Notice to Patients – October 2021

Thank You

From all of us at Eastfield house surgery, we would like to thank you for your patience during the coronavirus pandemic. Your understanding and support over the last 2 years has meant a lot to all of us. There has been a lot of media attention on primary care and face to face appointments recently and we would like to take this opportunity to reassure you.

We have been seeing patients face to face, where necessary, throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so. Just like our hospital colleagues, we were advised by government avoid unnecessary face to face appointments for public health reasons.

Since last year, we have been offering a mixed system of telephone calls, face-to-face-appointments, video consultations and email consultations. GP practices have been faced with overwhelming demand for many years, exacerbated by the recent pandemic, and we have found this system to be a good way of managing the overwhelming need for appointments safely and effectively. This allows us to consult with as many patients as possible as soon as possible.

Who is my GP?

It really helps to speak with your usual GP, who will know your medical history and recent medical concerns. This saves time as you will not need to repeat information about existing problems to a doctor who does not know you and helps develop a relationship between you and your family doctor. Please try and call in on a that your GP is available. This could mean waiting at most 2-3 days.

Our reception team will be able to advise you who your usual GP is.

GP usual days are as below:

  • Dr Emma Featherstone – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Dr Anne Maloney – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Dr Kelvin Badham – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Dr Katie Beale – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
  • Dr Helen Clarke – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
  • Dr Christin Wiseman – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Dr Harry Thangavel – Monday, Tuesday and Thursday

How do I consult with my GP?

We will be changing our appointment system to on the day for both routine and urgent issues. We understand this change may be difficult, but we hope it will be temporary as we recruit more clinical staff. Once all the available slots have gone, you may be asked to call back or use our website (e-consult) if the issue is non-urgent. When you call in, the telephone message will advise you if we are only able to take urgent calls.

Face to Face Appointment

The challenges of covid-19 continue, and we want to protect our patients and staff as much as possible. Please be aware that not all medical consultations require an examination and if this is the case it is still best that these consultations are not done face to face. Our skilled reception team will be able to advise you further when you call in.

Our infection control responsibilities mean that patients that have face to face appointment should continue to wear face masks if they can and may be asked to wait outside to enable the recommended 1m social distancing in the surgery.

Unfortunately, the necessity of PPE (personal protective equipment) and room cleaning between patients will mean that these appointments will take longer; reduce the number of appointments we can offer and increase waiting times. With more than 14000 patients (and growing!) we kindly ask that you please consider this when requesting a face-to-face appointment.

E-Consult

Following the link on our website allows you to describe your medical concerns and upload photos (particularly useful for skin problems) if necessary. This is a very efficient way of dealing with non-urgent issues. We will aim to get back to you within 3 working days by text, calling you or via a message through our reception team.

Telephone/Video appointments

This is the most efficient way of consulting with your GP when an examination is not required. Many medical problems can be managed by having a telephone discussion with your GP. It may be that a video/ face to face examination or further tests are necessary, and these can be arranged during this call.