Availability of Appointments

Like many other Practices around the UK, we are experiencing a severe shortage of available appointments.  We understand that this is extremely frustrating for patients, our staff are very unhappy about the situation too.

Since the start of the year, there is an average of 300 less available appointments a week at Broadshires, as a consequence of staffing issues, as seen all over the NHS.

We continue to recruit new clinical staff - GPs, ANPs and Nurses - but with more and more staff leaving the NHS, the situation is not expected to improve for sometime.  We must therefore be extremely rigorous in how we triage your request and allocate the available appointments each day.

Another challenge is that our ageing phone system, is not coping with the volume of calls, plans are in place for a replacement system.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS - Please help us decrease the wait for an appointment by letting us know if you cannot make a booked appointment by calling ahead, this means we can then allocate the time to another patient awaiting an appointment.  Please ensure you arrive in plenty of time for your appointment and check in using the screen in our reception area.

Same Day Appointments

Call 999 for any life-threatening condition - When to call 999 - NHS (www.nhs.uk) / Symptoms of sepsis - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

You should use the emergency services (999 or be taken to A&E) if you need very urgent medical care, where the potential seriousness cannot be fully dealt with safely at the GP practice.

The phones go live from 08:00 each day - please call on 01993 845 600 - and our Patient Coordinators will triage your need according to the availability of appointments on the day.  You may be asked to call back later in the week if we have no available appointments left on the day you call.  We will always do our best to offer an appointment where the triage process concludes that your need is urgent.

• Phone Consultations

Our Patient Coordinators are only authorised to offer a phone consultation - with a GP, ANP or Nurse.  You must be available for the clinician to call you back - either during the morning or afternoon session - the Patient Coordinator will confirm which.  If you do not answer the call after two attempts, we have no choice but to move onto the next patient and, you will need to call again.

• Face to Face Consultations
  

A clinician - GP, ANP or Nurse - will make a decision whether you need to be consulted in person at the Practice and, make an appointment with you whilst on the phone.  It is important that you arrive on time, check in using the screen in our main reception, otherwise we will not know that you have arrived.

Routine Appointments

Our current lead time for routine appointments is 6-7 weeks.  As and when we are able to recruit more staff to the team, the waiting time for a routine appointment will reduce.  There is no satisfactory solution in the meantime, please bear with us.

Home Visits

A home visit can be requested if you are housebound or too ill to attend the surgery.  Please phone the Health Centre on 01993 845 600 before 10:00 if you require a home visit and our Patient Coordinators will triage your need according to the availability of appointments.

You will initially receive a telephone consultation to determine your eligibility for a home visit by a qualified clinician or one of the staff from the Early Visiting Team service.

Test Results

If your test results are "normal" and no further action is required, you WILL NOT be contacted by the Practice.  We understand that it can be an uncertain time waiting for results but we can assure you that should your test results indicate that further action is necessary, you will be contacted by a clinician.

The results of tests ordered by hospital clinicians will be sent directly to that department.  Please contact the specific department directly for information about your test results.