Practice News

Access to Appointments from 15th September 2025

**EXCITING NEWS**

We are always reviewing our appointment system to see how we can make better access for you, our patients, and for the surgery team. You may have read that NHS England are asking all GP Surgeries to provide online access to enable patients to contact their GP using a simple form. 

We are planning to commence this service on Monday 15th September. We are feeling really positive that this will improve access and stop long wait times on the telephone at 8.30am.

Change always take time to settle in and we are here to help you. 

 

Questions or Concerns?

If you have any questions about the Total Triage system or need help navigating these changes, we are holding a series of workshops on Thursday 14th, 21st, 28th August and 4th September between 1-2pm at our Hanover Medical Centre, 100 William Street, Sheffield S10 2EB,  or please telephone the surgery and ask to speak to the Practice Manager who will be happy to answer any questions or ask for the email address.

We are very keen not to exclude any of our patients and there will always be an option to call us or come into surgery, we will then fill the form in with you. 

What is Total Triage?

Total triage is a new approach which is recommended by NHS England to improve access to Primary Care services. This should improve the quality of care our patients receive, to ensure that they are given the most appropriate appointment or advice to meet their needs, and that this is done in a timely way.  This will enable us to ensure patients can be treated for acute queries sooner and pre-bookable appointments can be arranged for ongoing care related issues.  

 

Why Change? 

 

  • It will help reduce the telephone queue.
  • It will help match our capacity to patient need.
  • It can help prioritise patients who need help most urgently.
  • It will ensure that patients will be seen by the most suitable clinician at the right time for the condition that they have. 

How does it work? 

 

  • You will make contact via an online form accessed via our website or the NHS App. Please note that it will not be possible to submit an online triage request outside core hours, at the weekend or bank holidays.
  • If you are unable to complete the form, a family member or friend can do it for you.  
  • The form asks you to describe your medical problem, how long you have had these symptoms and how you would like help.
  • The request will be read by a clinician and will be answered directly or assigned to the most suitable colleague. 
  • If you require a Home Visit please request this before 10.30am and ensure when completing the online triage form or call our reception team to have one filled out, it is important that you give us a working telephone number and state that you feel you need a visit. The doctor may phone you back to discuss the problem and decide if a visit is the most appropriate action or not.
  • If you aren't able to use online services you can still call us, and we’ll assist you with the triage process over the phone. These will be processed in the same way and timescale as forms submitted directly online by yourselves.

 

What information will I be asked for in the form?

 

  • You will be asked for more information about your medical problem, the more information you can give us the better. There is plenty of space for you to write.
  • More information on how to fill the form in can be found in the video below.

 

 

What Happens Next?

After you contact us, our clinical team will review your needs and guide you to the most appropriate care pathway. This might be:

 

  • A face-to-face appointment
  • A telephone consultation
  • Self-care advice
  • Referral to another appropriate service

We hope that this new system will improve access to appointments.  We understand that digital systems aren’t comfortable for everyone. If you are not able to use online services, don’t worry – our team is here to help! 

Contact us if you need this information in a different language. 


Published on 7th Aug 2025

Mounjaro Injection - unavailable in Sheffield

News outlets have recently said that Mounjaro is now available from GPs for select patients. At the moment Sheffield GPs are not allowed to prescribe this medication to their patients. The final decision on this rests with our local commissioning group. We will release more information when the situation changes. Standard weight loss services are still available here https://www.more-life.co.uk/places-we-work/sheffield/
 

Published on 1st Jul 2025

Change to Surgery Hours from Thursday 3 April 2025

The practice has taken the decision to close Hanover Surgery on a Thursday afternoon, this will be from Thursday 3rd April 2025.

We will therefore open from 8.30am to 1.00pm.

The appointments we have offered on a Thursday afternoon will be moved to a Tuesday afternoon so that we do not reduce our appointments over the week.  Primary Care Sheffield (PCS) will provide telephone cover on behalf of the practice on a Thursday afternoon should have an urgent medical need.

Prescription, referral, and any other non-urgent requests should be made at other times of the week not on a Thursday afternoon.  If you usually order your medication on a Thursday, then please do this before 1.00pm and please allow 48 hours (2 working days) for your prescription to be processed.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this decision may cause, if you would like any further information, please call the surgery, and ask to speak to Deirdre Malesa, Practice Manager who will be happy to discuss this with you. 


Published on 19th Mar 2025

Devonshire Green and Hanover Medical Centres Lunchtime Closures

Please note that from 6 January 2025 both Devonshire Green & Hanover Medical Centres will be closing Monday to Friday between 12.30 and 1.30pm. 


Published on 11th Dec 2024

Information for Patients

 Dear Patient

 

We are experiencing a significant increase in demand for appointments, queries and prescriptions. We apologise as this can lead to a delay in answering the telephone or being able to offer appointments and advice in a timely manner.

 

We are trying to improve access to the surgery for you with new ways of delivering services. Whilst trying to deal with each telephone request appropriately we are limited by the lack of government investment into general practice to meet some of the time demands.

 

Problems faced by all practices across England:

 

  1. The NHS budget for 2024/25 will grow by 0.2%, well below inflation.
  2. Government investment in primary care has fallen from 8.9% (2015/16) to less than 7% (2024/25). This is equivalent to a 7% cut in funding.
  3. Your practice receives just £107.57 per year for each patient, or 30 pence per day - less than the cost of an apple.
  4. The Government and Integrated Care Boards are increasing the demand on general practice by moving more work from secondary care into the community.
  5. The overall population in England is increasing - 53.5 million in 2012 to 57.1 million in 2022.
  6. There are fewer GPs due to funding limits. There are 1759 fewer fully qualified full-time GPs compared to 2015. As a result, each full-time GP is responsible for 356 more patients than in 2015.
  7. GPs need to supervise other clinical staff, which can reduce appointment availability.
  8. People are living longer with more complex health and social care needs.
  9. Some GP surgeries are having to close or merge to maintain services to patients.

 

We are aware that patient satisfaction with the NHS is falling, with difficulty calling GP surgeries a particular problem (satisfaction down from 67.6% in 2021 to 48.8% in 2023).

 

We are trying our best to provide the service our patients need, but the current staffing and funding crisis felt across general practice in England is severely restricting what we can offer in the timescales NHS England suggests.

 

Thank you for your understanding.

 


Published on 25th Sep 2024

Page last reviewed: 07 August 2025
Page created: 01 June 2022