Changes to how you contact us

Over the last two years at Avisford, we’ve made huge strides towards meeting the contractual requirements set out by NHS England. The 2025 requirement for online consultations to remain open all day pushed us to rethink long‑standing processes. We adapted clinics, increased triage capacity, and worked hard to educate patients about new ways of accessing care. Those changes genuinely improved access — but we want to be honest. Even with all that work, we have still struggled to keep online consultations open all day because, quite simply, we run out of appointments.

The new 2026/27 GP Contract, effective from 1 April 2026, sets out even more specific expectations. Practices must now triage from 8am to 6.30pm, and anything deemed clinically urgent for that day must be managed within that same day. These are significant changes, and they come with no additional space, staffing, or funding to support the increased workload.

To meet these new requirements, we’ve had to look again at our triage model.

Many of you will have experienced several changes in how you contact us over the last two years. We know this has been a lot, and we’re sorry to say there are more changes ahead. We are adapting to contractual requirements that have been introduced at pace, without the time or resources to fully test and refine new systems before they go live.

What does the future look like for Avisford?

We will be moving to another online consultation provider in May. This decision wasn’t taken lightly. The new system is more user‑friendly for staff and gives clinicians clearer visibility of priority levels and the volume of requests coming in. For patients, it offers more tailored categories, helping you give us the right information first time — rather than navigating a one‑size‑fits‑all questionnaire.

How will we meet the demand?

This is the hardest question of all.

We can’t simply recruit more doctors or nurses. Like many practices, we are already working at full physical capacity. Nearly every day, every clinical room is in use, every reception phone is manned, and every admin desk is occupied. General Practice is no longer just GPs and nurses — we have a wide range of clinicians working across both sites to ensure you see the right person at the right time.

To meet the new contract requirements, we will:

• Strengthen our triage process so we have the right information to safely and efficiently manage your request.  
• Adjust our clinical rotas to ensure we have clinicians available for same‑day urgent needs. This may mean longer waits for routine appointments. To prepare for this, we have already increased routine clinics to bring waiting times down before the new contract begins.

What can you do to help?

We know this isn’t easy for patients either. The NHS is changing, and we’re all adapting together.

You can help by choosing the most appropriate service for your need:

• Minor injuries → Minor Injuries Unit  
• Minor illnesses → Pharmacy First  
• Musculoskeletal issues → Self‑refer to physiotherapy  
• Unsure where to go? → Contact us. We will always help you work out the right service. This isn’t us “fobbing you off” — it’s how we protect capacity for those who genuinely need same‑day clinical care from us.

We are listening. We are adapting. We are trying.

• We listen to patient feedback.  
• We learn from other practices.  
• We listen to our staff and their ideas.  
• And we continue to adapt to the ever‑changing landscape of the NHS.

These changes have been placed on practices at speed, with no additional support, and we are doing everything we can to implement them safely and compassionately. We ask for your patience, your understanding, and your partnership as we navigate this next phase.

Thank you for working with us, and for helping us to help you

Published: May 5, 2026