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Telephone
244040
There are several appointments lines into
the surgery and when they
are busy then there is a short
stacking system where you might be
asked to hold the line for a few
minutes. Our staff always try to
answer the lines promptly but there
obviously are times when demand is
high and short waits are inevitable.
48-hour Access
We offer 48-hour access to patients.
This means that when you phone there
should always be an appointment
available to see the doctor within
48 hours.
Duration of Appointments
The doctors are working with a
system of 10 minute appointments.
Please bear in mind that if you
bring more than one problem to a
consultation, it may be difficult
for your doctor to manage more than
one issue and you may be asked to
return to another appointment. If
you feel that your appointment needs
to be longer, then it is possible to
request a double appointment when
booking.
Nurse Practitioners
Please remember that our Nurse
Practitioners have had further
specialist training and are
available to deal with a range of
medical problems. They have 15
minute appointments.
Extended Hours
We are currently
offering extended hours for
pre-booked appointments as
follows:
Monday
Evenings 6.30pm - 8.30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
mornings 7am - 8am.
Anyone needing an
urgent appointment will be offered
one that day.
Please call as soon as possible in
the morning when the surgery opens.
We will try to provide an
appointment with your doctor where
possible, but it may not be with
your own Doctor.
If the Doctor feels the problem was
not an emergency, they will inform
you of this and ask you to make a
routine appointment.
Remember, in a real emergency you
can call 999.
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What if I am an “emergency”?
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Can I see my “own doctor”
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What if I think I need
advice rather than an
appointment?
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What if it is probably not
the doctor that I need for
help?
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What if I need a home visit?
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What if I would prefer to
discuss my problem with a
lady doctor?
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What if I have a problem
with my hospital
appointment?
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What is the best time to
phone?
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When shall I use Accident &
Emergency at the hospital?
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How do I book an ambulance?
1. What if I am an
“emergency”?
Firstly, please remember
that you should not hesitate
to use 999 and request the
help of the paramedics if
the situation appears very
urgent. The on-call doctor
for the day is available
until 6 pm and will always
try and respond to urgent
requests for help. The
on-call doctor has an
evening surgery booked from
4.30 pm till 6.00 pm, but
please bear in mind that
this is really for urgent
problems that will not wait
for a routine appointment.
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2. Can I see my “own doctor”
Patients often prefer to see
their own doctor and indeed
the doctors themselves much
prefer this system. The
problem for the Practice is
that patients needing help
“on the day” need to find
that there is an appointment
available for them. We have
tried to compromise by
ensuring that all the
doctors have a number of
appointments each day, which
can be booked up to 1 month
in advance, and the
remainder of their
appointments can be booked
within 48 hours. If your own
doctor’s surgery has been
fully booked, then you will
be offered an appointment
with an alternative doctor.
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3. What if I think I need
some advice rather than an
appointment?
Please remember NHS
Direct. This has become a
very efficient and useful
way of providing information
for patients and, if you use
it to its maximum advantage,
then it helps to keep some
pressure off the surgery.
Web site address:
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
Please take a look at this
site. We think it is excellent
and offers an enormous range
of medical advice.
Telephone number : 0845 46
47 if you feel you need to
discuss the problem with a
specialist nurse.
Secondly, if you feel that
your advice particularly
needs to come from the
Practice itself, then the
receptionist can arrange for
a doctor or nurse to phone
you back.
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4. What if it is probably
not the doctor that I need
for help?
If you think someone else
would be better suited to
help you, then please
remember their direct lines
and use them whenever
possible:
Health Visitors : 544088
District Nurses : 208236
Welfare Rights Officer :
244040 Appointments number
to leave message
or book an appointment.
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5. What if I need a home
visit?
Please remember to phone
before 10 am if possible
because after 11.30 am it is
only the on-call doctor who
is available for
visits, whereas before 11.30
am it may be that there are
5 or 6 doctors who can
respond.
Please remember that home
visits are really for those
who are truly housebound or
are too ill to be
transported to the surgery.
It is of great help to the
doctors if you are able to
find a way to get to the surgery as substantial
amounts of time are saved.
Our
reception staff will always
try and be helpful and
ensure that you are seen
promptly if you have made a
special effort to get down
to
the surgery.
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6. What if I would prefer to
discuss my problem with a
lady doctor?
We include several female
doctors within the Practice
and you are certainly welcome to book appointments
to discuss specific medical
problems with them.
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7. What if I have a problem
with my hospital
appointment?
Your best plan is to discuss
this with the hospital:
If it is a simple enquiry
about your appointment, then
use the hospital appointments number.
Or, if you have a more
general enquiry about your
hospital management, then it
sometimes helps to phone the
secretary of the
consultant who is managing
your case.
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8. What is the best time to
phone?
For home visits - phone as
early as possible after 8.30
am.
For routine enquiries, test
results etc. or routine
appointments please try to call in the afternoon when
the telephone lines are
quieter.
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9. When shall I use Accident
& Emergency at the hospital?
Any accident which might
require x-rays or
investigations and immediate
nursing care.
Any surgical emergency,
Assault, Road Traffic
Accident.
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10. How do I book an
ambulance?
For your first appointment
we usually arrange this and
you can contact us on
244040.
For all follow up
appointments, then these
arrangements should be made
by the hospital.
If you have any queries
about your ambulance
booking, you should contact
the admin staff at the
surgery on 244040 as
regards the first booking.
Thereafter ring the clinic
staff at the hospital in the
department where your
appointment is.
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