Appointments
Access Standards
The practice aims to provide the following access standards:
a prompt response to patients contact with their GP
have an appropriate telephony system in place and interrogate data regularly
ensure patients receive bilingual information when contacting the practice
ensure patients are able to access information on how to get help
ensure patients receive the right care in the right way in a joined up approach
have a range of options to contact the practice
are able to e-mail the practice for a non urgent consultation
evaluate patient demands regarding services ensuring we provide services required
E Consult
This is our preferred method of contact and it will save you time. Use E Consult (see Home Page) to ask a Clinician about your health symptoms, conditions or treatment. You can even request things like sick notes and GP letters.
Telephone Appointments
You can access appointments with a Dr or Practice Nurse by telephoning reception from 8.30am (we have 6 lines at peak times)
The receptionist will ask you questions. Please give as much detail as you can so that you can be directed as quickly as possible to an appropriate person who can deal with your problem. Please bear in mind receptionists have to adhere to the same confidentiality codes as Drs and Practice Nurses and they will try to help you as much as they can.
Remember - An appointment with a clinician could be either a face to face, telephone or video consultation.
Routine Appointments - In Advance
These may be booked in advance with the Dr of your choosing depending on availability. Appointments are 10 minutes long - if you feel your problem is complex or if you have a long list of problems please book a double appointment.
Routine Appointments - On The Same Day
A number of routine appointments are opened daily, these are dealt with in this way:
1. An appointment will be offered, or
2. A Doctor will call you back, or
3. The next available routine appointment will be offered. If there are no appointments are available on the day you want, you will be offered the next available routine appointment, or
4. For some symptoms, you may be directed towards an alternative healthcare professional such as a Pharmacist, Dentist, or Optician.
ANY CHILDREN UNDER 16 WHO HAVE AN ACUTE CONDITION WILL BE OFFERED A SAME DAY APPOINTMENT WITH A GP.
If you feel you need to be seen sooner or urgently please give the receptionist as much details as possible to pass to a Dr so he/she can triage your request and try to help as resources allow. You may then be offered an emergency appointment.
Please try and pre-book routine appointments where possible.
If you are unable to attend for your appointment, please ring reception or cancel on-line.
If you are abusive, repeatedly fail to attend your appointments or repeatedly abuse the emergency appointment system we may be removed from our list.
Contraception Appointments - please make these by phone
If you require a contraception appointment please telephone the surgery, do not attempt to book an appointment online. Unlike routine appointments, contraception appointments may require the assistance of a trained Nurse and the surgery allocates certain times throughout the month for these.
Emergency Appointments
If all appointments are taken and you feel your problem is an emergency then you will be given an emergency triage telephone appointment with a Dr. They will decide how they can best help you. These are only 5 minute appointments and are not for dealing with long standing problems.
If the doctor feels it is not an emergency you will then be advised to book a routine appointment at reception.
Telephone Consultations
These are to save patients time in travelling into the surgery to see us. They are suitable for problems where an examination is not needed. - If you feel your problem can be dealt with over the telephone please enquire with reception to arrange this.
Telephone Advice
All doctors and nurses are available for telephone advice, however this service may not always be available on the same day you call, depending on demand and other commitments. Again this is for health advice and is not meant to be for simple administrative tasks such as requesting prescriptions or booking appointments. If the Dr finds this is the case you will be redirected.