General Services
Appointments
Home Visits
Out-Of-Hours
Repeat Prescriptions
Obtaining Test Results
Travel Advice and Vaccinations
Change of Name or Address
Appointments
All of the clinical staff, both Doctors and Practice Nurses, operate an appointment system for consultations. To book, cancel or change an appointment either come in to the surgery or telephone (0118) 950 5121.
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please make sure you inform us as soon as possible so we can offer it to someone else.
We do our best to ensure doctors’ and nurses’ appointments are not booked up too far in advance, and there are always 10 minute routine appointments available each day. If you feel that you require a longer appointment, you should mention this to the receptionist when you book. It is also possible to make an appointment up to 8 weeks in advance, which is ideal if you have an ongoing condition which needs regular checkups. The telephone appointment service opens at 8.00am for morning surgery and 2.00pm for afternoon surgery and you should ring as soon as possible after these times to get one of the routine appointments.
If you feel your problem is too urgent to wait until the next routine appointment please tell the receptionist, and they will endeavor to fit you in on the end of one of the surgeries that day. All we ask is that you do not abuse this system simply to ‘jump the queue’, and that you should be prepared to come down to the surgery and wait.
If more than one member of your household needs to be seen, make sure each has a separate appointment.
Routine appointments should not be made simply to get a repeat prescription, unless the doctor has asked you to make an appointment to review your medication.
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Home Visits
These can only be offered to patients who are housebound or too ill to come to surgery. Home visits are an extremely inefficient way for doctors to see patients (it takes about four times as long, and little medical equipment is available), so we always encourage patients to do everything they can to come to us (eg. using a taxi, or a neighbour, for a lift).
If possible make sure you request the visit before 10am. After 10am it is harder for the doctor to fit the visits into the middle of the day, and it may have to wait until the following working day.
Out-of-Hours
When the surgery is closed a doctor is still available for medical emergencies. If you need a doctor out-of-hours then ‘phone the surgery enquiry line on (0118) 950 5121 and an answering machine message will tell you how to contact the emergency doctor.
Repeat Prescriptions
Many patients on regular medication are permitted to request repeat prescriptions without the need for an appointment, although periodically we may ask you to make an appointment for review of your health and treatment. Patients who are new to the surgery will need to have been seen by a doctor before they will be able to get any regular prescriptions prescribed by us.
All prescription requests must be made in writing (for safety reasons we do not accept telephone requests), and please allow two working days for us to prepare your prescription. We are very happy to deal with requests by post, and if you enclose a stamped-addressed envelope we will send your prescription back to you.
It is also possible to request repeat prescriptions via our on-line service by Clicking Here, for collection from the surgery. Please bring the confirmation email with you when you come to collect.
Please do not make an appointment to see the doctor if it is purely for a repeat prescription – you could be depriving someone of an appointment.
Obtaining Test Results
Please phone the surgery (choosing option number 1) between 12.00pm & 12.30pm or 6.00pm and 6.30pm, for the results of blood tests, X-rays, smears and other tests.
If we receive a test that indicates that urgent action is required we will try to contact you.
It is important that you always let us know of any change of telephone number or address to prevent any problems.
We always encourage you to take a share in the responsibility for finding out your results to allow for the rare eventuality of the result going missing.
Do keep any follow up appointments that have been arranged even if your results are all normal.
Travel Advice and Vaccinations
We offer the full range of travel vaccinations, including Yellow Fever, and our nursing staff are always happy to advise on the requirements for your trip. They will also advise on malaria prevention, and other health issues which may be relevant to your journey. Please note that you should attend for travel vaccinations at least 4 weeks in advance for immunity to develop.
Some vaccinations will require boosters before you travel, so please always consult the nurse at the earliest opportunity after you have planned your journey.
Please note that many travel vaccinations are not NHS services and therefore attract a fee. Details are available at reception or from the nurses.
Change of Name or Address
If you change your name, either by marriage or by deed poll, we need to see copies of the documentation so that the changes can be made on your medical records. We will take a photocopy and return the originals.
If , for some reason, you note that the date of birth we have recorded for you is incorrect, please bring an official document (passport, driving licence etc) which shows the correct date.
If you change address, please notify the surgery as soon as possible. If you have moved out of our area we will give you information on registering at a new surgery closer to your home.
It is very important that we have up-to-date contact details for you. If you change any of your telephone numbers (home, business or mobile) please contact the surgery so that we may update our records.
If you would also like to be contacted by email, please use the link below.
Click Here to enter your details