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Appointment Line
From Monday the 22nd July from 8.30 to 10.00 all lines will be diverted to take appointment calls only. patients wishing to contact the practice regarding any other matter should call after 10.00 when the general enquiries line will be open.
Hospital Expedite Letters
Due to increased waiting times for outpatient appointments, GPs have seen a rise in patient requests to “expedite” their appointments. We urge all our patients awaiting hospital appointments to be patient and wait to be contacted.
Patients are often requested by the Hospital to obtain a letter from the GP so their appointment can be expedited. This is frustrating for you and for us and rarely results in your appointment being brought forward. If your condition has worsened and you feel you need to be seen sooner than other patients on the waiting list, this is not something a GP can measure - only the hospital can compare your needs with those other patients on their waiting list.
We are unable to write letters to expedite your appointment for this reason.
As a GP surgery, we are not notified of any waiting times for clinics or provided with hospital hotline numbers. If your appointment has been delayed, please contact your consultant secretary for any updates. If you are waiting for your first appointment with a consultant and have not heard for a long time, please contact the outpatient department in the first instance and then the consultant secretary.
If you have been unable to contact outpatients or the secretary, please contact PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service).
If you are experiencing worsening of your symptoms, we advise you to contact your specialist directly so they can assess your condition. If you need interim management or feel acutely unwell, please contact our surgery and our clinical team will try our best to help you. However, we will not be able to write a letter of expedition. Attached is a letter that you may download and complete to send to your consultant:
Important Information regarding Collective Action by GP Practices
GPs across England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking part in one or more examples of collective action. Practices have been working beyond their contracts to keep up with patient demand. Please read the letter below to see what action Penketh Health Centre will be taking, along with the other practices in our Primary Care Network:
Patient Notice – Changes to Appointment Booking process.
We are following government directive the Primary Care Recovery Plan which aims to “end the 8am scramble for appointments “ which you may have read about in the media.
From the 1st of July we will be adopting a new Care Navigation Tool. All patients who contact the practice via telephone, online consultation or in person at the front desk will be asked for the reason for the appointment. The Patient Advisor will then use the new Care Navigation Tool to determine the correct pathway for the patient.
This can include but not restricted to:
Appointment with either a GP, ANP or Practice Nurse.
Appointment with another healthcare professional i.e. first contact physiotherapist
Referral to the new community Pharmacy First Service
Direction to self-help/over-the-counter medication
Contact details for other services i.e. emergency eye care service.
Direction to walk-in or NHS 111 where appropriate
Please beware this may not result in the outcome you would have chosen.
We expect our patients to support our Patient Advisors when being asked these questions and with the pathway suggested.
There are numerous Patient Advisors answering the phones and from the 1st July the phone system will offer the patient a call back feature which will keep the patients place in the queue while allowing them to hang up and get on with their day. The system will ring the patient back when they get to caller position one.
However, there is only one Patient Advisor on the front desk who will also be following this pathway, so we expect significant delays for those patients attending the surgery in person looking to secure an appointment.
In addition, we will also have our new online consultation tool Systmconnect which will be available via our website www.penkethhealthcentre.co.uk . This will replace the current Patchs system, it is easier to use, has no need for an account and feeds directly into your patient record.
Important Notice to Patients
Our team have been working closely with Warrington's Medicines Management Team to join the number of Practices swapping to Patient Led Ordering. Patient Lead Ordering means that patients must order their own medication directly from their GP practice, unless identified as vulnerable. The reason for this change is to improve patient safety, reduce waste and cost. We will be supporting you to utilise this service from 26th February 2024, our main objective , as always, is that patients are not left without medication.
Please note that if you use an APP or online services to request your medication this will remain unaffected.
Please read the information in this link regarding the recent updated news that NHS Digital will be uploading PSEUDONYMISED data to plan future services:
The Practice is open between the hours of 08:00 - 18:30, Monday to Friday
Patients can continue to access the practice via telephone, video calls, Online Consultation Tool, or face to face, depending what is most appropriate.
Alternatively, visit the local pharmacy for clinical advice on minor health concerns.
Have you received a Vitamin D letter?
(Site updated 23/08/2024)