Changes in 2024

In January 2024 Harptree Surgery introduced a new triage system for urgent appointments.  Traditionally, patients had been able to call our reception team in the morning and book a same day face to face appointment when they needed to see a doctor. This was a good system for those able to get an appointment, but once the appointments ran out, patients were left without the care they needed.  We found that our phone lines were jammed at 8am and by 9am all the appointments were full. In January we introduced a triage system to alleviate this problem and ensure that patients were prioritised by the severity of their condition, rather than on a first come first served basis.

The move to total triage

We feel the new system has worked well, but it has meant that more of our doctors’ time is spent seeing urgent problems and triaging requests, leaving less time for the less urgent, but no less important, problems.

The waiting time to see a GP for a routine appointment has increased, which we know is frustrating.  We have increased the number of appointments and added extra doctors, but the problem has persisted.

We have therefore taken the decision to change our system to a total triage service.  This means that all requests for appointments, urgent or not, will go through the GP first. In this way, we can ensure that our GPs are able to get patients into the right type of appointment for the problem they have.

For example, if a patient has a simple infection and might need antibiotics, they might see our nurse practitioner. If they have a question about some medication, they might have an appointment with our pharmacist. If a patient has complex health problems or recurrent issues, they might be booked to see their own GP.  If someone is keen to discuss a test result, they might have a phone call rather than a longer face to face appointment. Our aim is to get the right kind of appointment for the patient and their specific problem.  Our hope is that by triaging our appointments, we will be able to see patients sooner and improve continuity for those who most need it.

How does the system work?

We have an online service where any patient (or a friend or relative) can submit a request to the surgery for an appointment.  Those who cannot use online services can still request an appointment by phone and our reception team will complete the triage team for them.

If the problem is urgent, we will contact the patient on the same day. For more routine problems the request will passed to their registered GP on their next working day. 

The service will be open from 8-6pm Monday to Friday under normal circumstances. However, during busy periods the service will be closed to routine requests once we reach capacity for the day.  Patients with urgent problems will still be able to call reception to request an urgent GP appointment when our routine triage has reached capacity.

Will I only see my registered GP now?

Wherever possible, appointments will always be booked with your registered GP.  However, patients may see another doctor if their own doctor is not available or if the problem might be appropriately managed by another member of our team.  We have a team of permanent ‘named’ GPs at the surgery who are supported by a team of GP registrars, GP locums, a highly experienced nurse practitioner and clinical pharmacist. Depending on your needs, you may be booked an appointment with another clinician for a particular problem.

We are also a teaching practice, and you may be offered a teaching appointment with one of our medical students, followed by a review with the GP.  If you would prefer not to be seen with our students, please just let us know when you book the appointment.