Many of you will be aware of the huge pressure we are currently under. All teams within the practice are working as hard as they can to manage this - dealing with this pressure is not easy and we are acutely aware of the huge knock-on impact on our Reception Team when we are at capacity and having to tell patients we have no appointments, as well as the worry for patients that they can't be seen that day.
You may need to go elsewhere for advice or treatment and although this isn't always as convenient as attending the surgery or speaking with one of our clinicians on the phone. We will absolutely always aim to contact anyone that calls with a medical emergency and this is why we ask you to let the receptionist know the reason you would like a call.
Patient safety is always our priority and our clinicians are working longer hours and seeing more patients in a day than they now deem safe or are comfortable with. Making decisions about someone's health and treatment takes a great deal of consideration and is exhausting.
We are not short-staffed, but the demand for our appointments is higher than it has ever been. We are constantly reviewing systems and processes to maximise our efficiency.
We have seen an increase during recent weeks of our Reception teams suffering abuse from patients that is simply unacceptable.
Please can we ask that we are all kind to each other and understand that we are all doing everything we can to see as many patients as possible.
We thank you for being understanding during this unprecedented demand.
The video below was filmed in 2021 but is still relevant now and illustrates some of the abuse our Reception team face.
Please also take the time to read our Zero Tolerance Statement.
Zero Tolerance Statement (Right Click and "Save As")
