In the morning huddle the duty team works out each morning what the capacity is of the team that day in terms of number of contacts on the triage list. This calculation is based on approximately 25-28 contacts per session per GP and takes into account any pre-booked appointments or absent team members. The capacity calculation can also take into account the capacity of other clinical team members e.g. GP specialist trainees, pharmacists, nurse/advanced nurse practitioners, physician assistants etc.
Once booked slots reach 85% of daily capacity total it is time to try to limit contacts for the day. Tell the patients ‘We have reached our safe capacity for the day. Please can you call back tomorrow or submit an eConsult’. You can also manage flow by telling patients to call on the day that their regular GP is there, as it helps influence demand.
