive ways to improve our service, so as a new patient if you have feedback you can offer to help improve things, please do contact me directly. The reviews here mean a lot to the morale of the team and we value them.

Many thanks

Dr Jo Dent

GP Partner

joannadent@nhs.net

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