Important update

Dear patients,

As you may be aware, in October we made changes to our appointment system to ensure we met revised government requirements. Overall, the system has worked reasonably well, but we know there are areas where we can improve to make things more convenient for you.

A lot of the feedback we’ve received has been around a lack of choice — particularly where appointments are allocated without the option to choose a date or a time for a call. We are therefore planning to make some changes to address this.

Going forward, after you submit a request, it will still be reviewed (triaged) by a clinician. You will then receive a message with a link allowing you to choose an appointment date and time within the timeframe the clinician feels is appropriate. Most of these appointments will be face-to-face, although telephone appointments will still be available where clinically appropriate and preferred.

If your request is assessed as clinically urgent and needs a same-day appointment, this will continue to be arranged for you on the day, and it won’t be possible to choose the time in these cases.

This will be a gradual rollout, likely taking place over the coming weeks.

We hope these changes will offer greater flexibility and create a more convenient service for our patients. Thank you for your patience and for continuing to work with us as we improve how we deliver care.