Dear Patient Thank you for you comments. I am sad to see that you did not feel you could raise your concerns directly with us/me. However, in answer to your comments, yes, we do have several doctors working here, and our receptionists are trained by the clinical team and follow strict guidelines to assess the patient's need and signpost the patient to the right clinician or service, at the right time (Care Navigating). They can then ensure that patient's see the most appropriator clinician for their needs. This helps us to ensure resources can meet the need of our community. Not every request for a doctor needs to be seen by a doctor and can be dealt with appropriately, and quickly by other clinical team members such as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Pharmacist or Specialist Nurse. Almost all GP practices in Thanet, and across the country request information from patients at the point they request an appointment. Birchington Medical Centre has been doing this for several years now, and it enables us to ensure the best outcomes for our patients and make effective use of our trained staff and their specialist skills and knowledge. NHS England published the GP Forward View in April 2016 which outlined the Government's investment into primary care to help stabilise GP practices with investment in additional clinical staff, and approved ways to assist GP practices with the huge workload placed upon them, while ensuring timely and appropriate access to services. Training receptionists as Care Navigator was one of these initiatives. I have included a web link below which provides more information, and I hope you find this useful and informative. https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/redesign/gpdp/reception-clerical/ If you have any further queries, or would like to discuss your concerns further, please do make contact with me at the surgery on 01843 8488148 or by email on birchingtonmcpm@nhs.net Kind regards Hannah Price Practice Manager