You will have seen in the news yesterday that the Covid booster programme is being expanded to include 18 - 39 year olds and the timescale reduced. Please do not phone the surgery to enquire about this as we are unable to book appointments for the vaccine. The NHS will contact you when it is your turn to have the booster jab.
GP practices provided 7,142,420 appointments for a population of just over 61 million people in England. That’s two appointments for every 17 people. In 2019, in the same week, the demand was for just under 6.7 million appointments for a population of just over 60 million; that’s two appointments for every 18 people. That represents an increase of 6.3%.
During September, GP appointment data indicates that 28.7 million appointments were provided; that’s the equivalent of 47% of the population in England having one appointment each. That’s one appointment per two people in one month.
While we’re talking about the number of appointments provided by GP practices, it’s worth noting that between 2019 and today, the number of GPs in general practice has decreased.
Face coverings and social distancing are still mandatory in healthcare settings. This is to help protect vulnerable patients and staff. Please kindly respect the rules to protect others and enable the Health Centre to remain open.
