Appointments

There are two types of appointments, see the times on the Consulting Times page. One type is where the appointment is requested in advance. The other is for problems that can arise at very short notice, and for these, appointments can be requested by ringing the surgery early that morning. The telephone lines open from 8.45 am.

Please remember that one appointment is for one person only. Trying to fit someone else in who has not been booked can delay other patients from being seen at their appointed time.

If you have several problems all of these should be made known to the doctor, in case they are related. The Doctor might not be able to deal with all of them in the one appointment. Trying to cover more than one unrelated problem can delay the other patients from being seen at their appointed time. You have the option to book a double appointment if you feel that it will take more than ten minutes to deal with your ailments.

The Surgery will be closed from 1pm-2pm. If you have an emergency during this time, please consider phoning 999 or contact the surgery where you will be provided with an alternative number.

Urgent Cases

We see urgent cases at the end of our normal morning appointment lists. All urgent cases will be seen that morning. Emergencies will be assessed as soon as possible. At these times we are unlikely to have access to blood tests and the time available is less than for a normal appointment. You will be seen by whichever doctor is available. This might not be the doctor you usually see.

Our Practice sees urgent cases quickly and we would ask you to only use this rapid access service responsibly. If it is felt by the doctor that your problem was not of an urgent nature, you will be asked to make a more appropriate normal appointment at a later date.

Appointments To See The Nurse

Appointments can be made to see both our Treatment Room Nurse and Practice Nurse. Please make enquiries at reception.If you are requested to attend the treatment room by one of the doctors, always report at reception first, to ensure that our nurse knows you are waiting. Our nurses are available to advise on illnesses, injuries and vaccinations.

General Information

We aim to offer our patients a consultation within 48 hours, whether the appointment is urgent or not, although this may not be with a Doctor of your choice. Normal appointments are booked every ten minutes. We aim to see you within 30 minutes of your appointed time. Because of the unpredictable nature of our work, sometimes the problem needs a little more time. If and when delay occurs, we do appreciate your patience and understanding. Similarly, if one of the doctors must leave on an emergency visit, there will be delay. We will keep you informed should this happen.

If you require further information on our 48 hour access please contact our Receptionists or Practice Manager.

If you cannot keep an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible. The appointment slot can then be given to someone else.

 

Home Visits

Home visits are made for patients who are unable to attend the surgery, on the grounds of Medical Condition only. If a patient requires attention, and the doctor feels they are fit to travel, the patient will be required to come to the surgery. We cannot make exceptions for transport difficulties. You will be expected to make whatever arrangements are necessary.

Any requests for home visit should be made before 10.00 am. The receptionist will take the patient’s detail and information regarding the reason for the request. She will then speak to the doctor, and if the doctor feels he has enough information available, the doctor will decide if a visit is to be made. If the doctor requires more detail, they may speak to the caller directly or telephone back if appropriate.

Each home visit takes four to five times as long as a surgery consultation. Home visits will therefore be at the discretion of the Doctor.

Telephone Calls

We set time aside for telephone calls after surgery hours. Unless urgent, no calls are put through to the doctor during surgery times. Interuptions  impact on the quality of the consultation and we like to keep them to an absolute minimum.

Our receptionists will take requests for telephone calls, your contact details will be recorded and the Doctor will return your call  as soon as they can.

 

Our receptionists will be happy to give you information regarding any test results between the hours of 10am-1pm and 2pm -5.30pm.

 

Alternatively if you would like to discuss these results with the doctor you can make an appointment to do so.

 

Our doctors read and process all results and attach advice to any results that are not normal, the receptionist will then have access to the processed results. If the doctor asks to review the patient then the receptionist will contact the patient.

 

Patients sometimes require medical examinations or reports for driving/pre-employment/insurance.

 

This is private work and a fee is sometimes required.

 

Please advise reception if you are making an appointment for this type of service as the doctor will arrange a specific time to do this work and you will be advised of the fee in advance.