‘Sit and wait’ bid to speed up doctors’ appointments
A DOCTOR’S surgery is trialling a new form of appointments aiming for patients to be seen by a doctor sooner.
Many people who need a GP appointment often have to wait days or weeks to be seen, with doctors fully-booked in advance.
A study by GP magazine Pulse found that the average waiting time for a non-urgent appointment is 14 days - the first time they have gone over a fortnight.
Now, the Argyle Street branch of Heywood Health is trying to tackle the problems faced by its patients, by offering a one-hour sit-and-wait service each morning.
From Monday, September 2, sit-and-wait appointments will be available from 8.30am to 9.30am, freeing up around 45 appointments each morning. Children under five years old cannot use the sit-and-wait system, but will still be offered an appointment on the day, each day, either at lunchtime or later on.
However, many patients have complained online that the system isn’t suitable for people with jobs. One patient said: “This is no good for anyone who has a job, especially those who work in jobs where holidays are set and you have pre-existing medical conditions.
“It’s already a poor situation when you can’t access an appointment for weeks at a time. I’ll be looking for a new doctors.”
In a pamphlet to inform patients, Heywood Health said: “We have listened to what you have said and have developed a new appointment system which we know will not resolve all the issues you have raised but will, attempt to give you an opportunity for an appointment. If you require a pre-bookable appointment these are in the afternoons only, unless the GP requests an appointment for you.
“Please understand that you will still be asked what your reason for attending the surgery is, as this is a requirement throughout Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. If there is a more suitable service that would best suit your needs, you will be signposted to that service. We are aware that no-one likes change but we are hoping this will benefit the patients and will increase additional clinical time for our GPs.”
The sit-and-wait system will not be available at the York House Branch of the surgery - only those with booked appointments will be seen.