Surgery News
Improving Access To Care
From Thursday 16th April, we will be making some changes to how we manage appointment requests. These changes are designed to improve access and help us use our clinical capacity more effectively.
Why We Are Making These Changes.
- Demand for appointments continues to rise, and these changes will improve continuity of care and help us respond more quickly and safely.
How to Request an Appointment
The ways you can contact us are not changing. You can still make requests:
- Online via the NHS App or our practice website
- By phone
- In person at reception
We encourage online requests where possible, as they allow you to give more detail about your concern, which helps us direct your care more effectively.
What to Expect After Submitting a Request
- You will receive confirmation that your request has been received and when you can expect a response.
- Please be prepared to attend the surgery if needed, as we may offer you an appointment on the same day as you submit your request.
- Clinically urgent requests: you may be offered a same‑day phone or in-person appointment with a GP or Advanced Nurse Practitioner.
- Non‑urgent requests: these will be reviewed by a GP - where possible your own GP - who will advise you on the next steps. This may still include a same‑day appointment if needed.
- If clinically appropriate, you may be signposted to other services such as Community Pharmacy or offered an appointment with another healthcare professional, such as a Practice Nurse, Physiotherapist or Pharmacist.
Thank you for your patience and support while we introduce these changes. Our priority remains delivering safe, high‑quality care for our community.
Long Term Condition Annual Reviews
From April 2026, we are making some changes to how we support people living with long-term conditions. These include conditions such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, chronic pain, high blood pressure, amongst others.
Our aim is to make your care more coordinated, personalised, and convenient.
What’s Changing?
For most patients, nothing will change. You will still:
- Be invited for your Annual Review in your birth month, just as you are now.
- Attend an initial appointment with a Healthcare Assistant.
- Have a follow‑up appointment, which may be by phone or in person, normally with a nurse or pharmacist.
For patients with multiple long-term conditions, who may need more support, we are introducing a more streamlined approach to help coordinate your care better. You will:
- Be invited for your Annual Review between April and December, which may not be in your birth month.
- Continue to have an initial appointment with a Healthcare Assistant.
- Have your follow‑up appointment with a GP, so your care is more consistent.
Why are we making these changes?
These changes will help us:
- Provide more joined-up care for patients with multiple conditions.
- Make the best use of our nursing and GP teams.
- Better understand your overall health needs so we can support you more effectively
What can you expect?
- You may receive booking links inviting you to make appointments online.
- If you do not use online services, our team will contact you by phone.
- If you receive a booking link, please book your appointment as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience and support while we introduce these improvements.
Leaving GP
It is with great sadness we share that Dr Short will be retiring from the practice.
Throughout her time with us, she has provided exceptional care, compassion, and dedication to her patients and colleagues. Her commitment to the community has been truly valued, and her presence within the practice will be greatly missed.
As she begins this new chapter, we extend our heartfelt thanks and our very best wishes for a happy and fulfilling retirement.
Dr Short’s final working day will be 22nd January 2026. We are currently arranging the redistribution of her patients among our remaining GP Partners. We aim to send messages to patients to inform them of their new registered GP.
Please see the special announcement below:
It is with mixed emotions that I have decided to retire at the end of January, after 32 years at Honiton Surgery.
I feel very fortunate to have been a family doctor to so many wonderful patients and I have greatly valued the privilege of earning the trust and friendships that have developed over the years.
I have been supported throughout by a dedicated and hardworking team who have endeavoured to provide the best possible service, often in challenging circumstances.
The time has now come for me to step back and spend more time with my family. I would like to thank you all sincerely and I wish you a fond farewell.
Targeted Lung Health Checks
New NHS screening Lung programme is now available in our area.
Lung Cancer Screening Programme is aimed at diagnosing lung cancer at an earlier stage in asymptomatic patients (those with no symptoms).
If you are aged between 55 and 74 and have ever smoked, you may be offered an NHS lung health check.
This is not carried out by us at the practice, but by an external provider on behalf of the NHS. They will provide you with all the information you need and you should contact them if you have any queries about this new, national screening programme.
