The Cornwall doctors surgery cutting waiting times for patients
Watch Charlotte Gay's report
A GP surgery in Cornwall says their new way of seeing patients has led to thousands more appointments year on year.
Probus Surgery says after struggling to recruit a new GP they hired paramedics who kick started their new hub method where a variety of medical professionals work together.
Patients who contact the surgery could be seen by an advanced nurse practitioner or a paramedic instead of a doctor.
In the last 12 months the surgery had held 69,217 appointments - that's the highest they’ve ever done compared to 63,547 in 2019.
The traditional route, which sees an on-call doctor attend to every patient wanting an appointment, was "full on" according to Dr Kayleigh Smithson.
The GP partner at Probus Surgery says some Monday mornings they could "take up to 100 calls".
"Anyone who needed seeing on that day would be put onto my list. So it could have been a variety of everything mental health, colds and coughs, everything really."
She says the new method of assigning patients on the need has led to her feeling "more supported" and her colleagues are often "more specialist" in areas such as medicine or emergency responses.
Ann Ashcroft is a patient at the surgery, she says the new system works for her while her friends in other towns are struggling to get an appointment.
"When I listen to my friends who don't come here, then facing not seeing a doctor face- to-face. They're facing hours on the phone or not being phoned back. That never happens here."
Spencer Carey, the strategic business manager at the surgery says this decision has not come at the cost of patient safety.
"For this to work, you've got to have the right ratio of doctors here as well. You can't just replace doctors with these different roles and think that it's okay. The reason why we're robust and why it's so safe and why it works here is because we've got a large number of GPs that work here."
During ITV West Country's visit to the health hub two on call GPs worked alongside other medical professionals offering advice when needed.
Cornwall has the highest reviews in England in the latest GP Patient Survey. 79% of those surveyed in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are satisfied with appointments offered by their GP practice.
But while most are happy with the care they receive, Healthwatch Cornwall says getting an appointment is patients' number one concern.
Nick Bailey, CEO of Healthwatch Cornwall says having "a wider range of professionals and advanced practitioners is a really good thing".
"We know there are some pressures [in GP recruitment] and there is more recruitment, more training, etc but it's taking a long lead time, maybe ten years, before that there's any impact felt from that."
Cornwall is facing an ageing population with a quarter of patients over the age of 65.
Chris Reid, the Chief Medical Officer of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB says that the number of over 65 has "gone up 50% in about the last 25 years".
"So that does put a huge amount of extra pressure and burden on on on primary care because patients are presenting with more health needs and more complexity"
Right now in Cornwall and IOSm 40% of people are seen on the same day they contact their practice and 80% are seen within a fortnight.
However there were 13,000 missed appointments last month, which is the equivalent to around a day a month of lost appointments.
Kernow Health CIC have supported two GPs to Cornwall since October 2022 and their job matching service has around 1-2 enquiries every week.
They also run the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) which helps practices employ additional clinical staff such as Pharmacists, nurses and paramedics.
The CIC says "Cornwall is also doing the best in the country of attracting and recruiting the ARRS roles, which is a part of what Probus have done. Many practices are doing this, so patients are encouraged to share the reason for needing an appointment because it can free up GP capacity if they can be better seen by a different clinician."