• To offer opinions in a constructive manner and to put forward ideas on behalf of other patients.
• To improve the provision of health care.
• To improve communication between surgery, patients and the wider community about matters concerning the surgery and health in general.
• To provide assistance in development of new services.
• To encourage a spirit of self help and support amongst patients to improve their health and social care.

crosskeysppg@gmail.com

The group would like to contact patients on occasion by email and/or text so that they can obtain the views of the widest group of patients possible. We would like to obtain your email address and mobile phone number to do this. Please complete the Patient Contact Form to provide your consent for this.

Patient’s view

Now that our new phone system has been installed and our staff have become familiar with it, it is time to update the information on our appointments system. There are 3 ways you can book an appointment:

BY PHONE

You can make doctor or nurse appointments by phone. For a doctor’s appointment you can request a face-to face or a phone consultation. There are a limited number of face-to-face appointments and, should you have a telephone consultation, the doctor will offer you a face-to-face consultation at a later time if they think it is appropriate. It is helpful if you can give the receptionist a short resume of your problem as, in some cases, they may offer you a more appropriate clinician to a doctor’s appointment.

ONLINE VIA THE PATIENT OR NHS APPS

A limited number of on the day and future appointments are available to be booked via the Apps. You can only book telephone appointments online. On the day appointments go live at 8 am. You can choose the location and doctor when booking.

IN PERSON

You can book any type of appointment by attending either surgery in person. Our doors open at 8 am.  Again, it is helpful if you can give the receptionist a short resume of your problem as, in some cases, they may offer you a more appropriate clinician to a doctor’s appointment.

Doctor Booked Appointment

If a doctor wishes to see you for a further consultation, they can book you an appointment. They will normally advise you to ensure the date/ time is convenient. You will be able to see these appointments on the NHS or Patient Access Apps. In some cases, you may see ‘Admin FYI’ on the App. This is just a reminder to a doctor to review some aspect of your treatment. It Is NOT an appointment and you do not need to attend or wait for a phone call. If the doctor thinks it appropriate the they will advise of any follow up action.

Cancelling an Appointment

If you need to cancel an appointment you can do it by all of the means listed above, phone, online or, in person. Every appointment that you don't cancel costs the NHS £120 and denies fellow patients an appointment.

Summary

There are a variety of ways to book an appointment. Sadly, most days we cannot offer all patients an on the day appointment. When our bookable appointments have been filled, our receptionists will try to offer an alternative solution. They are trained to recognise those cases that need immediate attention. So, it is important that you can give them an indication and urgency of your problem.

Finally, as I always ask/plead, the PPG is there to put the patients view to the Practice, we need more members! It is your Practice and, at present, we are a very aged few and not representative of the patient population. If you want to know more, please email me at crosskeys.ppg@nhs.net

Denys Williams, Chair Cross Keys PPG