Continuity of Care

Continuity of Care starts 15 September 2025

Clevedon Medical Centre is working hard to improve continuity of care, but what does that mean for you? At this practice, we believe you will get the most effective care if you have a strong relationship with a GP.

Seeing the same person when you attend is one way of strengthening that relationship and we are working hard to make sure that is possible.

Why are we doing this?

Over the past few years, there has been lots of publicity about how important it is to see your doctor quickly, but there is also lots of evidence that seeing the same person is just as important as seeing someone rapidly.

What are the benefits?

If you see the same person, or small team of people, over several appointments, then the levels of trust between you both are likely to grow. Studies have shown that increased trust leads to a better experience because patients are:

• More satisfied and more likely to have a good relationship with their GP
• Less likely to have to go to A&E or be admitted to hospital
• More likely to follow the advice they are given and take positive steps to look after their own health

Are there any disadvantages?

It may be that sometimes we will ask you to wait a little bit longer for an appointment so that we can make sure you see ‘your’ doctor (or nurse). If you have an urgent problem, we will always make sure you are seen as quickly as we can. Our continuity-based GP list system starts from 15 September 2025 From Monday 15th September, for routine appointments we will aim to book patients with their ‘usual GP’. Every GP will also have a buddy GP - which means if your usual GP has no availability, you will be booked with their ’buddy’ GP.

What are the next steps?

We kindly ask for your co-operation and help with this new system as it is designed to improve your own healthcare. For routine appointments, it might be that another GP is available sooner than your usual GP or their buddy, however we would strongly encourage you to wait and book in with your usual GP. This is because the benefits of continuity of care should far outweigh the benefit of a slightly shorter wait for an appointment.

Published: Sep 12, 2025