The Practice understands that a change in process and the way patients can now access the surgery may be unsettling. However, after an extensive review we feel the changes are absolutely necessary to improve access for our patients and ensure care is delivered by the most appropriate health professional and within a safe timeframe.
The NHS in under tremendous pressure relating to demand on services and The Quarter Jack Surgery is no exception to this. On an average month, the Practice offers 2,500 GP appointments, 1,690 Advanced Nurse Practitioner appointments and 3,300 Practice Nurse and Healthcare Assistant appointments. The Practice receives over 12,000 calls a month – often over 800 calls a day. We are aware that this results in long waits on the phone and increases the pressure on our staff. This is despite the Practice investing in a new phone system to aid with call volume.
We believe the use of eConsult will ensure our patients get the right care at the right time. The request for our patients to use the eConsult platform has several advantages.
• It bypasses the phone line and avoids the need for lengthy waits.
• eConsult greatly helps triage (assessing urgency of clinical need) by our Care Navigating team and GPs. With the clinical information provided, we can assess the urgency that a medical condition needs to be seen (including a same day assessment), distinguish clinical and administrative requests, and signpost care to the most appropriate health care professional.
• We aim to process an eConsult within a 48-hour period, and for patients under the age of 18 within 24 hours.
We accept there will be some patients that may be unable to use the eConsult platform by not having internet access or they may not have family or friends readily able to assist them with the submission of an eConsult. These patients can contact the Practice in the traditional way but may find they are asked more in-depth questions about their request or medical complaint than they have previously experienced – again to facilitate triage.
You can help the Practice by trying out the eConsult system, and by being kind to our reception staff as we undergo this change in process.
Thank you for your support.
The Quarter Jack Surgery Partners