Appointments

Appointments:-are available from 09:00 – 17:30 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 08:30 – 17:30 on Tuesdays. Extended hours surgery is available 17:30 – 18:30 on a weekday (usually Tuesday or Wednesday)

The doctors and nurses are available by appointment only. Appointments can be made by calling at, or telephoning the surgery during surgery hours. Patients can see any of the GP partners.

You will normally be offered the first available appointment for any GP. If your condition is not urgent, or you wish to see a specific GP, or at a particular time, you may have to wait a little longer, depending on how busy we are.

Although doctors try to keep surgeries running to time, some consultations will take longer than others. We therefore ask you to please be patient if you are kept waiting a little beyond your appointment time.

Emergency Appointments

Emergency medical conditions are seen immediately. Patients who feel their condition needs same day attention will be offered an urgent appointment to attend.

Nurse Triage

The surgery provides nurse led triage system for emergency appointments. Your details are taken by reception staff, and passed to the nurse who can assess the situation and determine the best course of action.

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.

When calling the practice , the reception staff will ask for some details about your problem this is to ensure that you receive the right care, first time as efficiently as possible.

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10:00.

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. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community 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).

Training Practice

The practice is a training practice and therefore for the majority of the year we will have a fully qualified doctor who is new to General Practice, working with us, prior to finding a practice of his or her own.

We are also involved in teaching medical and nursing students on a regular basis. It’s hoped that patients will normally be agreeable to having a student present during the consultation, but if there is any concern, please don’t hesitate to notify the receptionist or doctor.

Our GP Registrar is obliged to record their consultation on a regular basis. If you are asked to have your consultation videotaped, we’d be most grateful for your co-operation, but this is a purely voluntary process and if you decline it will not prejudice your relationship with the doctor in any way.