GP Appointment System

All appointments last 10 minutes except for Registrars, PRHOs, and Medical Students.

Types of appointments:

• Blank slots (white) – can be used for any patient.
• Named Doctor (e.g. 'TAB only') – only to be used for that Doctor’s usual patients.
• Same-day (yellow) – only to be booked on that day.
• Duty Doctor 9.30-10.50am & 2.00-4.00pm (yellow) – 10 minute slots that are booked for urgent problems only.
• Emergency surgery 5.30pm (red) -  booked by the duty doctor for problems which cannot wait until the next working day.

If a patient requests an appointment for emergency contraception ('morning after pill'), reception staff can book them directly into any available Duty Doctor or Emergency surgery appointment that day.

Each morning, any unused “Named doctor's patients” appointments convert to "Blank" slots, and can be used by any patient.

Once all appointments for that day have been used, messages can taken for the duty doctor for triage into the 5.30pm emergency surgery if necessary (see above).

INTERRUPTIONS

A surgery should ONLY be interrupted by phone for the following calls:

1. Other doctors.
2. Pharmacists querying prescriptions.
3. Personal calls.
4. Expected calls (GP should inform switchboard if expecting a call).

When a patient checks in late, this information should be forwarded to the Doctor by Email.