A Hucknall GP practice has introduced some permanent changes to its urgent same day appointments as of today (Thursday 5 January).

Torkard Hill Medical Centre on Farleys Lane announced via its website and social media pages that it will now allocate a set number of urgent, on the day appointments, each day for patients who feel that they need an urgent GP appointment.

Once all of these urgent appointments have been taken, the Practice will declare themselves 'full' and will be unable to offer any more appointments for that day. At this point, patients will need to contact NHS 111, visit a pharmacist, attend a walk-in centre, or in very urgent cases, attend A&E.

A statement on their website said: "As we have seen across the NHS, including many GP surgeries, the Practice has seen an unprecedented increase in demand on all our services, including exceptional demand for urgent on the day GP appointments.

"Our current system of having limitless urgent on the day appointments has now become unsustainable and affects our ability to safely look after our patients.

"Over the past few weeks, we have had the equivalent of 1 GP managing over 100+ patients each day. This level of work is something that would be unimaginable in any other NHS service including A&E, Walk In Centres, and GP Out of Hours!

"We are not an unlimited resource; every patient contact takes time and involves a decision-making process. Recent British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) guidance is that there is a point where we should declare ourselves 'full' when we feel we have reached our capacity to effectively deliver safe care.

"As a result, we will be making changes to the way we manage urgent on the day demand."

The Practice has clarified that an 'urgent on the day problem' is defined as something that cannot safely wait for another day, cannot wait for a routine appointment, and requires a GP. They have advised that anyone requesting one of these appointments should be aware that there is a finite number of these slots, and that by taking one it could, as a consequence, cause other patients to miss out on an appointment.    

They added: "The pressure the Practice has been experiencing over the past few months, is reflected nationally across the NHS and General Practice. We have always gone above and beyond, however this is now unsustainable, and we have to make these changes to protect both the safety of our patients and staff."

The Practice has also stressed that these changes will not affect non-urgent and routine GP appointments or appointments with other specialists such as physiotherapists and nurses.

The statement concluded: "We regret having to take this course of action and we understand that it may be inconvenience [sic] some patients, for which we apologise.

"We thank you in advance for your ongoing support and understanding, and would ask that you continue to treat all our staff politely and respectfully.

"We are all working extremely hard to offer the best possible service for our patients, with the resources that we have."

For further information about Torkard Hill Medical Practice please click here or for their self-care information and advice, please click here.