20/05/2026
**𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢** As you know, we changed our appointment system at the beginning of February, to a new on-line digital triage system, as all practices up and down the country, are currently having to work towards a 'Modern General Practice' model.
We realise that not all patients have on-line access and prior to now, reception have been completing appointment requests for patients who do not have access. However, from 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 - 𝗣𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗦 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁, which can be used by patients who are unable to submit an on-line request.
When you telephone the surgery for an appointment, you will have the option to transfer to Telephone Assist. The system will then speak the triage questions to you and you can speak the answers back, over the telephone line. Your appointment request will then drop into the same in-box as if you had completed an on-line request. The GP will then triage the request and reception will then contact you with an appointment.
We realise the new appointment system may have been difficult for some patients, which is why we have been finding a way to make the process easier and more equitable for all our patients. We would like to hear what you think of the new Telephone Assist system and whether you think it helps with the new appointment booking process. Please let us know by leaving a comment. Thank you. You can find more information by clicking the link to visit our website:- https://www.romanroadhealthcentre.co.uk/2026/05/20/improved-telephone-access-for-patients-patchs-telephone-assistant/
