Happy New Year – Plans for 2025

Posted by: stephcarter - Posted on:

Dear Patients,

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. We have been looking back on another busy year and wanted to share some of our plans for 2025.

As many of you will know, the Practice went through a change of management in 2020 and ever since we have been committed to making continual improvements to our service.

We have been able to grow in size, welcoming 2000+ new patients, 5 GPs, 4 Advanced Nurse Practitioners, 2 Practice Nurses and a number of administrative staff alongside Physiotherapists, Pharmacists, Social Prescribers, Wellbeing Practitioners and even creating new rooms in our building to house everyone!

One of our main goals is to ensure that the right patients see the right member of the team at the right time, thus ensuring that issues are dealt with in the safest, most effective, and efficient way.

To do this, we aim to offer all patients a routine appointment with their named GP within a 2 week time period (wherever possible). We will continue to operate a ‘telephone first’ system but please be assured, any patient who requires or requests a face to face appointment will be offered one, usually the same day.

Alongside this, we will continue to run our same-day triage service for urgent problems that cannot wait for routine care and our nursing clinics for both urgent issues and chronic disease management. 

And for those who are online, the eConsult function provides a way to ask questions or for advice without having to wait for an appointment. You will be contacted before the end of the next working day.

But we can’t reach our goals without you, so how can you help us? 

  • Please let us know if you can no longer make your appointment, this means it can be offered to someone else. Arrive on time or have your phone to hand/on loud if you are expecting a call back.
  • Please only use the same day triage service when your need is urgent. For ongoing problems, it is generally better to consult with your usual GP for continuity of care.
  • Make use of our website page ‘Who Do I See?’ before contacting the Practice. This is updated regularly by the GPs, and you may find there is a quicker and easier way to get help for your problem. 
  • For under 18s, make use of the Healthier Together website/app for advice on common health problems in children. https://www.what0-18.nhs.uk/
  • Make use of self-referral schemes, these do not require a referral from a GP and include things such as counselling, physiotherapy, vasectomy, breast lumps and eye problems. (See Who Do I See for more info). 
  • We are lucky to have other specialist services locally such as Andover Minor Injuries Unit, the Sexual Health clinic and the Minor Eye Conditions service. All can be contacted directly and if we don’t use them, we will lose them.
  • If you are offered an appointment with a Physio or a Pharmacist or informed that you can use a self-referral scheme rather than waiting for a GP appointment, please do so. Our Reception team work in conjunction with the GPs and are following specific guidance. If GP input is felt to be needed following your appointment, this will be arranged for you directly. 
  • For queries regarding referrals to hospital, when you might expect to be seen, or results of tests that were arranged by hospital teams, contact them directly rather than coming through us. (Believe it or not, we use the same phone numbers that are published on their website!)
  • For queries over prescriptions being ready from your Pharmacy, please contact them directly, we have no additional information or control over this part of the process. A large volume of our calls relate to checking if prescriptions are ready, reducing these calls helps to keep our phone waiting times down for those calling with urgent needs.
  • The easiest way to order your prescription is via the NHS app, the app also shows you when the prescription has been signed and sent to your Pharmacy. All prescriptions will be signed by the GP within 3 working days, if there are any issues you will be contacted by the Practice.
  • Had a negative experience or think we could do something better? Tell us! Please use the complaints form on our website, we are committed to learning and improving.
  • Had a good experience or want to leave some positive feedback? Please leave us a Google review, these are shared with the whole team and really give everyone a morale boost. https://tinyurl.com/AMCANDOVER

There are many challenges facing primary care services nationally, but we are striving to provide the very best service that we can. Thank you for being kind and respectful when contacting the Practice, our team are all here to help you.

Don’t forget, you can stay up to date with more Practice news via our social media on Facebook and Instagram. 

Thank you for your continued support and engagement,

Best wishes for the year ahead, 

Team AMC