Willow Group to undergo revamp of GP appointments in the town

According to Willow Group, routine GP appointments currently held at Forton Medical Centre will be moved to other surgeries throughout the town.

Forton Medical Centre will now be used as a base to treat people with long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and respiratory issues.

This change will be brought into place as of next month.

In a letter to patients, Dr Zemma Frisby said: ‘There is a lack of GPs across the country and this has meant that we are having problems finding GPs to come and work in our practices.

‘Forton Medical Centre currently has approximately 4,000 patients with long term conditions such as diabetes, respiratory issues, and heart disease. These currently take up a large number of routine GP appointments.

‘This will free up routine GP appointments, increasing the amount of appointments we can provide across the three sites.

‘We will also put in place additional online and telephone consultations.’

For patients that cannot get to the other surgeries, Willow Group says it will continue to support them at the centre.

Dr Frisby said: ‘For these patients we will put on a limited number of pre-booked routine GP appointments at Forton Medical Centre.

‘Access to these appointments will be assessed on a case by case basis by a nurse or doctor.’