Following the BMA ballot the overwhelming majority of GP practices across the country voted for action to show the government how precious we are and how under resourced we now are. At Tennant Street we have decided to have slightly fewer appointments per day BUT the GP appointments will be 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes.
Research has proven that this creates a better patient experience because complex issues can be dealt with thoroughly in longer appointments meaning patients don’t need to come back as often. Research has also proven that this is a better model for GPs whose quality of life is improved.
We will be trialling this as soon as possible and will make changes as needed until the patients and the practice team are satisfied it is working.
It’s a big step for us but with the increasing number of patients and increasing complexity of presenting conditions something has to change. Rest assured that patients will remain our top priority but to maintain that we also need to slow the clinical treadmill to a manageable speed.