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How Do I... Make An Appointment?
Appointments can be made by telephoning 0345 111 1313
between 10.30am and 6.30pm or coming into the surgery.
Routine Appointments
All patients with routine medical needs are seen by appointment only. When booking an appointment, please let the receptionist know if you have any preference as to which practitioner you see. Patients are free to make an appointment with any of the doctors or nurses but are encouraged to see the same person for follow-up appointments.
There will generally be a longer wait for an appointment if you wish to see a particular doctor as some doctors have commitments to specialist roles and not all of the doctors work full-time.
The receptionist will confirm the earliest available appointment with the practitioner of your choice. It is then up to you whether you wait to see your doctor of choice or book with a different doctor with earlier availability.
A standard appointment length is:
Doctor: 10 minutes
Nurse: 15 minutes
If you feel this will be insufficient for your needs, please mention this
to the receptionist at the time of booking.
Attending Your Appointment
Please endeavour to arrive at the surgery in good time for your appointment. Patients arriving 15 minutes late for their appointment will be required to
re-book the appointment or, at the doctor's discretion may be seen at the end of the surgery.
On arrival please either use our automated check-in point or report to the reception desk. Patients are called by doctors and nurses using a display board. Any patient concerned they may not see the display board or hear their name if called should notify the receptionist on arrival.
Rescheduling Your Appointment
From time to time the Practice may need to contact patients promptly during opening
hours to re-arrange an appointment. Please, if possible, provide us with daytime
contact numbers in addition to your home telephone number.
Interpreters
The surgery has limited access to an interpreting service
for those patients who have recently come from abroad and need assistance during
consultations. Please note that at least 24 hours' notice is required for booking
this service.
Cancelling Appointments
If you are not able to keep, or no longer require an arranged appointment,
please inform us as soon as possible. We can then offer that appointment to another
patient. Patients who persistently fail to attend appointments with the doctor
or nurse, without good reason, will be removed from the Practice list.
How Do I... Obtain Telephone Advice?
0345 111 1313 (a lo-call rate)
For all non urgent calls we ask that patients call the surgery after
10.30am. Please note that all telephone calls to the Practice are recorded and
monitored.
Triage
A doctor is available daily on the telephone between 8.30 to 10.00am and 2.00 to 3.00pm for urgent problems and advice.
Medical Advice
NHS Direct on 0845 4647 provides 24-hour medical advice for patients.
How Do I... Obtain A Home Visit?
Home visits are provided for patients that are housebound or too ill to attend the surgery. Please telephone the Practice before 10.00am to request one, and do give the receptionist as much information as possible to enable the doctor to allocate priority to visits.
Remember that clinical examination is best carried out at the surgery.
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