New access grading scheme for Welsh practices
Released 05/01/2012
‘A’ for access scheme allows patients to see how well a practice performs in terms of appointment availability
Appointment accessibility to be graded using new scheme in Wales
Patients in 91 surgeries across south west wales are now able to see how their GP surgeries are rated on appointment accessibility.
GP surgeries in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area of Wales will be asked to display a certificate which indicates the rating they have been awarded as part of the ‘A’ is for Access scheme.
The scheme relates to access to appointments only and is not an indicator of the quality of clinical or other services provided by the surgery.
The ‘A’ is for Access scheme rates five key access services that should be provided by a surgery:
• It opens on or before 8am with a first appointment available at 8.30am or earlier.
• It is open at lunchtime.
• The last routine GP appointment of the day is at 5.50pm (or later).
• A member of staff can be contacted directly by telephone (rather than getting a recorded message) between 8.00am and 6.30pm.
• Patients can book an appointment during one telephone call, without the need for calling back, or alternatively book online.
The scheme was developed by local GPs, the Aneurin Bevan Community Health Council and Aneurin Bevan Health Board and is the first of its kind to be launched in Wales.
Practices who have one day half closing per week, and therefore cannot meet the A scheme standards will be rewarded ‘B’ ratings.
An additional requirement in the scheme is for access from branch surgeries and main surgeries to complement each other between 8.00am and 6.00 pm. This criteria has been achieved by all the practices that were awarded an A rating.
Cathy O’Sullivan, Aneurin Bevan Community Health Council, said: “Good accessibility is essential to offering a good GP service. This award will give welcome recognition to those practices trying hard to be available to their patients and give others something to aspire to.”
Twenty-six of the 91 surgeries involved have currently attained the maximum five ‘A’s’ rating, four have attained five ‘B’ ratings and the remainder are working towards improving their access rating.
One factor that affects the availability of appointments at GP surgeries is the failure of patients to turn up. Up to nine per cent of all clinical appointments have been reported to be no-shows, with one inner city practice reporting 713 missed appointments in just one month.
Dr Neil Statham chair of the Gwent Local Medical Committee said: “Gwent Local Medical Committee has supported access discussions as GP surgeries are responsible for more than 90% of all health contacts. It is essential that appointments are treated as a valuable commodity and are used appropriately in all settings and are not lost through non-attendance."
See more news stories like this
Get a Free trial subscription to Practice Business