Obtain
Telephone Advice - Tel: 0844 477 8733
Your doctor
will usually be available to give advice over the telephone at 11.30am
and 3.15pm.
HOW
DO I...
Make An Appointment?
Routine
Appointments - Tel: 0844 477 8733
Appointments can be made in person or by telephone. The reception
desk is open from 8.30am to 6.00pm each weekday.
•
Morning Surgery 8.30 - 11.00am (9.00am start on alternate Wednesdays/Thursdays)
•
Evening Surgery 3.30 - 5.30pm
We also offer a limited number of appointments before 8.30am, after 6.30pm and on some Saturday mornings. Please ask at reception for more details.
We have
an automated telephone answering system. When you call you will be asked to:
Press 1 to book an appointment
Press 2 to request a home visit
Press 3 for prescription queries
Press 4 for results
Other options
may be offered but if you do not have a touch-tone phone the system will automatically
put you through to the appointment desk. All calls are held in a queue until a
receptionist is free to take the call. Please be patient at busy surgery times
- your call will be answered as soon as possible.
When you telephone for an appointment we would be grateful if you could provide
the receptionist with brief details of your problem so that you can be offered
an appointment with the most appropriate member of our team. Sometimes this will
be with a nurse practitioner, specialist nurse or clinic nurse rather than with
a GP, but your wishes will always be respected. If you need to see a doctor we
aim to be able to offer you an appointment on the day that you phone the surgery,
but as patients are now registered with the practice rather than with an individual
GP, it may not always be possible for you to see your preferred doctor. We do
have some appointments that can be booked in advance, mostly early and late in
the day. Please call before 11.00am for an appointment on the day.
We try to run to time as far as possible. Inevitably an appointment can run over
time, so please bear with us if you have to wait. To keep the surgeries running
as smoothly as possible, please remember the following points:
1.
Please arrive on time for your appointment and allow time to park
your car.
2. Please let us know if you cannot keep your appointment.
3. Please don't 'squeeze in' other people to your slot.
4. Please let us know if you need more than the allocated 10 minutes
so that we can give you a longer appointment.
Express
Appointments - Tel: 0844 477 8733
Express appointments are available daily for single, uncomplicated
problems such as sore throats, earache and rashes that can be dealt
with in a 10-minute appointment.
Express clinics are run
by specialist nurses with doctor back-up. Our receptionists will be
pleased to advise you if you think that an express clinic appointment
might be suitable to deal with a problem.
Special
Appointments - Tel: 0844 477 8733
These are available via your doctor, the practice nurse or health
visitor, for such as:
•
Contraception advice
• Antenatal care
•
Cervical smear
• Foreign travel advice and immunisation
• Baby clinics
• Parentcraft and antenatal
relaxation clinic
• Medical examinations for fitness
to drive, insurance, sports etc.
Please ask
at reception for further details.
HOW
DO I...
Obtain A Home Visit?
Home Visit Requests
During Surgery Hours - Tel: 0844 477 8733
These
are available to patients who are too ill, disabled or immobile to
come to the surgery. Please do not request a home visit for reasons
of transport or convenience. It is important that requests for
home visits are made if possible before 10.30am, when the doctors
plan their rounds. It is safe to bring children with temperatures
to the surgery. They will be seen more quickly and, if infectious,
can be accommodated in a separate room.
Urgent
Visits During Surgery Hours - Tel: 0844 477 8733
In cases of emergency contact the health centre at once and your doctor
or the doctor on call will be informed and will respond.
HOW
DO I...
Obtain Test Results?
Specimen results are received from the hospital laboratories every morning and
then need to be checked by the doctors. Please telephone for any results after
11.00am daily and try not to call during morning or evening surgery when the staff
are extremely busy. We would appreciate your consideration in this matter. Please
allow at least five working days before phoning for your test result.
