SURGERY NEWS
27/3 - EmisAccess problems
25/3 - FUTURE OF GP SERVICES -UPDATE
GP Contract
GPs have reluctantly agreed to the Government's proposals for extended hours as the alternative, which would have been imposed, was far worse. GP representatives described the Government's tactics as "gun barrel negotiation".
Under the new contract, Blacketts will have to open for an additional 4hrs and 30 minutes, either after 6.30pm or at weekends, or both. We had intended to extend our hours anyway, but our patient surveys suggest that true demand is limited to a small number of patients - perhaps 5% of our list - who are employed and find it difficult to attend during daytime hours. The Government's requirements mean that we will have to reduce services during the day, when 95% of our patients want to see their GP, in order for GPs, nurses and administrative staff to be available in the evening and on Saturday. Our extended hours, unilaterally determined by the Government, will be considerably longer than necessary to meet the demand, and thus an inefficient use of clinician time. Our costs will increase, but there is no additional payment for this work, as payment is being made by reducing current payments for other services.
We are currently discussing with staff how we can provide the additional hours. It is probable that we will remain open until 8pm on Wednesdays and provide GP appointments on Saturday mornings. As there is a PCT Walk in Centre and Out of Hours service available at evenings and weekends for urgent care, our service will be for pre-booked, routine appointments only.
Poly clinics
The Government has also decreed that there should be a number of 'poly clinics' around the country. These clinics combine GP services with other facilities such as X ray, physiotherapy and other specialist services. They are a useful facility in some locations, for example where GP services are limited and other facilities may be located at hospitals on the outskirts of cities. It has decided that there should be a poly clinic in Darlington, for the arbitrary reason that "there should be one in each PCT area", in spite of the fact that the local PCT is opposed to the idea, mainly because facilities in Darlington are already good and the hospital is reasonably central. Poly clinics will be open to private tender and we fear that the Government's agenda is to undermine tradtional GP services by bringing in the private sector. We believe that our services give good value for money and - having been in Darlington for almost 100 years - we are strongly driven by the ethos of care for the patient, rather than any profit motive. We believe that the patients most at risk from the Government's policy will be those who demand the larger proportion of GP and nurse time - those with long term conditions and high dependency on medical care. We feel that patients should support their local practice and the PCT in opposing any attempt to bring in a facility that is neither wanted nor needed in Darlington.
We would be interested to hear your views on our Patients' Forum. See the link in the left side panel.
29/1 - New Out of Hours number
27/11 - Changes to appointment system
We are making changes to the appointment system in order to improve appointment availability.
Under the new system, most appointment slots will be pre-bookable, with only a limited number kept back in order to provide 'same day' slots for people needing urgent care. 'Same day' appointments will in future be limited to those needing urgent care. Therefore, reception staff may ask you what the nature of your medical problem is and whether you need to be seen urgently.
We are also planning to provide some slots at lunchtimes and in the early evening for people who can not attend during normal morning and afternoon surgeries.
There is a certain amount of trial and error involved in estimating appointment demand. The main problem is estimating the level of 'urgent' demand, as this fluctuates, although Mondays and Fridays are traditionally more busy. It may take a few weeks to get the system running smoothly and we would be grateful for your patience and understanding if there are any 'teething problems'.
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