BETTER HEALTH
I visited what I always knew as Hook Surgery when I was growing up in Hook – now Whitewater Health – and met some of the team, including Dr Fernando. We had a helpful discussion about patient feedback and the surgery's efforts to act upon it, including freeing up GPs to see the people who need an appointment, and reducing waiting times for our community.
They've implemented some innovative plans, including introducing a range of allied healthcare professionals who can see local people, including nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and health coaches. The aim is clear: to direct patients as quickly as possible to the right person.
One significant change they've made is increasing appointments to 10 minutes. The wider changes have meant that GPs can now dedicate more time to complex cases, ensuring that patients receive the attention and care they deserve.
They have now got rid of the Covid-era booking system that just didn’t work, and got a new one, which is making it easier for people to get fast access to appointments.
There’s been much to do to rebuild post-Covid. Thankfully, since 2015, we've recruited an additional 4,500 GPs and 56,000 more nurses into the NHS, as part of spending over £746 million more every week on the NHS in real terms, which has helped to strengthen our healthcare system.
