From 1st October 2025, all GP practices in the UK must follow new requirements set out in the GP contract. We are required to make changes to the way our booking system operates, we have opted for a Total Triage method of dealing with these requests. This means there are changes to how you will access appointments at Market Drayton Medical Practice.
Why has this change happened?
- The change is part of NHS England’s commitment to improving patient access.
- Contractual changes with the Government GP contracts.
- Many patients requests can be safely managed online, often with a reply within hours.
- This avoids long waits on the phone and ensures appointments go to those most in need.
- The system, known as Total Triage, is already used successfully in many other practices across the UK.
What does this mean for you, as a patient of Market Drayton GP Surgery?
- Instead of phoning the practice directly, all requests for a GP and urgent appointments must be made using an online triage form.
- The form can be completed on a smartphone, the NHS App, or our practice website. Here, you will provide details about your symptoms or admin request.
- A senior clinician will review your form and decide the most appropriate next step.
How will we respond?
Once assessed, we will contact you to explain how your request will be managed. This may include:
- A face-to-face or telephone appointment with a GP or clinician.
- An appointment with an in-house physiotherapist or pharmacist.
- Signposting you to a more suitable service.
- Providing healthcare advice or digital guidance without the need for you to come into practice.
Support for patients
- If you cannot access the form online, our reception team will still be available by phone to help guide you through completing online form.
- Please note, there are no changes to booking appointments with our Practice Nurses or phlebotomy (Blood Tests), wound care, vaccinations, chronic disease reviews (diabetes, asthma, COPD etc), or the Minor Injury Service. You can call for these appointments.
How to help us help you
To make sure we can triage your request effectively, please provide:
- How long you’ve had your symptoms.
- The severity and impact on your daily life.
- Any treatment you’ve already tried.
- Only include one problem per form.
- Use the correct form for your request, all urgent on the day or routine GP appointment requests should be put on the ‘medical’ form.
- Keep your phone, email, and text details up to date so we can contact you with your preferred method of contact in a timely manner.
Appointment types available
- Same day – for urgent requests (we will contact you to confirm your same day urgent appointment).
- Within 1 week – for non-urgent needs.
- Within 3 weeks – for routine requests.
Currently, we will contact you to offer an appointment. In the future, we will be introducing ‘self-book’ links for routine GP appointments. These are already in use for some standard clinics and vaccination invitations. A text message will be sent to your NHS App or phone with a link that allows you to pick an appropriate appointment on a day and time that suits you. Please note, these links will expire after 7 days, and it may be necessary to re-submit a triage request if you have not acted upon the self-book invitation.
If our total triage system has reached maximum capacity i.e. saturated by demand, it may be necessary to temporarily suspend further appointments for that day. You will receive a message alert informing you that we have reached our limit for the day and to please resubmit at 08:00 the next day or advised to contact 111 or 999.
Out of hours
- Total Triage and the online form, is open Monday to Friday during our core hours which are 08:00 – 18:30.
- For advice when we are closed, please contact NHS 111, or call 999 in an emergency.
Message from our GPs
Our patients are at the centre of everything we do. We want to ensure you feel supported as we move forward into this new way of working. These changes are as new for us as a practice, as they are new for you as our patients.
As with any new system, there are likely to be challenges and adjustments, but feedback nationally, from many other GP Surgeries already using the Total Triage model, has been universally very positive. With patients receiving replies to their enquiries often within hours of submitting their form, avoiding the inconvenience of waiting in a queue on the phone.
We are confident that together we can embrace these changes positively and continue to provide the best possible care for our community.