Frequently asked questions about practice processes

Our choice to work with call-back requests has two aims: first, to prevent long waiting times on the phone for patients, and second, to protect the wellbeing of our doctor's assistants in view of the high workload and the staff absence we have experienced. By using call-back requests, our doctor's assistants can plan their working time better and have more time for other (administrative) tasks that would otherwise be left undone. Introducing call-back requests has considerably reduced the pressure on the phone lines and has led to greater satisfaction among both patients and doctor's assistants.

We give priority to call-back appointments for the reasons mentioned above. This allows us to make more efficient use of the limited time available.
Because not everyone finds it equally easy to schedule a call-back appointment, we still offer – as a service – the option of direct telephone contact with the doctor's assistant in the morning.

Yes, you may sometimes have to wait longer for direct telephone contact, as call-back appointments are given priority. We understand that this is not ideal for all patients, but we have made this choice in view of our limited capacity and the increase in care requests / telephone contacts.

Although we are currently fully staffed for doctor's assistants, we still experience a high workload. Taking on more doctor's assistants or other staff is made difficult by a shortage of available staff and vacancies that remain open for a long time. There are also limits to the funding for GP care from the government and health insurers.

We are looking into ways of offering patients the option to make telephone call-back appointments via UwZorgOnline. Keep an eye on our social media channels for updates on this.

GP care has changed enormously in recent years. For example, a lot of care has moved from hospitals to GPs, there have been major cutbacks in mental health care (GGZ) and home care, and more older people are living at home. Care tasks have become much more complex and take more time. With a larger and more diverse team, we are better able to meet all care needs and can share out tasks. As a result, it is not always possible to meet the wish to always see the same doctor.

The concept of "your own GP" is changing into "your own GP team". To still ensure continuity of care, we aim to share information within the team and for all of us to build a relationship with patients. We recognise that this is a bigger challenge, but we are doing our very best to make it possible.

The growing team needs supervision, which takes up a lot of the practice owners' time. The administrative burden from the government and health insurers has also increased enormously. A practice manager can help, but the practice owners cannot avoid having to spend a considerable amount of time on other tasks to keep the practice well organised.

Because of the high workload and staff shortages (see the questions above), appointment slots at short notice often fill up quickly. Not all appointment slots are shown in Uw Zorg Online. If you cannot find a suitable time there, please call the practice. Is your complaint urgent? Call 010 452 77 92 and press 1.

We think it is important to contribute to training healthcare staff, in order to tackle shortages and to make sure that enough healthcare staff are available in the future too. Our staff in training are always well supervised by our experienced employees. Our staff in training can always approach our team easily with questions and for help. We provide a safe learning environment, so that employees in training also ask their questions when needed.

Yes, a GP trainee has graduated as a doctor – often several years earlier. They have passed their final medical exams and are specialising as a GP over a period of three years. Many GP trainees have already worked in a hospital before their training, for example in the emergency department, in surgery or in internal medicine. They are qualified to hold consultations independently and can deal with most complaints on their own. If necessary, they consult their supervisor for advice and guidance.

Home visits take up a lot of the GP's time. Time that we can then no longer spend on other patients and other care needs. That is why home visits are only made to patients who cannot come to the practice themselves. Moreover, we have more options for examinations at the practice than at home (such as limited blood tests or an ECG).
Because of increased traffic, we mainly focus home visits on patients in the Kralingen neighbourhood. If you live outside this neighbourhood, it may therefore be wiser to find another GP.

Unfortunately, it regularly happens that the pharmacy says certain prescribed medication has not been received from the GP. Our advice in this situation:
a) It often happens that the medication has in fact been prescribed by the practice but is still waiting in a queue (buffer) at the pharmacy. We advise you to ask the pharmacy whether the prescription might be sitting in a buffer somewhere after all.
b) If the prescribed medication is needed urgently and you cannot reach the doctor's assistant straight away, ask the pharmacy to contact our practice via the dedicated line for healthcare professionals.
c) If the medication is for a non-urgent complaint and the pharmacy cannot find the prescription anywhere, please submit a call-back request to our doctor's assistant. She will then call you back to resolve it. We apologise for any inconvenience.

In many cases, your GP can repeat the medication you received from the specialist, provided the correct dosage has been established and after the specialist has informed us about it. However, we do not take responsibility for highly specialised medication, such as chemotherapy drugs, biologicals, rheumatism medication, and psychiatric medication for complex psychiatric conditions. Our knowledge of how these medicines work and of their side effects is insufficient for us to take on this responsibility. In these cases, responsibility for the medication and its prescription remains with the specialist.