Consideration when seeking to book an appointment…

Dear Patients,

We continue to have positive feedback about our “Total Triage System” We receive on average 650 GP appointment requests a week. These are triaged by a clinican who decides if the patient needs to be seen today, within a week or routinely.

The increase in demand for appointments has steadily risen since we introduced the system. We have noticed that often queries are submitted about symptoms which have been present for only a few days, and without trying any self help/over the counter treatments first. This coupled with an increasing number of patients not turning up for their appointment has lead to a longer wait for routine appointments.

We are working hard to keep our waiting time low and the majority of our routine appointments are seen within 2 weeks which we feel is a great achievement.

Like most organisations, a vast majority of our staff have school aged children and so in order to accommodate their leave requests, there may be a small increase in waiting times over the Summer. Please rest assured that urgent problems with still be managed within a short time frame. Please bear with us.

You can help us ensure appointments go to those who need it, by accessing other support for minor conditions such as the NHS choices website.

Please remember you can use your local pharmacy for minor ailments such as hayfever, sunburn, aches and pains, constipation, mild eczema. Both Ogles and Pershore Pharmacy offer the Pharmacy first service, and can prescribe treatment (including antibiotics) for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, uncomplicated urine infection in women.

Many thanks for your support