A message to our patients Firstly, thank you to the many patients who were kind, patient and understanding yesterday during an exceptionally busy day. Your consideration really does make a difference to our team.
Yesterday, demand for our service was extremely high. Our duty doctor managed contacts relating to 419 patients, and our call navigators worked incredibly hard to triage every single call safely and appropriately. As always, when demand increases, our team pulls together to support one another and do the very best we can for our patients.
Sadly, we also experienced a small number of interactions that were rude and unkind. While we understand that people may feel frustrated when unwell or worried, rudeness, shouting, or unrealistic demands towards our staff will not be tolerated. Our team is here to help and deserves to be treated with respect.
How you can help us help you:
Avoid calling on a Monday for routine problems – Mondays are consistently the busiest day in general practice nationwide. Use our ring-back service – if there are 24 people in the queue, it will take over an hour to answer calls. Submit an online consultation and include as much relevant information as possible. Please stick to one problem per appointment – raising multiple unrelated issues can delay care for other patients and causes clinics to overrun. Do not shout at our staff – they are doing their best to support you and keep services running safely.Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
