Wellington patients can now book online to see GP
Patients at a doctors' surgery in Wellington which attracted complaints over difficulties seeing a GP no longer have to pick up the phone to book a slot.
The move at Wellington Medical Practice follows claims by patients that they sometimes make dozens of calls before being answered by office staff.
Improvements at the Chapel Lane site include a new management team, a new internet appointment system and there are plans in the pipeline to install a new telephone system.
Managing partner Dr Derrick Ebenezer is part of a new team which took over the running of the centre last November. The others are Dr Navneet Singh, clinical lead partner, and Dr Tim O'Brien the senior partner.
Dr Ebenezer said: "The new partnership and clinical and administrative team have been working hard to support the changes to improve patient access. We needed to offer patients another way of accessing appointments.
"We quickly identified that getting in touch with the surgery on the phone to book appointments was an issue for many of our patients and this is something we are working hard to tackle. We are investing in a new telephone system so that people who still choose to phone the surgery will find it easier to talk to us. But we are also making it easier for patients to book appointments via an online secure booking system."
The online booking system applies to telephone discussions with a GP as well as some nursing appointments which include blood pressure checks. The telephone consultation has major advantages for patients and doctors and is becoming more routine across nationally.
Dr Ebenezer explained: "Many patients can get the support they need over the telephone without having to travel to the surgery. The telephone consultation is a useful tool to help better understand the patient's needs. For example test results and medication changes can occur during a telephone consultation or the contents of a clinic letter can be discussed during a telephone consultation."
Wellington Medical Practice said it is also able to accommodate many patients currently registered with Malling Health Wrekin which will close later this year.
