How to Book an Appointment
Announcement: New System Coming Soon!
We know how important it is for patients to access care when they need it. However, our current system has faced significant challenges, both for patients and our practice team. That is why on 10th March we will be introducing Rapid Health, to triage requests, and make it easier for patients to access the right care at the right time.
Why are we changing?
The simple answer is the demand for General Practice is at an unprecedented level and our current system is no longer functioning as a suitable model under these pressures.
The goal for the change is to implement a new system which better utilises our existing capacity to meet people's health needs while preventing burnout of staff and improving the patient journey.
Here is a visual illustration of the ratio between patients and GPs. Each red square represents a GP and each blue square, a patient registered with Moatfield Surgery.
As our patient population not only grows in size, but in complexity too, the pressure we face intensifies.
For more detail on the current pressures facing GP Practices, visit RebuildGP.co.uk
Here are the 4 primary issues with our current system:
1. Booking Bottleneck at 8 am
Appointments currently release at 8 am, leading to an overwhelming surge in calls. This creates a stressful experience for patients trying to navigate the system and secure an appointment.
The new system will aim to smooth patient access and reduce the need to call as close to 8am as possible.
2. Limited Appointment Options
Due to the structure of our current appointment diary, patients are often left with two options:
- Same-day appointments that are quickly filled
- Pre-bookable appointments available only 6 weeks in advance. Due to cumulative demand, these are often booked shortly after release.
Unfortunately, this leaves little room for routine issues, leaving many patients without suitable options.
The new system will have a much greater emphasis on routine capacity and moving away from the day-by-day release of appointments.
3. Impact on Staff
The structure of the current system puts extraordinary pressure on our Patient Services Team, who manage an immense volume of calls and assist patients to secure an appointment.
When our Patient Services Team were asked: 'What elements of the role do you find most challenging and why?' The most common response was managing patient calls when we reach our clinical capacity for the day.
The new system will look to remove the immediate pressure the team experiences at the start of the day and bring clinical staff into the appointment booking process.
4. Inefficient use of capacity
A survey of our GPs revealed that the current appointment system often leads to double bookings, as patients frequently need to return for a face-to-face appointment after their initial telephone consultation. This issue is further exacerbated by the limited 10-minute appointment duration.
The inefficient use of capacity is also driven by the limited availability of routine slots and the requirement to match all incoming requests on a given day with same-day appointments.
The new system will implement clinician-led appointment booking, an increased proportion of face-to-face appointments and 15-minute appointments to optimise the use of available capacity.
No model, tool, or product can fully address the total volume of requests we receive. However, we believe that adopting a new approach will allow us to make better use of our capacity, better meet the needs of our population, and ensure a safe and manageable workload for our team members.
The New Model
The New model consists of 2 main areas of change:
- How requests are submitted to, and processed by the practice
- The structure and format of our appointment diary
Moving forward, requests will be submitted using an enhanced triage tool called Rapid Health. This will involve a triage form completed by the patient, or by a member of the practice staff on the patient's behalf.
The completed triage form provides us with a much better understanding of the request to make sure the right care is provided at the right time. The patient will then either be offered an appointment or have their request reviewed by one of our triaging GPs.
In addition to how requests are submitted and processed, we will be restructuring our appointment diary to schedule more routine capacity for issues not requiring urgent, same-day attention. Appointments will be released in a tiered fashion to allow for better provision to different needs.
In addition to the overall proportions of appointment types, we will be implementing longer 15-minute Face-to-Face appointments within our appointment diary, in addition to ensuring our clinics are in line with the British Medical Association's Safe Working Guidance.
How will I raise a request / book an appointment moving forward?
The quickest way to book an appointment will be via our website. Just click on the booking link, select the appropriate request type and answer the following questions prompted by the triage form. This triage form will also be accessible via the NHS app in the early part of 2025.
At the end of the triage form, you will either be offered an appointment, or your request will be submitted to the practice to be reviewed by our Triage Team.
