Getting through to us should be the easy part

For a long time, one of the hardest parts of using any GP practice has been the simplest: actually getting through on the phone. The eight o'clock rush, the engaged tone, the slow crawl up a queue you cannot see. It is a challenge practices everywhere have wrestled with, and it is the part of primary care patients tell us they find most frustrating.

We wanted it to be different for our patients. So in 2023 we built a Patient Support Hub near London Bridge and moved the phones there. Around forty trained care navigators now answer the calls and online requests for all of our practices, which means the reception team inside each surgery is not trying to welcome the people at the desk and answer a ringing phone at the same time.

The change has been real. The average wait to speak to us has fallen from about fourteen minutes to roughly three. We answer around nine in ten calls. And more than half of everything that comes in is sorted on that first contact, without needing a GP appointment, because the person who picks up is trained to get you to the right place first time.

That last number is the one we are proudest of, and it is easy to misread. Resolving a contact without a GP appointment does not mean turning you away. It means a pharmacist sorts your medication query, or a navigator books you straight in with the right clinician, or your test result is explained there and then. It keeps GP appointments for the people who need a GP.

"Most people are braced for a fight when they call. The nicest part of the job is hearing someone relax when they realise they got through, and that we can actually help," says Stacey James, our Regional Reception Lead.

We are not going to pretend it is finished. Mondays are still busy. Some patients would rather not use the phone or an app at all, and we have to make sure they are not left behind as more services move online. And a faster answer only counts if what happens next is good, so that is where most of our attention now goes.

But a quick, calm answer when you reach out is not a small thing. It is often the difference between getting help early and putting it off. That is worth building properly.

Clinically reviewed by Dr Catriona Brodie, Lead GP, June 2026

Common questions

How do I contact my Penrose practice? Call your practice or use the online form on its NHS website. Your call goes to our Patient Support Hub, where a trained care navigator will help or book you in with the right person.

Will I always speak to a navigator instead of a GP? The navigator makes sure you see the right clinician for your need, which is often sooner than waiting for a GP, and is a GP when a GP is what you need.

What if I cannot use the phone or the internet? Tell us. We will find a way that works for you, and we make a note so you are not pushed down a route that does not suit you.

Related: Find a practice · Patient Zone.