Message from the GP Partners
Patients will be aware that these are extremely challenging times for the NHS and General Practice. There
was already a shortage of both nurses and doctors prior to the Covid pandemic and the pandemic, with all its
consequences, has made things much worse. Our surgery now has 3 fewer GP partners than at the start of the
pandemic and with the current pressures, recruitment is a constant challenge. There are escalating needs and
demands – last Monday, for example, the surgery received over 600 phone calls, not including prescription
requests. The system is further stressed by long waits for hospital appointments and we fully appreciate the
upset and frustration this causes patients. We are of course trying to support those who suffer as they
wait, but the delays are outwith our control.
A recent audit of consultations taken from a standard working week notes that our practice sees an average
of 48 face to face GP consultations per day and an average of 100 GP telephone consultations per day. Our
Nursing staff are seeing an average of 45 patients per day in practice. This amounts to an average of 193
clinical contacts per day. This figure excludes the review of secondary care/private letters and results,
GP messages, tasks and acute prescribing.
The pressure on General Practice was supposed to be eased by the expansion of the GP Team to include
Practice Pharmacists, Physiotherapists and Community Link Workers, with reconfiguration of urgent care
services. However funding has dried up and of this, our Practice has received only pharmacy support and even
this on a much more limited basis than was intended. We are however glad to have the expertise of our
Pharmacy Team, helping with ever-increasing prescribing demands.
In addition, the Health Board has taken over all vaccinations and ear syringing/microsuction. It also
provides a Phlebotomy Hub for routine blood tests, allowing our nurses and health care assistants to focus
on management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. We are aware that there can be some
delays on the phone lines for these services and are grateful to patients for their patience and willingness
to attend Community Clinics when requested.
Our Community Pharmacy colleagues have been given an expanded role, including the Pharmacy First scheme,
which can provide treatment for many more minor conditions. Many patients will have benefitted from this.
Community Pharmacies are also dealing with increasing demands and we recognise that patients can find it
frustrating that they have to wait longer for a non-urgent prescription to be processed and dispensed. This
is as a result of pressure on both the Surgery and the Pharmacy. It is also frustrating for everyone when a
paper prescription which has been issued cannot be located, which becomes more likely with high volumes of
prescriptions going to multiple pharmacies. We hope that prescriptions may eventually be transmitted to the
Pharmacy electronically, as already happens in England, but in the meantime ask for your patience when this
happens.
The outgoing President of the RCGP, Prof Martin Marshall, has said that “many parts of the NHS are under
such enormous pressure that they are unable to provide the personal care that patients need, unable to
provide effective care and increasingly unable to even provide safe care”. This is not the situation any
doctor or nurse went into medicine to provide and we very much hope it is a temporary one. However, at times
of pressure, it will always be our responsibility to prioritise the safe care of all our patients within
available resources and this may mean longer waits for those with less urgent problems and more difficulty
getting an appointment with a particular doctor or nurse. We are disappointed when this has to be the case
and sorry for the frustration caused when it is difficult to get an appointment. Please be assured that our
Practice Manager is constantly working to improve appointment availability. However, please also remember
that in these difficult times, if it were not for skilled filtering and signposting by our dedicated staff,
the system would collapse completely. We have been shocked by recent levels of verbal abuse against our
Practice Manager and reception staff and we ask that patients avoid taking their frustrations out on our
staff, who are doing their utmost to try and help you. We understand that the last few years have been
difficult and exhausting for everyone, but the resulting stress, anxiety and frustration has affected our
staff too. We appreciate that distorted media reporting has affected people’s attitudes and would like to
thank those patients who see past this and come in with a kind word and a smile for our staff.
While we will always seek to understand and support distressed patients, those who abuse our staff will be
removed from our practice list
We are grateful to the many patients who have expressed their support at this difficult time for everyone
in the NHS. Of course, like everyone, we will make mistakes and we always welcome constructive feedback.
Please bear with us as we continue to do all we can to provide the best possible service in the
circumstances.
