News

We are making changes which will make getting an appointment easier and fairer

We want to put an end to the 8am appointment lottery and to make it much easier for you to get the help you need.

That’s why we are making changes which will make getting an appointment easier and fairer.

What is changing?

We are always looking for ways to improve the experience of our patients.

At the moment some of our appointments are given out on a “first-come, first-served” basis to those who can call the practice each morning at 8am. It’s definitely not the best way of doing things.

That is why we are introducing a new booking system which will get you the help you need more quickly and conveniently. To make this happen we are introducing a new computer system called “Anima” and putting in place a specialist team of health professionals whose job will be to improve the process of getting an appointment at the practice.

We will be texting patients on the evening of 19^th April or over that weekend to allow patients to register. The service will go live on 22^nd April 2024.

How will things change for me?

You will have some new ways that you can book an appointment with us through our website but, don’t worry, you can still telephone us if that is what you would prefer.

The biggest benefit is that these changes will mean there will be no more “morning rush” to queue on the telephones. No matter what time you contact us all our appointments will be prioritised by our clinical team based on medical urgency.

Other changes will include:

More ways for you to request an appointment.
Your case will be assessed by our clinical team who will decide the best plan is for you.
If you care for others, you can complete an online request for them quickly and efficiently.
You can easily log in to see the status of your request and the outcomes of your current and past appointment requests.
You will be asked questions without medical jargon.
You don’t need to discuss any medical issues over the phone - you can send an online request helping to improve confidentiality.
The system is easier to use if English is not your first language, if you are deaf, or have hearing difficulties.
Sometimes a GP is not the best person to help you with your medical concern. Our clinical team is made up of lots of different specialties and the new system will offer you the best – and earliest appointment for your individual needs.
If you do not need to be seen urgently, you will be able to easily choose the most convenient appointment from those available.
You will get a text message and email to keep you updated about your appointment times.

Published on 19th Apr 2024

Wishing all our staff, patients and those celebrating a Happy Eid! 💙

Published on 10th Apr 2024

Answers to some of your questions about the new booking system

We have made changes to the way you book an appointment. The aim is to make it easier to get an appointment and to do away with the 8.30am rush for appointments which is neither fair or clinically appropriate.

Now, to get an appointment a team of clinicians will go through your symptoms and will make sure you get the help you need as fast as possible.

We have been asking for feedback from patients to make sure that this new approach is meeting your needs.

Here are answers to some of the frequently asked questions we have received from patients about this new system.

Published on 5th Mar 2024

Staying safe with diabetes during Ramadan

If you're living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and plan to fast during the holy month of Ramadan, this free online course will help you to prepare and support you to stay healthy and manage your diabetes safely during this time.

Diabetes UK also has lots of really helpful information on their website to support you during Ramadan (available in Urdu, Bengali, Arabic and English).

Anyone experiencing diabetes-related complications should seek urgent medical advice when they need it.

Published on 5th Mar 2024

Making it easier to book an appointment

We want to put an end to the 8am appointment lottery and to make it much easier for you to get the help you need.

That’s why we are making changes which will make getting an appointment easier and fairer.

What is changing?

We are always looking for ways to improve the experience of our patients.

At the moment some of our appointments are given out on a “first-come, first-served” basis to those who can call the practice each morning at 8am. It’s definitely not the best way of doing things.

That is why we are introducing a new booking system which will get you the help you need more quickly and conveniently. To make this happen we are introducing a new computer system called “Anima” and putting in place a specialist team of health professionals whose job will be to improve the process of getting an appointment at the practice.

We expect to make these changes by the end of this year and will keep patients updated as to our progress.

How will things change for me?

You will have some new ways that you can book an appointment with us through our website but, don’t worry, you can still telephone us or visit the practice if that is what you would prefer.

The biggest benefit is that these changes will mean there will be no more “morning rush” to queue on the telephones. No matter what time you contact us all our appointments will be prioritised by our clinical team based on medical urgency.

Other changes will include:

More ways for you to request an appointment.
Your case will be assessed by our clinical team who will decide what the best plan is for you.
If you care for others, you can complete an online request for them quickly and efficiently.
You can easily log in to see the status of your request and the outcomes of your current and past appointment requests.
You will be asked questions without medical jargon.
You don’t need to discuss any medical issues over the phone - you can send an online request helping to improve confidentiality.
The system is easy to use if English is not your first language, if you are deaf, or have hearing difficulties.
Sometimes a GP is not the best person to help you with your medical concern. Our clinical team is made up of lots of different specialties and the new system will offer you the best – and earliest appointment for your individual needs.
If you do not need to be seen urgently, you will be able to easily choose the most convenient appointment from those available.
You will get a text message and email to keep you updated about your appointment times.

When will the new system be launched?

We plan to launch Anima from December 2023. As with any new system we may experience teething challenges, but we aim to keep those to a minimum. For more information on Anima please visit https://www.animahealth.com/patients.

Do I need to do anything?

You will need to register to use Anima

https://patients.animahealth.com/signIn

We will send you a message close to when the new system is available to use.

Visit https://www.animahealth.com/patients

To register you will be sent a text message by the practice with a link to Anima. By clicking the link, you can set up an account by using an email address and creating a password. You will then be asked to verify email via the link sent. Then simply enter your own details Name, DOB, Sex, Postcode, Telephone Number, GP practice and NHS number if known. Once an account is created you can then submit you request to the practice.

Tell us what you think.

We believe that this new way to book an appointment will improve the experience for patients.

However, we want to understand your views so please take our short survey for patients.

