New Appointment Booking System

Dear Patients,

From 22nd January 2024 we are going to be changing our appointment booking system.

We have listened to your concerns about how you gain access to the appointments you need and looked at how we can stop the 8am rush to get an appointment. Our goal is to make sure you, as our patient, can easily get the right advice and care when you need it from the right person. This way, when you need to make a request, you won't have to worry about contacting us first; we will make sure you get what you need when you need it. We hope these changes will give all our patients a better experience of our service.

What will our new appointment booking system look like?

Our new system will mean that anyone contacting the practice on the phone, online or face to face will complete a short online form using the AccuRx platform. You can find this yourself on our website www.baymedicalgroup.co.uk or via the services tab on the NHS app.

If you cannot find it we will send you a link to complete an online form after you call us or when you come in to a reception desk.

If you do not have access to a smart phone or the internet or needs some help, please don’t worry as our patient advisors will help you fill in the online form on the phone or face to face.  

What will happen to my online form?

Once you have filled out the online form for a medical request our clinical assessment team will look at it and you will then be directed to the right person to deal with your request.

Our Clinical assessment team is made up of our GPs/Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) /Mental Health or our First contact physio team (FCP).

An important change to remember is that patients requesting GP/ACP/MH/FCP appointments will not be given an appointment straight away. Our Clinical Assessment Team will look at your online form and we will then contact you to advise on what you need. Please see the route your online request form will take below.

From the 22nd January 2024, the way you can make appointments will be changing. If you ring, attend any of our sites or contact us online, all your medical requests will be submitted to our Clinical Assessment Team.

Your request will be assessed by our clinical team and we will then contact you with their response which may be one of the following:

How do I contact the practice the practice from 22nd January 2024?

The new way to book your appointments and contact us

Your request will be reviewed by our Clinical Assessment Team (GP/ACP/MH & FCP) who will direct to you to the most clinically appropriate care and may involve one of our Clinical teams as below.

How to make an online request

Visit our Accurx platform and submit a new request

This can be found following the Contact Us Online link on our main website page.

Or by going to the NHS app and going onto Services/contact your GP about a health problem

• Complete a short online form about your problem or request and please give as much detail as possible to help us review it
• Our Clinical Assessment Team will decide on the best treatment for you
• The practice will respond with advice, a prescription or an appointment 

We are Changing How We Work To Improve Our Service To You

Frequently Asked Questions about the new appointment booking system:

 

Why are we making this change?

We want it to be easier for you to ask for help from the practice This way your requests can go quickly to the right person and we can help them in a timely way.

We will make sure we give priority to appointments based on how much you need them, after our clinical team checks and understands what you need.

The benefits are:

• Easy to use: It should only take a couple of minutes to fill out your information
• No waiting on the phone: You won't have to wait on the phone; just fill out the online form.
• Gets to the Right Person: Your form goes to the right person at the right time
• Convenient: You can send your request whenever you want within the opening hours, not just when you can get through on the phone
• Quick Help: The Clinical Assessment Team are made up of our Doctor's and clinical staff (ACPs, Mental Health Team and FCPs). They might be able to help you quickly without the needing an appointment. They can give you a phone call, issue a prescription or by send you to the right service for your need.

We know many of you will have questions about how the new system will work and worries about the effect it will have on your care.  We will be continually working to address your concerns and will provide you with regular updates.

What if I do not have access to the internet or struggle to complete forms?

If you don't have the internet or find it hard to fill out forms, you can still phone us or visit the practice. Our team will help you fill out the form, or they can do it for you.

Does this mean I won’t see a GP anymore?

No. You will still see a GP if we feel that is the best option for you.  

Filling out the online form just helps us understand what you need and who can help you best so that we can direct you to the right person at the right time. We hope this new way will make things better for you, so you can get help quickly from the right person.

Can a patient advisor make me an appointment instead?

No. From now on, regardless of how you contact the practice, patient advisors will no longer be able to book your GP/ACP/Mental Health/First Contact Physio appointment without it being reviewed by the Clinical Assessment Team. The patient advisors will help you complete the online form if you struggle to do it yourself. The clinician reviewing your request will advise who will see you and when and our patient advisor team will contact you to let you know about this.

If you contact the surgery and say you want same day/urgent appointment, what happens next if patient advisors will no longer be making appointments?

Our clinical assessment team will deal with all appointments. You will still be asked, or given help, to complete a short online form and if you are assessed as needing a same day appointment then you will be called to arrange an appointment on that day.

How long will it take to fill in the online form?

For medical queries it should take less than 5 minutes. For administrative or simple issues it is shorter.  We would ask all patients to put as much detail on the online form as possible to allow our clinical assessment team to make informed and accurate decisions about your care.

• Examples of admin issues are - to ask about a fit (sick) note or test results.
• Examples of simple issues are - change of contact details such as a mobile number.

How long will it take to hear from the practice?

We will contact you on the day you submit your request and give advice/next steps or an appointment as below

What if English is not my main spoken language?

In the same way that clinicians frequently use an official translation service on the phone our patient advisors can access these translation services to assist patients with their requests on the phone or in person in the surgery. 

What if the time/day of the appointment doesn’t work for me?

There is a section on the online form where you can write down the times that you aren’t available and our team can try to avoid these times when getting in touch with you.

What happens to an online form that I send overnight or at the weekend?

The online Medical request form is available from 7.30am to 2.30pm Monday to Friday. For patient safety, the form is not available during evenings, weekends and Bank Holidays.

You can send us an admin request form at any time but if you have a medical request please do not use that form. We only assess medical requests when we are open. If you send a medical request using the wrong form, you will have to send it again with the right form. This might mean it takes longer to get an answer to your health concern.

 

Can I use the online form to cancel my appointment?

No. Please either use the text reminder you received and text back CANCEL or call the practice on 01524 511999 and press option 6.

How do I request a repeat prescription?

We ask that your make your repeat prescription requests in writing using the one of the following methods:

• Though the NHS app.
• Through submitting a new ‘Repeat prescription’ admin query online.
• Via paper repeat slip - this can be dropped into the surgery letter box

Please note:

• We do not accept routine prescription requests over the telephone, our Patient Advisors will ask you to place any routine requests in writing.
• Please allow seven working days for your prescription request to be actioned by the practice.
• We will not acknowledge any routine prescription requests sent unless we require further information.
• If you order your medication on the NHS App you can check the status of your request

Can I request an appointment on behalf of someone else?

Yes, you can submit the online form on behalf of the patient (although please write on the online form that you are doing so) and you can put the contact number that we should either contact the patient or their representative on. Please note we cannot discuss anything about one of our patients unless they have explicitly given us permission to do so.

Will my request be saved to my medical record?

Any online form you submit about a medical issue will be saved to your record so that whoever calls you or sees you about your problem has your information to hand. If you send us a question about an administrative issue, we will only save this to your record if we think it would be relevant to do so.

Will the new booking system disadvantage me or my older or vulnerable relative?

No. If you have a mobile phone or internet, using the online form will be easier. This will also means that we can free up our phone lines for those who really need to use them if they cannot use the internet. If you or your relative cannot use the online form please telephone us as you normally would. We will help you and fill out the form for you.

Published: Jan 17, 2024