Dear Blogger
Message from Jackie Jones, Prescott Surgery Patient Group - Some reasons why it is sometimes difficult to get an appointment at the surgery.
Please find attached the current surgery newsletter. This has just gone into the Baschurch Village Newsletter.
The surgery is experiencing high volumes of calls and requests for appointments. The surgery and the Patient Group are asking patients to be understanding that:
- The surgery is open
- Telephone consultations continue and the doctor or nurse will call a patient in if necessary. The virus continues and with the new Delta variant so it is important to keep patients and staff safe. Full hygiene protection measures continue if any patient is called into the surgery. Patients are required to sit spaced apart in the waiting area.
- The staff at the surgery - doctors, nurses, support staff are all supporting the vaccination programme and this is creating a high demand on their time in addition to their day job.
- Secondary care (hospital) have backlogs in outpatient appointments, minor and major surgery and treatments to be carried out. When this happens this creates a knock on effect to primary care practices.
- The staff at our surgery serve nearly 7500 patients and will always do the best they can however there is still absence due to illness and holiday leave taken.
Yesterday`s edition of the Shropshire Star had a headline of 'GP Staff Facing A Wave of Abuse' Prescott Surgery has worked hard with the Patient Group and I throughout the pandemic to keep patients informed. We have never missed a newsletter and sent additional news flash information as often as necessary. I can honestly say that we have done far more than many other practices in Shropshire.
The call from the Star is to 'be kind'. I wear a patient hat so I champion the best for our patients and I keep a regular line of communication with Prescott Surgery however, patients must understand the extreme pressure that the surgery are under given the information in the newsletter and what I have highlighted above, Prescott Surgery GP partners always place the patients at the heart of all they do.
I hope this helps, there is no quick fix and the situation is forever changing. The next newsletter will be mid to end of July.
Kind regards and best wishes
Jackie
Jackie Jones MInstLM (Dip)
Executive Coach & Leadership Mentor
Shropshire & Telford CCG Integrated Place Partnership Board Member.
Chair of Prescott Surgery Patient Group, Baschurch, Shropshire
Member of SaTH People's Patient Panel & SaTH Dementia Steering Group
Dementia Friends Champion