If you aren't able to submit your form digitally, you can still call the practice and speak to our Patient Services Team, who will complete the online form on your behalf. Alongside the online and telephone options, you can still book an appointment by visiting the practice. In-practice booking stations will be available for patients to submit their requests.
Please see our FAQ document for more information.
Making Sure Your Details Are Up To Date
There is no registration required or setting of passwords to access this system, but in order to book your own appointments you must have a valid email address on your patient record.
Live Demonstration Sessions
We will soon be scheduling 2 live demonstration sessions for patients to learn more about the new system. These Live demo sessions have a maximum capacity of 1000 attendees, so please ensure you only register if you are a patient at Moatfield Surgery.
12th February 2025 - This session has concluded
Event Details:
Date: 12/02/2025
Time: 6.00pm
Location: Online Event, Microsoft Teams
27th February 2025
Event Details:
Date: 27/02/2025
Time: 6.00pm
Location: Online Event, Microsoft Teams
Each demonstration session will cover why we are making the change, and how our new process will impact patients, and how patients can use and access the tool.
Don't worry if you can't attend our demonstration sessions, recordings will be available after both sessions have taken place.
Unsure how to join? This guide from Microsoft will talk you through how to join a meeting using Microsoft Teams.
Drop In Sessions
Members of our Practice Team will be at East Court to discuss the upcoming changes!
- Thursday 20th February
13.00 - 16.00
Council Chambers, East Court - Monday 24th February
13.00-16.00
Council Chambers, East Court
There is no need to book, or register for this event!
Updates
We will share updates about our new appointments system here, and on our Social Media Platforms.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and X for updates straight to your feed.
Submit your Comments / Feedback
We want to know what patients think of our new system. You can submit your comments using the form linked below.
Our Appointment System
Our Appointment system combines book-in-advance appointments and a same-day clinical assessment system.
If you telephone the surgery on 01342 327555 or present in person at the Front Desk at 8.00am on the day you wish to be seen (9.00am on Fridays), a member of our patient services team will take your details and ask a reason for the appointment.
Our Patient Services Team will use the information you have provided to assess the most appropriate clinician or service to handle your query. We have a highly skilled and varied team of health professionals, including GPs, Practice Nurses, Paramedics, Phramacists and Physiotherapists.
Additionally, we have access to many local services who may be better placed to handle your health concern; we can book you an appointment at a local pharmay or direct you to alternative local services.
If you wish to see a particular clinician, or you do not need to be assessed on that particular day, you may wish to book your appointment in advance. This may be a wait of several weeks.
Who Should I see?
Sometimes, the best person to deal with your health concern is not the GP, but another member of our highly skilled team of healthcare professionals, or maybe another service entirely!
This list will give you an idea of who is the best person to speak to about your health problem, or who our Patient Services Team may book you in to speak to.
Who Should I See?
Book your Appointment Online using the NHS App
A limited number of our appointments are available to book online via the NHS App and Patient Access. Many of these appointments are realeased at 6.30am so it is a good idea to check your app first thing in the morning, if you would like to book your appointment this way.
For Continuity, GP Appointments can only be booked with your named GP on the days that they work. This ensures your condition is not being dealt with by multiple clinicians who may not have been involved in your care before.
Online Access is available to ALL our registered patients. Once registered, you can book and cancel your appointment(s) online 24/7.
Using our Self-Booking Feature
Our text messaging system allows us to send self-book text messages to patients who are due for appointments such as Annual Reviews, or other scheduled appointments such as Immunisations or Blood Tests.
You may recieve a text message containing a unique booking link. When you follow this link, you will need to enter your Date of Birth to the website so it can confirm your identity.
You will then be asked to select either a convenient time to attend the surgery, or an appropriate time window for a clinician to call you, depending on the type of appointment. Once your appointment is booked, you will receive a text message to confirm the appointment details.
You will have 7 days to use the booking link before it expires. If your link has expired, please call the surgery on 01342 327555.
Last Updated - 20/02/2025