Welcome Dr Fulton

Posted by: stephcarter - Posted on:

Dear Patients,

We’re pleased to share the good news that our GP team is growing further with Dr Rebecca Fulton joining us from Monday the 9th June. Dr Fulton is a new addition, no one is leaving. This investment in additional clinical staff is part of our ongoing commitment to improving access to care for all our patients. Dr Fulton will not take on a patient list at this stage so there will be no change to anyone’s regular GP.

Demand for GP services has risen significantly since before COVID. In April 2025 alone, GP teams across England delivered more than 30 million appointments—a 24.5% increase from the 24.5 million recorded in April 2019.

As a result, GPs are managing increasingly heavy workloads. By July 2024, the average number of patients per full-time equivalent GP had risen to 2,293—an 18% increase since 2015. This has a knock on effect on the volume of prescriptions requests, test results and documents that require a GP’s attention outside of providing appointments.

We hope that you will agree that we have been able to significantly improve our service since before the pandemic. We are pleased to report that we are now consistently able to offer a routine GP appointment within 2 weeks, usually with your named GP, alongside running the same day triage service for more urgent issues and providing our practice nursing service.

To continue providing safe, effective and efficient care within the constraints of our available resources, we ask for your support. Our goal is to ensure patients are seen by the ‘right clinician, at the right time, first time’.

Although we are delighted to be in an position to increase our workforce currently, NHS budgets are very stretched and any further efficiencies will need to come from elsewhere.

We kindly ask you to support us by:

  • Cancelling your appointment if you are unable to attend.
  • Visiting our “Who Do I See?” webpage before calling or sending an eConsult, to ensure you’re directed to the most appropriate service first time.
  • Make use of local self care services like Community Pharmacies, the Pharmacy First scheme, Andover Minor Injuries Unit and Andover Sexual Health Clinic.
  • Take an active role in managing your health by attending reviews when invited and following clinical advice to aid your recovery.
  • Make use of the other members of the team, not all problems are best dealt with by a GP. Our Pharmacist and Physio colleagues are specialists in their areas and are readily available to help. If they feel further GP involvement is necessary following, they will ensure this is provided for you.

Thank you in advance for helping us to continue to deliver quicker access to appointments for those who need us,

Team AMC