The New Surgery

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TELEPHONE ADVICE?

All consultations are by appointment (see section on appointments) and are for 10 minutes approximately. Some problems can be resolved over the telephone. The receptionist will take any brief details you are happy to provide together with a phone number you can be contacted on. This will be given to your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor may not be able to speak to you, if necessary, till the end of surgery or later in the day.

HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT (01494 782262)?

Appointments to see the doctors, nurses or other health professionals can be made through reception either in person or by phone. If you phone into the surgery you will be offered a menu of options; please listen to all options before choosing. (If you know what option you want you can press it after the short introduction. For appointments this is option 1). Routine GP & general nurse appointments are for 10 minutes approximately.

Appointments offered:

* routine appointments that can be pre-booked
* book-on-the-day only appointments and
* extended hours appointments (routine pre-book-able)
* urgent on-the-day appointment. The duty doctor will decide on the urgency of this request.

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee your appointment will be with your usual doctor.

However, we endeavour to meet patients' requests to see their choice of doctor but this is not always possible. Please inform the receptionist when making your appointment if you think you will need a longer appointment. A separate appointment is necessary for each member of the family wishing to see a doctor or nurse. If you cannot keep your appointment please inform us as soon as possible as this will allow us to assist another patient. Please note that if you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment we cannot guarantee that the doctor will be able to see you, but you may be offered an appointment at the end of surgery.

* Please note: if after consulting with your doctor you are asked to return in the near future please make this forward appointment before you leave the surgery.

Practice DNA ('did not attend') policy:
If you persistently (more than three occasions) fail to attend a booked appointment without giving reasonable notice to cancel, you may be asked for an explanation.

Acute emergencies:
If you are confronted with a life-threatening emergency such as severe chest pains, profuse bleeding or semi-unconsciousness you/your companion should telephone 999 for an ambulance or attend the nearest accident and emergency department immediately.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?

Home visits are at the discretion of your doctor. Please do not ask your doctor to call unless the patient is genuinely too ill to come to the surgery. A rash or temperature does not prevent patients coming to the surgery and will not endanger others. Simply tell the receptionist on arrival. Where the condition of the patient does require a home visit, please try to let us know before 10.30am.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?

These may be obtained by ringing 01494 782262 between 11.30am - 1.00pm and between 3.00 - 4.00pm. The receptionist may then inform you of the result if the doctor has seen it and noted that the result can be given, or she may ask you to arrange an appointment with your doctor to review/discuss your result at your GP's request. It is practice policy to give results of medical tests only to the patients concerned and to the parents/guardians of those under 16 years of age.

Laboratory Specimens

Specimens are sent to the hospital on Monday to Friday. If you are asked to bring a specimen on those days please ensure that we receive it before 12 noon.