Take the survey

Published on 1st Dec 2023

Patient Notice Jan 2023

Dear patients,

We are aware of the ongoing pressures facing General Practice in England and acknowledge our patients’ frustrations in accessing appointments at Highgate. We share your frustrations and wish to apologise to those that haven’t received the service they clinically need. Many of our team have worked in General Practice for several years and have never experienced pressure like this in the NHS across this time. This is a national problem and is due to an ageing patient population with complex health issues, a lack of GPs and other clinicians, causing understaffing and extreme winter illnesses including Covid, Flu and Strep A resulting in increased demand from patients. We want to reassure you that we are working extremely hard and are constantly exploring options to try to create additional capacity. We continue to consult patients face-to-face and over the telephone and manage all the administrative work that comes with it, such as requesting tests, making referrals, reading hospital correspondence and liaising with patients as necessary, which is outside of the clinic time. As an example of the additional pressure the system is facing, Highgate call volumes have increased by 25% in the last 2 months.

Practices and the Sheffield’s NHS are working together to try to address access issues by putting on more centralised appointments in places like Darnall for patients to access. We continue to attempt to recruit more clinical staff, particularly GPs. We have engaged locum GPs to ensure continuation of service for patients, this is at an increased cost to the practice.

To try to understand how we can improve the experience for patients in Highgate we have listened to patient and staff feedback and have spent time listening to incoming calls and observing reception. From this there are several changes we intend to make but we also need patients help to make it work. We are going to :-

Move to mainly face-to-face appointments in response to patient request. Emergency appointments may still be over the phone to allow us to squeeze in more capacity
Increase the number of pre-bookable appointments again in line with patient feedback.

Increasing pre-bookable appointments will reduce the number of on-the-day appointments, so to make sure patients with urgent needs are seen, we are asking patients to consider whether they need an appointment. Highgate has an unusually high number of appointment requests for new onset cough, colds, blocked noses and headaches. Many of these ailments will resolve by themselves without treatment and therefore do not require an appointment. Please do not call with a new cough and cold symptoms unless you are seriously unwell. There are many resources to help patients decide what they need these include Health A to Z - NHS (www.nhs.uk), or 111 which can be called or used online at Get help for your symptoms - NHS 111 . We are exploring how we ensure patients with conditions that require self-care don’t book all the appointments, preventing those that need treatment seeking help. Highgate also has a high number of requests for over-the-counter medications or medications which are not already being prescribed. All of these requests take GP time away from seeing patients, therefore we are asking patients to also consider purchasing cough syrup and paracetamol from pharmacies or supermarkets. Sheffield NHS also provides the Minor Ailments Scheme, anyone who doesn’t normally pay for prescriptions from their GP, for example because they’re under 16, over 60 or on benefits is eligible for the scheme and will not need to pay for the medicine that the pharmacist suggests.

For example, the pharmacy can deal with:

Mild skin conditions, such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, impetigo, athlete’s foot
Coughs and colds, including blocked nose (nasal congestion), and sore throats
Bruises, sunburn, and minor burns and scalds
Constipation and piles (haemorrhoids)
Hay fever, dry eyes and allergies (including rashes, bites and stings)
Aches and pains, including earache, headache, migraine, back pain and toothache
Vomiting, heartburn, indigestion, diarrhoea and threadworms
Period pain, thrush and cystitis
Head lice (nits)
Conjunctivitis, cold sores and mouth ulcers
Warts and verrucas
Nappy rash and teething

We continue to experience patients that do not attend their appointments, even urgent appointments which are booked on the day. We ask that if an appointment is booked, patients attend as planned or let us know so we are able to offer the appointment to someone else.

One final area of concern has been the increase in verbal aggression towards practice staff. We are therefore reinforcing our zero-tolerance policy will not tolerate aggression towards staff, and patients will be removed from the practice register where applicable.

We hope the above actions help patients in the most need to get to the service they need and improve the communications between the practice and patients but we will continue to work with the community and NHS leaders to develop our response. If you want to get involved, please consider joining our patient participation group (PPG) by contacting the reception team.

Published on 1st Jul 2023

Enhanced Access

Local GP practices have teamed up to improve the way we provide weekend and evening appointment for our patients.

This new service will begin on Saturday 1^st October it and will mean that most people will be able to book weekend and evening appointments closer to where they live. For our patients we will be providing appointments will be provided at Darnall Primary Care Centre

Remote and face-to-face appointments can be made with a variety of GP practice staff including Doctors, Advance Care Practitioners, Nurses, Nurse Associates, Health Care Assistants, Physiotherapists and Pharmacists.

Initially appointments can be booked through you practice, but we will soon be adding the option for patients to book direct online and through NHS 111.

Click to find out more Website Link

We as NHS settings with many vulnerable patients accessing our surgeries ask that patients continue to wear a face covering, maintain social distance and sanitise hands regularly when in the building.

Published on 1st Jun 2023

Our Patient Charter

Our charter has been jointly created with our amazing patients, to help us all work together to improve the care our practice can provide.

Our aim is to provide patients with the best possible care within the resources available to us, and to deal with any problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Published on 1st May 2023

Survey update

After conducting a survey earlier in the year and listening to patient feedback we have introduced a new telephone system across all the Clover Practices. One of the issues that was raised by patients was waiting on the line for the call to be answered. One of the improvements is there is now a queue buster where patients can request to be called back when they reach the front of the queue. This means there is no longer the need to wait on the line, we will call you. Sometimes it takes longer for the receptionist to answer the calls as they are dealing with complex patient queries and this can take longer to resolve. If a query isn’t urgent it is better to call the practice after 10.30am when it is less busy. All calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes and this helps the practice to monitor how busy the telephones lines are. We are then able to move staff to where they are most needed. If you have any feedback about the new telephone system please let reception know or complete a friends and family questionnaire.

Published on 1st Mar 2023