SIX doctor's surgeries in west Wiltshire have joined forces in a bid to improve patient care after 180 patients failed to turn up for appointments at Roundstone surgery, Trowbridge, in September.

Roundstone, Bradford Road, Adcroft and Widbrook surgeries in Trowbridge have got together with Bradford on Avon Health Centre and Eastleigh in Westbury to form a collaborative supported by the primary care trust.

The first area the surgeries are dealing with is improved access to doctors and nurses, before tackling coronary disease.

Roundstone surgery and the Bradford on Avon Health Centre will be offering patients appointments when they need them and the doctors at the two surgeries hope that by improving appointment availability, there will be no need for people to book days and weeks in advance.

Lesley Morris, practice manager for Roundstone Surgery, said: "It doesn't help when patients don't turn up for appointments as doctor's time is wasted and other patients have to wait longer. In September, 30 hours of doctor time were wasted by people who failed to turn up for appointments.

"I understand there are reasons why people don't turn up but it does help if people can let us know, and we are hopeful this new system will mean there are less forgotten appointments."

The surgeries hope that under the new scheme, 90 per cent of patients will be able to see a health care professional when they need to.

Angie Brown, practice manager of Bradford on Avon surgery, said: "Patients can call when, or just before, they need help from us, and from January they will be able to phone for an appointment on the day they wish to see a doctor or nurse, or at the earliest the day before."

The practices in Westbury and Trowbridge will be introducing the scheme in the near future.

A spokesman for the primary care trust explained the idea behind the group means practices can share ideas with other surgeries in the country who have adopted similar plans to improve the quality of patient care.

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