Patients registered within the NHS give implied consent for their information to be shared for their treatment and direct patient care.
Further information on Lung Health Checks can be found online at : https://peninsulacanceralliance.nhs.uk/lung-cancer-screening/
Patient Update: Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) for Weight Management
You may have seen recent media coverage about the availability of Mounjaro (tirzepatide), a new medication for managing obesity and type 2 diabetes.
As of 23rd June 2025, NHS England has approved Mounjaro for prescribing to specific patient groups under strict eligibility criteria. However, NHS Devon has not yet implemented this service locally, and GP surgeries in Devon have been advised against the independent initiation of tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) prescribing for weight management until the point at which further guidance is provided.
What this means for our patients:
- Please do not contact the surgery to request Mounjaro at this time. We are not yet able to prescribe this medication.
- Once the service is developed and local prescribing is approved, we will update our website and social media and we may contact eligible patients directly at this point. You do not need to take any action now.
We understand this may be disappointing for some patients, and we appreciate your patience and understanding. We will provide updates as soon as local guidance changes. In the meantime there are a number of local weight management services currently available for people living with obesity or overweight. Here is a link to the services available in Devon: Weight Management - My Condition - MyHealth Devon
Patients wishing to feedback to NHS Devon regarding its current position may do so at d-icb.patientexperience@nhs.net and NHS Devon Aperture House Pynes Hill, Rydon Lane Exeter, Devon EX2 5AZ.
Thank you for your continued support.
Changes to Cervical Smear recall period for patients
Anyone who is screened on or after 1 July 2025 and tests negative for HPV will move to 5 yearly screening unless previous screening history suggests they should be screened more regularly.
This means that the recall period will be extended from 3 to 5 years for patients aged 25 to 49 who test negative for HPV. The recall period for 50-64 year olds is already a 5-year interval and this will remain the same.
Next test due dates will not be changed retrospectively. patients will be invited at the interval in which you were advised of at the time of your last test.
NHS made this decision based on clinical advice from experts. See full article from NHS
Total Triage
Get the Right Care, at the Right Time, with the Right Clinician.
How to Contact us: Complete our online form. This is available : 08:00-18:00, Monday - Friday. (Or until daily capacity is reached)
A family member or friend can also complete the form online for you if required. If you do not have access online, please call the surgery on 01404 548 544 and we will complete the form on your behalf.
We may also reach our clinical capacity each day before 6pm and move to administrative or urgent only.
We have a daily limit on the number of medical requests that can be submitted. Once this maximum number of requests has been reached patients will be presented with a ‘capacity reached’ message or informed verbally. If we have reached capacity for the day and your concern can wait, we ask you to call back or complete an online form when our normal service resumes at 8am the next working day.
Clinical assessment by our Duty team: Requests will be assessed as soon as possible and in the same way, regardless of how you contacted the surgery. Your consult will be looked at by a member of the duty team and you will be advised by one of the team with what the clinician has suggested. You will be offered the most appropriate next step based on your expressed symptoms and history. This could be advice on self-care, signposting to local service, a prescription sent directly to your pharmacy, or an invitation to book an appointment with a GP or other appropriate medical professional. For routine appointments, you may receive a text message with a link that will allow you to book an appointment on a day and time that suits you.
The online form is very simple to fill out, the character count is limited on the form, please try to give as much specific and concise information as possible. The better the information you provide, the more able we are to help you appropriately, please also attach photos if appropriate.
How will this improve the patient experience?
Improved Access to Care: Total Triage has been shown to reduce waiting times, and it enables us to attend to your medical needs more promptly.
Convenience: Using online options means you don’t have to wait in queues on the phones or at reception, freeing phone lines up for those without online access, safe in the knowledge that everyone will be treated equally.
Enhanced Patient Experience: We are committed to providing you with the best possible care. Total Triage improves communication and ensures that you see the person best able to help you, in a timely way.
Timeliness: You will be seen in the order of priority so you can be confident that you are receiving care in the most appropriate time frame.
Why is this changing?
