At the surgery we have a number of ways of helping patients with their problems. These include consultation with a doctor, nurse or health visitor, a telephone consultation with a doctor, nurse or health visitor, or our receptionists may be able to help you with administrative problems. We are very keen to ensure that patients have a consultation with the most appropriate person when they ask for an appointment. This may mean it is necessary for our receptionists to ask for some more information about the nature of your problem. Our receptionists are highly trained and authorised to do this. We will ask your permission to make further enquiries and then hopefully give you an appointment with the most appropriate person.

Patients requesting a same day appointment with a GP will first have their problem assessed by our triage nurses, Gill Avery & Jackie Fryer. Gill & Jackie are very experienced nurses who have undergone training especially for this role and will be working to protocols developed in the practice. They will first assess the urgency of your problem and then offer you a suitable appointment with a GP or other healthcare professional if more appropriate. In some cases they may offer advice alone.

Over recent years research has been undertaken to investigate the delivery of healthcare in order that minor conditions are identified as such, properly dealt with and that more complex conditions can be prioritised and referred to the doctor in the most appropriate manner.

Nurse triage has been found to be an effective way of achieving this and it has been verified by several studies. The present government has pushed this forward with NHS Direct which uses trained nurses to advise patients by telephone.

Our practice has a highly caring, very experienced and efficient nursing team providing a whole range of services. Patient satisfaction surveys echo this. We hold regular meetings which are used for communication and training. In addition we have a comprehensive computer network which means that clinical information is available to all relevant healthcare professionals as appropriate. The doctors are readily available to Gill, Jackie and all nurses for advice.

There has been public perception in the past that seeing a nurse is ‘second best’. Research does not bear this out. It has been well proven that nurses deal effectively with most minor conditions and that trained nurses are excellent in referring to the doctor in an appropriate manner, thus leaving the doctor more time for complex problems.
We are continuing to develop these systems and they remain under constant review. Feedback from our patients is always very valuable and it would be helpful if you could let us know of any problems or good experiences you may have had.

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