AFTER the closure of the town’s Okement Surgery last month, Okehampton Medical Centre’s patient participation group has moved to reassure patients that the practice is doing everything it can to keep waiting times down and address any concerns following the new influx of patients.

Last November, NHS England revealed the GP surgery based at the town hospital would close in April, leaving 1,700 patients looking for a new GP. By March, 500 patients had transferred to Okehampton Medical Centre and the majority have now made the switch to Okehampton Medical Centre, while others have chosen to register with nearby surgeries outside of Okehampton.

Chair of the medical centre’s patient participation group Hugh Norman said that up until around two weeks ago, 600 of the Okement Surgery’s patients had yet to register with a new practice ahead of its closure on April 28.

He called the situation a ‘concern for patient safety’ in case of an emergency, with no medical records on file at the medical centre for those yet to register. He urged those not yet registered to sign up to a new practice as soon as possible.

He also said that he had heard complaints about waiting times but in his own experience, an appointment to see your named doctor can take around two weeks but a more urgent appointment can be organised with a different doctor much sooner, sometimes on the same day.

Mr Norman said: ‘We do understand the feelings of patients over the closure of Okement Surgery and are working hard to address any issues as they are made known. The patient participation group works very closely with the medical centre, and any concerns passed to us are handed to the medical centre and we all work hard to ensure concerns are addressed.

‘Urgent calls will always be reviewed with patients who will be seen by clinical staff on the same day or the next day as necessary. Routine appointments to see your own doctor may be within one or two weeks, due to NHS list sizes, but if you wish to see a doctor sooner you will be offered alternative medical staff as available. In addition you can ask for a telephone consultation with your own doctor, normally available within 48 hours.

‘While I don’t know what waiting times were to see your named doctor at the Okement Surgery, it was a small, well-resourced practice, so I expect they were shorter than the national average. Ours at the medical centre are around the national average waiting time.

‘The patient group is here to listen to any feedback or concern and works closely with the practice on patients’ behalf. We also publish a regular newsletter to help to keep patients informed.’

The centre has installed automated patient check-in screens to reduce queuing times at reception and the online ordering of repeat medication has improved the efficiency of the centre’s dispensary team.

Mr Norman also confirmed the centre is revamping its phone systems to handle more calls efficiently.

He said: ‘There is some truth to the complaints about not being able to get through on the phone but we have heard people’s grumbles on that and the system is getting an overhaul. We would encourage more people to get their prescriptions online. We’ve had a low uptake on people using that service and we hope more people will do.’

Okehampton Medical Centre was rated as a good practice by the Care Quality Commission last December. The medical centre received a ‘good rating’ in all areas — responsiveness, safety, effectiveness, care and leadership.

The centre has also recently managed to fill all the GP, nurse, dispensary and administrative team vacancies to cope with the increasing patient numbers.

If you would like to contact the patient participation group to share any of your thoughts, email okehamptonppg@gmail. com

What are your thoughts on the situation following the Okement Surgery closure last month? Contact us at timesletters@tindlenews. co.uk