Every patient is under the care of a named, accountable GP or what we call a Usual Doctor at The Rycote Practice. New patients joining us will be advised of their Usual Doctor at the point of registration. If you do not know who your named GP is, please ask a member of our team. If a doctor finds themselves seeing you on a regular basis when they are not the named GP, we may suggest that this doctor becomes your Usual Doctor.
We passionately believe that seeing your Usual Doctor (Named GP) improves continuity and, as a result, the quality of the care that you receive. Seeing the same doctor each time you visit the practice helps make care more person-centred because getting to know a patient takes time. Continuity of care also makes care more efficient because you have to spend less time repeating your medical history and doctors less time trying to get up to speed from the medical notes. This in turn helps to build trust between a you and your doctor which is critical when making decisions about treatment. There is lots of evidence to suggest that continuity of care also makes healthcare safer and helps to avoid delayed diagnoses.
We appreciate that Continuity of care matters more to some patients than others. It is often valued most by patients with long-term conditions, mental health problems, multiple conditions, those with serious but hopefully shorter term conditions like cancer and during end of life care. Seeing the same doctor is can be considered less important by young or normally healthy people who visit their GP infrequently but it can nevertheless offer significant benefits in terms of outcomes and patient satisfaction.
We would strongly encourage all patients to try and see their Usual Doctor. All our GPs have urgent slots and telephone slots each day to make this easier – and all our GPs offer eConsultations which are answered by the end of the next working day. If you are unsure when your GP normally works you can check it on our GP timetable [hyperlink]. Clearly this is not always possible and if your Usual Doctor is unavailable this will not delay you being seen.
