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Why is the way I book a GP appointment changing?

Published on: 30 Jan 2024

  • The Grove is dealing with unprecedented demand on GP appointments.
  • The wait time for a routine appointment has increased steadily over the last 12 months from 7 working days, to over 5 weeks at certain periods. This is despite The Grove offering up to 1000 more GP appointments a month in 2023 compared to 2022.
  • The GPs are concerned that this is too long, and we have patients waiting a long time for routine appointments who we would like to see sooner due to the nature of their problem.
  • The practice is now at capacity in terms of the number of appointments we can safely offer and we need to change our way of working to ensure appointments are used appropriately and efficiently.
  • The BMA advises for safety that GPs should consult with no more than 25 patients a day, our duty GP frequently sees up to 50 patients a day- this is not safe and not sustainable long-term.