A medical practice has changed its appointment system.

The Brampton Medical Practice said managing the demand for appointments is one of the most important activities for them, and prior to the pandemic, they ran a dual system of phone triage and pre-booked and same-day appointment.

During the pandemic they were required to move to 100 per cent phone triage, introduced video appointments and separated potential Covid patients into their ‘red centre’.

As restrictions have been reduced, the practice has now begun moving back to their pre-pandemic model and the latest data (up to May 1) shows they currently provide 61 per cent of appointments face to face and 40 per cent on the same day, according to the practice.

The total appointments provided by the practice have increased by 17 per cent against pre-pandemic levels.

A Brampton Medical Practice spokesperson wrote on their social media site, announcing the news: “We know there is more to do and we have listened to patient views on the need for face to face appointments and the importance of seeing the same clinician for ongoing care.

“We have also listened to feedback and have data above which indicates that in some cases contact with a clinician on the same day is equally important.

“Therefore, to meet both of these needs from June 6 2022, we will be introducing a new model of care for our patients.

“Where patients request a same-day appointment, including any urgent request or visit, they will be directed to our dedicated acute team of GPs and advanced practitioners who will triage their appointment by telephone and provide a choice of face to face or telephone appointment with the most appropriate clinician.

“The team is led by a GP and works together in our White Lion building in Brampton.

“For those patients who do not have an urgent need or where ongoing care is important they will be offered their choice of the next available face to face or telephone appointment.

“Appointments will still be bookable online and we have also introduced AccuRx online triage allowing for administrative requests such as for medication to be requested via our website.”

AccuRx is an app patients can use to speak directly with their GP.

They continued: “We hope that our new model will ensure that we are able to continue to provide high-quality continuity of care to our patients whilst still being flexible to meet on day demand.”