After reading through the recent letter published containing feedback on our practice, we wanted to explain our services to prevent any misunderstanding.
The letter was written by someone who is not registered with us, on holiday in Salisbury. (You can read that letter here)
When patients go on holiday in England, many issues such as missing medication can be dealt with by their own surgery who can prescribe to a local pharmacy.
Many simple conditions can be dealt with by a pharmacy, or the walk-in centre is a very appropriate service for patients who are temporarily in the area and need soon (but not emergency) attention.
We are not an emergency service – if someone is acutely unwell then they will be directed to A&E.
We do see “temporary” patients on occasion, but there is still a registration process and this is not immediate, meaning the walk-in centre is often more convenient.
We already have huge demands on our services, and our priority is to direct our limited resources to our registered patient population. The current level of funding for general practice is 30 pence per patient, per day and the profession is currently in dispute with NHS England regarding the levels of funding.
The appointment system we have implemented is following the request from NHS England under their Capacity and Access Plan and Modern General Practice plan.
We have found this online system (Accurx) for routine GP appointments has enabled us to significantly reduce waiting times for appointments, reduce waiting times on the telephone and ensure our patients are seen in the right place, by the right person, first time.
We have received lots of positive feedback regarding this system, and patients still have the option to call us if they are unable to use the online request form.
We would welcome any feedback on our services – we are constantly working to make improvements for our patients using the limited resources we have available.
We would encourage patients to join our Patient Participation Group if they wish to help the surgery further (please email us at bswicb.smp@nhs.net for more information).
GP Partners
Salisbury Medical Practice
Send letters by email to newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk or by post to Editor, Salisbury Journal, Suite B (Ground Floor), Milford House, Milford Street, Salisbury, SP1 2BP.
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