Four day weeks do present challenges; we have had a lack of clinicians through sickness, but also being short staffed with Clinical Administrators. We are proud to say that we still managed to see just under 50% of our 1,457 patient consults as Face to Face consultations. In comparing last year’s GP availability we consulted with 2 fewer GPs this week, and the results of our team working smarter saw not too much difference with only 7 fewer patients being consulted with. Looking at the 3 year comparator we have seen over 84% of last year’s patient consults at the end of Q3. And comparing this year, to date, with the same time in 2021, we have consulted with a staggering additional 27,370 more patients; and even with the improvements in 2022, the evolvement in our practise has seen us consult with 7,457 more patients within the same date parameters.
We managed to deal with 87% of the week’s patient demand on the same day. There were 343 Clinical Triage phonecalls, and from the 112 patients that had called after our daily capacity had been reached, our systems meant that we were able to consult with 39% of those patients on the day. 100% of the list was, however, triaged by a highly experienced clinician in order to ensure that those of whom were considered to be of a more urgent requirement were consulted with.
Dr Wright and our Practice Manager attended an NHS Grampian symposium this week, with over 180 GPs, Practice Managers, and representatives from the Scottish Government, in order to discuss the challenges faced by Primary Care, and some of the key takeaway points were that all GP Practices are facing sustained pressure in managing patient demand; much of which is an unintended consequence of the pressures faced by Secondary Care. Every one of our team are working to capacity every day in order to serve our community with the best Primary Care Services within our capability.
Annual Statistics by weekly breakdown – 2021 – 2023 inclusive
Four week comparator
Weekly Breakdown – 26 – 29 September 2023
