Appointments
You can book an appointment by telephone or online using Patient Access
Please note you will need to register for online booking (please speak to a member of the reception team).
In line with Government guidelines we try to offer patients a choice of appointments so that they can either:
- Book in advance
- Ring in and be seen the same day for an routine appointment – if appointments are available
- Ring in and be seen urgently on the day by either a nurse or GP dependent on availability.
To enable us to do this we occasionally limit the number of appointments that can be booked in advance. However, under normal circumstances and depending on the availability of your doctor/nurse, you can pre-book as far ahead as our computerised diary is made up.
If the doctor you are registered with is not available, you will be offered an alternative.
Please note that our telephone lines open at 8.00am each morning and are answered by our Reception team and triaged by a nurse. We politely request that if your telephone call is not requesting an appointment or a home visit or of an urgent nature, you contact the Surgery after 11.00 am.
If you wish to attend the surgery at 8.00am to make an appointment in person, you are welcome to do so. However, please note that our Reception staff have to give priority to telephone calls in case of emergency.
Accessing your Doctor or Nurse
You may leave a message for your doctor or nurse and they will return your call as soon as possible. Non-urgent queries may not be responded to until the following day.
Cancellation
Unfortunately, we suffer from a significant number of DNA. We would actively encourage all patients to cancel any appointments no longer required as soon as possible. By informing the surgery you are unable to attend your appointment, we can re-offer the appointment slot to another patient.
As a surgery we are working hard to reduce the number of DNA’s and your co-operation in achieving this would be appreciated.
Patients that frequently DNA will be monitored, resulting in the Practice Manager writing to the patient.
Checking In
We use an automated check-in service for appointments with your Doctors and Nurses. Please follow the instructions on the screen ensuring your press the Finish button at the end.
If you are seeing a Doctor, your name will appear on the call screen which runs above Reception.
If you have been waiting for longer than 20 minutes for an appointment, please notify our Reception staff.
To check in for alternative health service, please speak to a member of our Reception Team on arrival.
Home Visits
When possible, we would always ask patients to attend the surgery in person unless too ill to do so. We would appreciate every effort being made to bring the patient to the surgery and ask patients to ring for advice rather than leave a visit request until late in the day.
If you require a home visit, please telephone the surgery before 10.00 am. You will be asked for an indication of the reason for any visit to help our doctors assess the urgency of the call.
You may be visited by a member of the Community Nursing team instead of your doctor.
We will not be able to give you a specific time for a home visit and your visit may not take place until after evening surgery.
Telephone Advice
Telephone advice
Been Off Work
Med 3 – Statement of Fitness to Work
A sickness certificate, known as a “Statement of Fitness to Work” completed and signed by your doctor, is only required when a period of continuous absence from work due to illness is of seven days’ duration or longer.
Your doctor must now assess your fitness to work based on your level of fitness when you are seen. Your doctor may assess you as fit to work as long as your employer can satisfy certain criteria e.g. a shorter working day.
If you contact the surgery to request an extension to any period of sick leave that you have, you may be asked to come in to see your GP again.
For absence up to three working days no certificate is required. A period between three and six days’ absence (including weekends) due to illness is adequately covered by a “self-certificate” (SC2) obtained from your employer or the DSS. All employers should be aware of these regulations.
If your employer requests a certificate within the self-certification period the practice will make a charge as this is considered to be private work. You will need to claim the cost of this certificate back from your employer.
Referrals
Referrals
