A lot has changed in General Practice in the last 2 years. From mainly face-to-face appointments, now telephone and video appointments are often used in the first instance. If you are confused about where the changes have come from and why, the below video with a poem by a Sheffield GP is a good explanation of how and why.
“As the GP crisis has ramped up over the years, GPs have not always explained well to patients the changes we’ve made as we’ve tried to improve access.
This poem aims to offer a more accurate explanation than some of the media around General Practice at the moment.”
Please, work with us to make the system work best for you and all our patients. Nothing is perfect, but we all do the best we can under difficult circumstances. Don’t take it out on our receptionists.
We can’t offer what we don’t have. Although we would love to give all our patients what they want (within reason and if this is the best thing for them), this is not possible. If all appointments have already been assigned to a patient, we can’t magically create more appointments out of thin air.
If all our appointments have gone and you believe a same-day appointment is required, please contact i-Heart on 01226 242419 between 4 and 6 pm instead. If your problem can wait, either try again from 8 am the next working day or pre-book an appointment. Although it may take a few weeks before a pre-bookable appointment is available, you could always continue to ring for an earlier same-day appointment and, if successful, cancel the pre-booked appointment.
We are doing the best we can. Please help us to help you. The receptionist is not nosy, but asks for reasons for the appointment at the GP’s request to allow triage. They can also direct you to the most appropriate clinician for your problem.
