Face-to-face appointments

I was surprised to read your report in the Thursday, November 4, edition of the visit by Andrew Griffith MP to Petworth surgery.

We moved into the area about a year ago and registered with the surgery. The administrative, medical support staff and doctors have been excellent in our experience and the pharmacy service is a real boon.

Our dealings with the surgery have always been civil and friendly.

However, on the specific issue of face-toface appointments my

understanding is that the policy of the surgery is that everyone must have a first ‘triage’ telephone appointment and cannot decide themselves that a face-to-face appointment is needed.

Indeed this triage appointment is not really an appointment at all but rather is a telephone call from a doctor sometime during that day or half day.

If the policy of the surgery is as stated in your article, that a patient ‘who wants a face-to-face appointment can get one’ then I would suggest that this needs to be communicated clearly to patients.

I have no problem with telephone appointments

(if they have at least an approximate timing) for most purposes but I see no reason to go through an additional and potentially wasteful (to the doctor) triage process first when the patient knows perfectly well in the vast majority of cases whether a telephone appointment is likely to be adequate (if necessary in discussion with admin staff ).

I also see a useful place for simple email exchanges instead of some appointments.

I would urge the surgery to place trust in their patients and their admin staff and allow patients to decide.

This would also allow the return of on line appointments with the attendant saving of staff and patient time waiting on the telephone or calling at the surgery.

RICHARD GUY Duncton, Petworth