The Practice has remained extremely busy throughout the Summer, with some days seeing telephone call volumes closer to what would be expected during the Winter.
The number of incoming telephone calls answered in August was 3,848.
The number of total clinician appointments booked was 4,160, which was an increase of over 26% compared with July.
Regrettably 155 of the appointments booked were not attended, and, as the Practice was not advised in advance, these appointments were lost. The financial cost to the NHS of these lost appointments was approximately £5,000 in 1 month alone, and equates to approximately 6 full days of one clinician’s appointments.
Patients receive a text message confirmation/reminder for all appointment booked, which now includes a link for the patient to cancel the appointment. Our website also offers patients a channel to cancel unwanted appointments – simply type “cancel” into the search bar of our website and complete the “Cancel an Appointment” form. This facility is available 24/7.
The Dispensaries at both sites have also been very busy, once again seeing a significant increase in the number of items dispensed in August. Please allow 5 working days for repeat prescriptions. Please also remember that Option 2 on the telephone is for repeat prescription requests. There will be little or no call waiting time on option 2. To save having to telephone your repeat prescription through, patients who collect their prescriptions at our East Harling and Kenninghall dispensaries can opt for a managed repeat prescription service – please ask at one of our dispensaries for more information.
We have completed further recruitment at the Practice over the Summer, with new staff joining the Practice Support Team, and new staff due to start in our Dispensary in September.
We have also been extremely fortunate to have Joanna, Alex and Emma join the Practice Nursing Team. All 3 bring considerable experience and expertise to the Practice, and this recruitments brings a significant increase in the total number of nursing appointments we can now offer our patients.
As Winter approaches we enter another season of Covid-19 and flu immunisations.
As was the case last year, the Practice will not be offering the Covid-19 immunisations at the Practice, but patients qualifying for Covid-19 vaccination will, during early-mid September, be able to book via the National Booking System, which will again include an option to book at The Healthy Living Centre in Thetford.
The Practice will be administering flu vaccinations to qualifying patients, initially on Saturday 4th and Saturday 11th October 2023 at our East Harling site. Qualifying patients will be receiving a text message inviting them to book directly into one of these clinics. Subsequently, patients will be able to book into these clinics via our Reception Team.
Simon Round
Practice Manager, East Harling & Kenninghall Medical Practice
5th September 2023
