Appointment System Changes

Dear Patients,

We at the Village Surgery would like to thank you for your continued support and patience during what has been a challenging time for us over the past 3 years adapting to the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. We continue to receive a great deal of positive feedback which we are very grateful for.

We have made the decision to change our appointment system, workload pressures at the practice have unfortunately continued to rise, particularly as a result of the long waiting times in secondary care, and changes in their IT systems. We have found that patients are presenting to see us during consultations with more complex problems, as well as multiple problems, this workload is no longer sustainable. To help manage this we are reducing the number of appointments in line with the British Medical Association’s current recommendation on safe working practices.

We aim for these changes to give us the time to continue to provide the excellent and safe level of care that you expect from us. However, the above changes may mean that you will have to wait longer for an appointment, or at times you may be asked to access other services such as your local pharmacist, our practice physio, or 111. We understand this may cause you some inconvenience, but we hope that you can understand the decision that we have made to help protect the future sustainability of the Village Surgery.

Yours faithfully,

The Village Surgery