YOU CAN NOW BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT ON THE INTERNET!

We call this online booking and a certain percentage of appointments are available for booking directly over the Web.

YES YOU CAN BOOK AHEAD: IN FACT YOU ALWAYS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO!

"Can I just ring and book an appointment 4 weeks ahead with a doctor?"

Yes

"But I've been asked to ring back on-the-day, when I try to make an  appointment!"

This should only happen if you want to see a specific doctor and they don't have any more appointments left that day or in the following few days and you don't want to wait till their next free routine pre-bookable appointment. The receptionist might then suggest you try and ring early  on the day you want, as a few appointments are always released each day.

TOP TIP!   Don't do the above unless you like to gamble! Just book well ahead with the doctor of your choice or ring on-the-day if you don't mind who you see! We are all pretty good so it does not usually matter who you see.

Still not clear? Just keep reading!

Making an Appointment - As easy as ONE, TWO, THREE!

OPTION ONE

Q “I don’t mind who I see” 

 A RING ON THE DAY
Depending on the nature of the problem you will see either a doctor or a nurse practitioner 

OPTION TWO

Q  “I would like to see a specific doctor/nurse practitioner. Can I book 3 or more days ahead?” 

 A  YES YOU CAN! RING AND MAKE A PRE-BOOKABLE APPOINTMENT As you know you may have to BOOK WELL AHEAD for some of our practitioners! 

OPTION THREE

Q “I have a problem/query/medication review that does not need a face to face appointment. How about telephone appointments?”

A  YES, THERE ARE TWO TYPES:

 - Acute: RING ON THE DAY
 - Routine: RING IN ADVANCE

The doctor will ring you back so please leave a contact number.

Routine telephone appointments can be with the practitioner of your choice. Acute telephone appointments will usually be with whoever is available.

Appointments FAQ

Q: Do I have to tell the receptionist the nature of my problem?
A: It helps us to place you with the right person and helps your doctor/nurse prepare for the consultation, but if you would rather not say, just say it’s personal.

Q: How long is an appointment?
A: A standard face to face appointment is 10 minutes long and if it is a telephone consultation 5 minutes. You can request a “double appointment” if your problems are likely to take longer to deal with.

Q: Do you lose many appointments each month by people forgetting to attend?
A: Probably about 400 appointments a month! Please ring and cancel if you cannot attend.

Q:Can I have a chaperone?
A: If you need to be examined and your practitioner has not offered you a chaperone but you would feel more comfortable with one, just ask for one Alternatively feel free to bring along someone of your choosing, if you prefer.

Q: What have you done about the government’s wish to improve access for busy people?
A: We now offer pre-bookable appointments with a general practitioner from 7am to 8am three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and between 8 am and 10 am on Saturdays or 9 am and 11 am depending on the GP.

Q: Why do you prefer to see people at the surgery, when it is often easier and more convenient for patients to request a home visit?
A: It is mostly a time issue, though improved examination and testing facilities at the surgery can often be relevant. For example, in the 2 hours is takes to do 3 home visits, including writing them up on the practice computers, we can see 12 patients at the surgery.

Q: If I feel it is an urgent problem will you see me quickly?
A: Yes, always. If you feel you are not getting that point across to the person you are speaking to, please ask them to send a message to a doctor.

Telephone Consultations & Advice

Many medical problems can be resolved by telephone, saving you the need to make a time-consuming visit to the surgery. These can be booked with a doctor or a nurse.

There are 2 types:

Routine: The doctor/nurse will ring you back on the pre-arranged day so please leave some contact numbers. This gives you more choice as to who you speak to.

Acute On The Day [OTD]: The doctor/nurse will ring you back the same day. It may be the OTD doctor, or the doctor of your choice, who rings you back depending on availability.

Q What sort of problems are suitable for telephone consultations?
A: Many things really. Examples are: Prescription Queries Medication Reviews on simple drugs such as hayfever treatments or creams or pain killers Advice on Acute but non-serious illnesses In fact most things that don’t require a hands-on examination might be suitable. If the clinician [doctor/nurse] feels it needs a face to face appointment then we can always arrange one.

NHS Direct
Povides high quality telephone advice on 0845 4647. And their website has as a self help guide and health encyclopaedia http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Patient UK
Our favourite NHS website for reliable health information is however: http://www.patient.co.uk/

Test Results

Specimens need to be dropped in at the reception desk by 12noon so that we can send the samples off to the laboratories.

Please ring for results after 2.30pm when the surgery is less busy

The practice has a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection. We will only release test results to the person to whom they relate unless that person has given prior permission for the release of this data or is not capable of understanding the results.

Home Visits

Please ring by 10.30 AM if at all possible to enable us to prioritise and plan.

Generally only for genuinely housebound patients or the terminally ill.

Please give the receptionist as much information as possible.

The doctor will ring you before deciding on the visit.

Lack of transport is not a reason for a home visit: please arrange for someone to bring you to the surgery.

A: It is mostly a time issue, though improved examination and testing facilities at the surgery can often be relevant. For example, in the 2 hours is takes to do 3 home visits, including writing them up on the practice computers, we can see 12 patients at the surgery.