Traditional ways to contact your GP often meant that appointments were being allocated on a first come, first served basis, with long phone queues to get in touch with your surgery. This meant that vulnerable patients, or those who needed care sooner were missing out.
You can avoid the queues by submitting a request online, making it easier to reach out to your surgery.
By registering all requests through an online form, your surgery can prioritise and action requests quickly and fairly, ensuring that you get the right level of care at the right place and the right time.
Please ensure you provide as much information as possible per form.
When will I receive a response?
We aim to respond to clinical request on same working day. If you need to be seen on the same day, you will receive a call from the practice. If you need to book a routine appointment, you may receive a text message with a link for you to book yourself.
We aim to respond to administrative requests within 3 working days.
Please don’t re-submit the same form. If you haven’t received a response within the relevant timeframes mentioned above, please call the practice directly on 01404 548 544.
What if I can’t attend the same day appointment offered?
If the GP feels you need to be seen on the same day, you will be expected to attend your appointment.
Please make sure you provide your availability when you complete the form so that we can take this into account when offering an appointment.
Will I receive a quicker response if I attend or call the surgery?
No, if you visit or call the surgery, you will still need to fill out the same triage form, so that you can be assessed in the same way, the process is the same for all patients. The call handler will need to go through the form with you to capture all the required details.
If you cannot fill the form in for whatever reason, calling the practice would be the best option as it avoids an unnecessary visit to the practice.
Outside of our core hours, please continue to access the relevant service for your needs:
- For non-emergency medical help and advice, please visit 111.nhs.uk or call 111
- If you, or someone you know, experiences a mental health crisis you can access support from 111
- You can also visit your local minor injury unit for certain condition or speak to your local pharmacist
- For life-threatening emergencies (for example if someone is unconscious, not breathing or bleeding heavily), please call 999.
HeidiHealth
Our clinicians use an AI transcribing software in the Practice. This software is a helpful tool that allows your doctor to focus entirely on you during your visit while still allowing them to accurately capture medical information, ensuring a comprehensive and precise record of your care. Heidi transcribes clinical encounters (both telephone and face-to-face) and streams them via desktop microphone to a transcription service, that is shown on the PC in form of a clinical note.
Please understand that your information will be handled with the utmost care, and using this software is aimed solely at improving your healthcare experience at the surgery.
Long Term Condition Annual Reviews
We are making some changes to long-term condition annual review appointments. We are asking our patients to provide us with information prior to their review appointment. This means we will be either asking you to complete a pre-appointment health questionnaire via SMS or asking you to come in and use our self-check kiosks in the main waiting area before your appointment. This is so we can utilise the software and systems we have in place at the surgery, to give our clinicians more time to capture missing information and completed necessary checks before you are reviewed. Patients will ideally still be seen for their annual reviews in their month of birth.
If you have any problems with links you cannot open or if you do not wish to receive links and questionnaires, you can inform a member of our team and they can add you to a group to be contacted directly.
Health Kiosks
Our new self-check health kiosks are located in the corner of our main waiting area and available to use from 8:00-17:00 Monday-Friday. Patients can perform their own checks without clinical supervision or submit some simple lifestyle questionnaires. Readings and information are then instantaneously updated into your medical record and can be immediately viewed by clinicians. The health kiosks allow you to perform simple checks without making an appointment. You may wish to do your blood pressure before you see a clinician or you can come in at your own convenience.
What you can do on the health kiosks:-
- Take your blood pressure
- Check your height and weight to calculate your BMI
- Enter information regarding your lifestyle i.e. smoking, alcohol, exercise, ethnicity and diet
- They are very simple to use and on-screen instructions take you through the process. However, if you do have difficulty, you can ask a member of the reception team who would be happy to help you.
We kindly ask that patients with mobility difficulties do not use the kiosks.
'Usual GP' or 'Named GP'
Due to several changes in our GP Team over the last 24 months and the significant pressures we still face in primary care, we are currently unable to accommodate requests to change your allocated GP, as all of our GP lists are currently full. We may change your 'Usual GP' due to practice and staff developments, we are currently unable to notify patients individually of these changes. Having an allocated GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice, please ask reception when booking if you wish to do so.
