Whittling Waiting Times – Walk-Ins Still Welcomed

RESIDENTS of Scone have given consistent feedback to the Scone Medical Practice that they want to see the doctor of their choice and not spend as much time in the waiting room.

Many doctors are booked for weeks in advance, leaving patients with no choice but to wait for the duty doctor.

However, the GP who is the duty doctor is also required to cover the hospital for emergencies and care for patients at Strathearn which has recently added another 60 beds.

The situation has left too many patients waiting for too long in the waiting room.

Dr Tammy Kimpton said the Practice has spent the last few months discussing how they can provide better and more timely care.

“During our accreditation survey we asked patients what they like and dislike about the Practice and a common complaint was you can’t get an appointment with the doctor of your choice and nobody likes waiting for the duty doctor,” said Dr Kimpton.

“So we’ve made a lot more appointments during the day, we’ve essentially blocked off a significant chunk of our appointments each day and we only make them available in the morning on that day,” she said.

“Now there will be a significantly greater chance of getting an appointment on the day with the doctor you want to see,” she said.

“We will still provide 24 hour a day, seven day a week emergency cover at the hospital and there will be no change to that.

“What not having a duty doctor at the Practice does is reduce the chance of people having to wait three hours because the duty doctor has been called to the hospital and that has been a significant problem and an increasing problem.

“The other issue is there are now 60 new nursing home beds and the nursing home increasingly demand the attention of the duty doctor.

“So this change will mean if the emergency department isn’t busy it frees the duty doctor up to provide more care to our aged care patients.

“We think it will allow us to provide a better emergency service because it is focused.

“But you can still walk in to the Practice at 8 in the morning to get an appointment, hopefully with the doctor you actually want to see, instead of waiting for the duty doctor,” she said.

“We think this will respond to the concerns of the community, because nobody likes waiting and we’ll be able to provide a much more focused service,” Dr Tammy Kimpton said.

Dr Kimpton said the changes are a trial and they will measure if the new system reduces waiting times and results in better care.

In the case of an emergency ALWAYS phone 000 for an ambulance, taking people to the GP practice or the hospital may delay critical care.