Initiative which halved GP wait times to be offered to 7,000 more Plympton patients
Beacon Medical Group is proud to be rolling out its No Waiting Room initiative to Glenside patients from October.
The No Waiting Room initiative will see an Urgent Care Team (UCT), comprising practice pharmacists, advanced paramedic practitioners, nurse practitioners and GPs providing patients with the right specialist, at the right time.
Patients registered at Glenside Medical Centre, which merged with Beacon earlier this year, who feel they need same-day care from their family doctor, can call the reception team at the surgery.
Depending on the problem, they will then be called back by an advanced paramedic, pharmacist, nurse practitioner - or a doctor.
The award-winning initiative is already up-and-running at the Groups other Plympton sites and has almost halved waiting times for a GP appointment. Over six months, the average waiting time for a GP appointment fell from 14 to eight days (August 2016 to February 2017). The UCT deal with 150-200 calls a day; over 1,000 patient contacts a week.
“We are so excited to now be able to offer our Glenside patients this fantastic service and to ensure they have access to alternative, yet equally professional services. By signposting our patients to these other services we expect waiting times to reduce, clinical care to further improve and the number of pre-bookable appointments to increase– as has been the case across our other sites,” said Claire Oatway, Beacon’s Chief Operating Officer.
“This new model has revolutionised the way of working for both our practitioners and patients alike. It relieves the pressure on our GPs, allowing them more time to spend with their patients, and in turn has huge, positive implications to the care of our patients.”
For more information and to learn more about the No Waiting Room visit www.beaconmedicalgroup.nhs.uk
Practice pharmacists are trained experts in medicines so are able to answer patient queries about medication, diagnoses and treatment of common ailments.
Advanced paramedic practitioners deal with any acute conditions such as, chest and back pain, as well as minor injuries.
Nurse practitioners are highly experienced in offering quick access to treatment to prevent prolonged illness. They see most patients presenting with a new complaint, diagnose, prescribe, review or refer to the General Practitioner if needed.
