Appointments

* IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, PLEASE INFORM THE RECEPTIONIST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE *

* Due to restrictions on time, each appointment should be used to discuss one or two items only.

* Children under 16 years should always be accompanied by an adult.

* Evening telephone appointments are available between 17.30 - 18:30 on various evenings each week for those who work or cannot attend during the day.

How to book an appointment:

If you have a health matter that you wish to discuss, please phone Reception and a staff member will ask you for your details and a short description of your problem.

For certain conditions, you may be directed to a more appropriate service. Some examples are:

• Pharmacy First are the local community Pharmacies who are able to manage many health conditions
• LENS are local Opticians who can deal with eye problems
• NHS Inform

Our Reception staff will direct you appropriately, but if your health matter requires urgent medical or nursing advice then your name will be put onto the on-call list and a GP or Practice Nurse will phone you back on the same day. Based on the nature of your problem, they will:

• deal with your problem over the phone
• give you an appointment
• or direct you to another service

If you feel that your health matter is more routine (ie non-emergency), we also offer pre-bookable phone or face-to-face appointments, so that you can arrange a suitable appointment for a time that may be more convenient. 

In the event you do not wish to discuss your symptoms with Reception staff please say so. Please be assured our Reception staff are compelled to follow the same rules of confidentiality that a GP or Nurse does. However, without relevant information the GP or Nurse will be unable to prioritise your call appropriately.

Please give our Reception staff as much detail as possible as this will help the GPs and Nurses to prioritise who we phone back first. 

We believe that this system will ensure that patients will be directed to the right person for their problem, and that they will be looked after quickly and safely.

Telephone Advice

If you feel that your problem could be dealt with over the telephone rather than by visiting the surgery the doctor on-call and nurse practitioners are available for telephone advice.

Nurse Practitioners / Practice Nurses

In a number of cases it might be worth considering a telephone appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor. Practice nurses are qualified to deal with many ailments and you may be seen more quickly. Our two practice nurses are qualified Nurse Practitioners who can examine and prescribe for patients when required.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

Our Practice Policy states that failure to attend an appointment on three occasions without proper notification will result in removal from our list.

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10:30 if you require a home visit.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed.

You can be visited at home by a community District Nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a Health Visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)