Helping the practice to help you

Your doctor is seeing over twice the number of patients today compared to ten years ago. The average consultation rate is now 65 patients a day.

To help your doctor the practice would be grateful if you would consider the following :

Does your condition really need a doctors opinion ?

A large amount of viral conditions settle in a few days.
A recent practice study showed that six out of ten urgent, same day requests to see the doctor were not urgent and could have been dealt with by the patient.
An overbooked surgery can lead to mistakes.
It is now very difficult to attend urgent house visits during surgery time.

More ambulances are now sent to urgent requests at home than ever before.

Could your condition be dealt with by a telephone call?

In many circumstances your doctor can advise you how to deal with your illness over the telephone.
Ask the receptionist if you would like a telephone consultation and the doctor will telephone you back.

Do you really need a doctor to visit you at home?

A doctor can see four people in the surgery for every house call. The surgery also has far better facilities.
Five out of ten recent visits did not warrant a house call and the patient was fit to come to surgery.
Your doctor may telephone you before visiting to see if a visit is really necessary.
You need to arrange transport to the surgery.
Telephone the surgery before 10am to arrange a house visit.

Calls after surgery hours

Because of the high demand for out of hours calls your practice has joined a larger rota with other doctors and night calls are now taken by Primecare, a doctors answering service until 10pm and by Carmarthen Doc between 10pm and 8am

Try to request night visits only when necessary

Trying your meet your needs

Over the last two years we have created open surgeries in order to meet the need for increasing demands for appointments. We have tried our best to see all the patients arriving before 10.30am at both surgeries, although this has meant seeing an average of 38 patients every morning with the disadvantage of a long wait to see the doctor.

How can we improve the current waiting time at the surgery?

Appropriate consultations with other professionals.
Your condition may respond to being advised by your local chemist.
Our nurse practitioner trainee is currently seeing minor illnesses under the supervision of the doctor and will be able to see acute and chronic illnesses at both surgeries. You can speak to her directly at the surgery.

Could your condition be dealt with by a telephone call?

Many conditions can be safely advised over the telephone
Ask the receptionist if you would like a telephone consultation and the doctor will telephone you back.
In future advice on some aspects of self monitoring of chronic illnesses may well take place by telephone.

Self management of common conditions?

About half of the conditions presenting to the doctor could be managed by the patient or their family.
A bilingual publication of how to handle simple every day conditions is available at the practice.
Advice on self management will be given by the doctor, nurse practitioner or nurse during your appointment.

What of the future?

We will be advising patients to telephone during the morning when they need to see a doctor or other professional and a time will be given in order to avoid a long at the surgery wait for a consultation.

The surgery is running late again

You have most probably made an appointment some time ago to see your doctor and now still waiting longer than your booked appointment time.

These are the reasons why you are waiting :

Patients are turning up at the surgery insisting on seeing a doctor then and there, despite having an open surgery every day.

Patients are telling us that they are emergencies.
Six out of ten of these patients are not emergencies

Some patients have a nursing problem that needs more time to treat. Some may require time consuming tests.

Your doctor receives telephone calls from patients that insist on a telephone consultation during surgery time

Your doctor may need to contact others by telephone during surgery time. For example, the hospital, coroner, police, undertaker etc.

Doctors consultation time runs over the allotted 5 or 10 minutes

Help your doctor during your consultation
Try not to ask your doctor for repeat prescriptions during your appointment.
Remember that other patients are waiting. Try to contain your needs to the time that you are given.

If you are an emergency you will be taking up someone else`s appointment time. Remember other patients have made an appointment some time ago.

Try not to discuss too many conditions that may require another appointment. The doctor has only 8minutes to deal with your condition but would like a lot more time.
Dealing with someone else`s illness or problem takes time.
Try not to bring more than one person along for an opinion.

We use to finish surgery at 11.00 am many years ago, now we struggle to finish at 1.00 pm and home visits are waiting.

Summary guide to using the practice

The following guide is designed to help us work together:

How can you help?

First of all ask yourself:

Does my condition need a medical opinion?
If so, does it need a doctor or a nurse practitioners opinion?
A nurse practitioner is a specially trained practice nurse or health visitor who can assess if you need to seek a doctors opinion. The nurse practitioner will do everything a doctor would do and can manage the majority of your basic health conditions. She also runs her own clinics at both our surgeries at Penygroes and Crosshands
What should you do if you need to see a nurse practitioner?
Ask at the reception desk to see the nurse practitioner.
We have two surgeries and she may be at our other surgery.
If you telephone her she will arrange to see you at a time and place that is convenient.

Which surgery should you select - Open or a normal appointment?

Open Surgeries

These are morning surgeries and are designed for short appointments. Your doctor can not deal with several conditions in the short time allotted. Remember there are many more patients and house calls waiting to be seen.

Normal appointment Surgeries

These are your normal appointment surgeries. Make a booking for these surgeries in the normal way.

How will the future unfold?

More clinics have been designed where the practice nurses and our nurse practitioner will see and manage your care.
You may be asked to take more responsibility over the management of certain conditions yourself.
Your first examination at the surgery may be with a health care assistant who will take your history, blood pressure, weight etc. so that the doctor will have more time with you.

If you have any views on the service or possible future developments then;
Telephone Mrs Gloria Evans our practice manager on 01269 831193
Email info@gofal.co.uk
Contact us via the website