A YORK GPs' surgery has slashed its high rate of missed appointments simply by assessing and altering its booking-in system.

In just four months, the Jorvik Medical Practice, which has surgeries in South Bank and Peckett Street in York, has seen its average of 100 missed appointments a month reduced to single figures.

Missed appointments waste doctors' time and mean that other patients have more trouble making an appointment. But an appointment crackdown at the practice in August has achieved impressive results, with doctors working hard to clear a backlog before ensuring that enough appointments are available at peak times.

Now that the surgry has a clean appointment sheet, patients can usually telephone and get an appointment on the same day.

Appointments between 8.30am and 9.30am daily can however be pre-booked up to two weeks in advance.

The changes are part of the national Advanced Access scheme, which is being rolled out at surgeries across the Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) area.

Jorvik Medical Practice manager Dana Homer said that people were no longer forced to make an appointment in advance because there were no same day slots available, meaning they were less likely to forget and miss their appointment.

She said: "The move to new premises at Woolpack House, The Stonebow, in July 2004 will enable us to manage the appointment system even better due to more consultancy rooms and installation of a new telephone system. We would still urge our patients to cancel their pre-booked appointments if they are unable to attend."

Dr Sam Haward, head of primary care policy at the Trust, said a third wave of surgeries was about to embark on the Advanced Access scheme.

Mr Haward said: "Advanced Access has been supported at national level and has been rolled out across the country very successfully.

"It's quite a changed way of working, but it's very much about doing things that meet the needs of the patients."

Updated: 09:47 Saturday, December 06, 2003