The Alresford Surgery Newsletter

Dr David Green, Dr Richard Cribb, Dr Peter Stokes
Dr Ann Lowman, Dr Sheila Cassidy, Dr Susan Wright
Station Road, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9JL
Telephone No. 01962 732345 Fax: 01962 736034
For general advice or reassurance NHS Direct 0845 46 47
Out of hours 0844 811 3060

National questionnaire

Some of our patients will shortly receive a questionnaire from the NHS about how easy it is to use the surgery. You may get one even if you have had no reason to contact us recently. This is because we have declined to give the government information about who comes to see us. We believe that this would be a breach of patient confidence, a matter we take very seriously. If you feel able to complete the questionnaire we would encourage you to do so.

We are confident in the service we provide. The systems we operate aim to provide appointments on the same day for those who need to be seen. The triage nurse system in the morning for example ensures that people requesting urgent access are offered the most appropriate service. Our booking system ensures a flexible availability of appointments so that if you want an appointment next week or next month we should be able to accommodate you without your having to call back on the day. We believe continuity is important in fostering therapeutic relationships which is why when your usual doctor is not immediately available you will be given the option of their next appointment or to see another doctor more quickly.

We are aware that the questionnaire asks about the convenience of appointments and asks if late evening or weekend opening would be more convenient for you.

For most people these times would occasionally be useful. The Government is considering whether the current service it provides (an evening and weekend GP clinic at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital) is adequate. This practice provides its services under contract to the Government which purchases them on your behalf. This contract currently excludes evenings and weekends. Government Ministers have suggested that GP practices should extend their opening hours but have given no indication that this will be funded. Another consideration is that if the opening times were to be extended, the GPs would be less available during the current opening hours, which some people might find a disadvantage.

We will continue to offer a good service to all our patients despite having to meet targets which threaten to distort the way we practice.

Thank you for reading this.

Preston Candover

We shall not be running surgeries on 19th January and 26th January.

From 1st February Dr Wright will run a clinic on Thursdays instead of Fridays.

Next Month

Your centralised medical records and the Government plans.