All consultations at the surgery are by appointment. Appointments are for 12 minutes each and for one patient only. Double appointments are available on request for more complex problems. We will always try and offer you an appointment as soon as possible, and provision is made each day for genuinely urgent appointments.
The management of appointments is a very onerous task. Frithwood is a 7000 list size practice and the days are without question continuously full. We offer various appointments and different mediums to book in to these appointments.
The NHS has recognised that demand on the GP system is consistently high and policy is for receptionists to care navigate and signpost patients to the best possible pathway of care. This, along with the reduction of items available on prescription is quite emotive as perception is that practices are blocking patients but this is the best practice guidance we have been given to help alleviate demand and cost on the service.
In addition with the receptionist asking for a brief description to help direct the issue to the right support, the GPs have found this helps them prepare for the appointment, i.e. if it is an on-going issue, they can review notes in advance.
Our core is to offer pre-bookable and on the day appointments for GPs. We have to do it this way to manage demand of patients with chronic and acute problems balanced against routine and those that feel it is urgent. The system is set up to release appointments in the morning and afternoon so we are able to spread the demand through the course of the day.
Therefore routine appointments can still be booked ahead. It is appreciated that not everyone is able to phone the practice from 8am and therefore afternoon (on the day) appointments are also available from 1:30pm.
Online appointment booking is set up for our partner GPs and regular GP locums. Online appointments are available for pre-bookable as soon as they go on the system, and on the day available from 00:01 for that given day.
We have extended hours appointments (originally for those that work) from 07:30 in the morning on certain days of the week. There are also Improved Access appointments here and other Stroud Practices enabling our patients and those from across the Stroud patch to book in to available appointments. Frithwood’s are on alternate weeks and Saturday mornings.
The GPs have a variety of appointments for routine and urgent face to face plus phone calls and FaceTime appointments; in addition to home visits.
They perform minor ops, mental health and learning disability reviews and sexual health coils, endometrial biopsies and implants and a host of other procedures.
The nurses offer specialist appointments for chronic disease management such as diabetes and asthma/COPD on top of the plethora of patient care processes.
Please note appointments for blood tests need to be before 4pm daily.
Although you may be registered with one doctor, the practice is a partnership and for urgent appointments you will be offered an appointment with which ever doctor is available.