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HOW DO I...
REGISTER WITH THE PRACTICE?
You may be eligible to register providing your residential address has an SG6 postcode. We do request that all patients wishing to register have a new patient check
and complete a questionnaire.
Patients are registered with the practice not an individual GP. Your medical card will be issued in the name of one of the doctors who will supervise your care. When
registering, some patients specify a GP to fulfil this role.
HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?
A full appointment system is operated. Please consider if it is necessary to have a face to face consultation with the doctor or is it a matter that could be dealt with my
speaking to a doctor on the telephone? If it is, please telephone the surgery and the receptionist will arrange for the doctor to call you back. Appointment bookings start at 8.00am every morning both on the phone and in
person at reception.
We have three types of appointment to see a doctor:
Next Day: Book for the following working day.
Advance: These appointments are at a set time and can be booked up to seven days ahead.
On The Day: These appointments are intended for medical problems that you feel cannot wait until the following day or the next available routine appointment. On some busy days we may operate a triage system for emergency appointments. You may be asked for brief details and your telephone number, and you will be called back shortly.
If you are unable to keep a booked appointment please telephone the surgery and choose the “cancellation” option or tell a receptionist.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?
Home visiting by the doctor is for those cases who are housebound through illness or disability. All other patients should attend the surgery for their consultations.
If you are unsure whether a house call is needed ask to speak to the doctor, who can advise you further.
Please make house call requests before 11.00am as this helps the planning of rounds.
Poorly children can safely be brought to surgery and we can arrange an isolated waiting area if needed.
The doctors do not routinely visit all patients who have been discharged from hospital unless requested.
HOW DO I...
CHANGE MY CONTACT DETAILS?
If you move within the practice area or change your name or telephone number, please complete a change of address form at the reception. It is important that you keep us
informed of these changes in case the doctor needs to contact you. If you move outside the practice area you should register with a doctor who is local to your new address. Please do not withhold information in order to
remain registered at the practice as this will cause great difficulties in an emergency. Furthermore, the Health Authority send out regular mailings which, if returned undelivered, will ensure your automatic removal from
the practice list.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?
If you have had a blood, urine or x-ray test it is important to check with us for the result. Please telephone after 2.00pm when the results line will be available to deal with
such enquiries. The doctors check the results before the receptionists are able to give any information. If the outcome of the test result needs a prescription, telephone conversation or an appointment with the doctor,
the surgery will get in touch with you by phone or letter. The results of cervical smear tests can take four to six weeks to come through. Most blood test results reach the surgery after 48 hours but some tests take up to
seven days. X-ray reports take a minimum of ten days to arrive.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A REPEAT PRESCRIPTION?
Repeat prescription requests cannot be taken over the telephone.
Patients on regular medication are given a printed list of their medicines. To obtain a repeat prescription leave this list with the receptionist having clearly marked the
items you are requesting. A new script will be ready for collection after 48 hours (two working days) or if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is left with us we can post it back to you. If you are aware that your list
contains medicines which are no longer needed, please inform reception who can update the records.
All prescribed medications are regularly reviewed by your doctor and the doctor may need to discuss your medication with you. When this happens you will be asked
to make an appointment.
Many of the local pharmacies offer a one-stop service. This means that if you take the printed list of medications to the chemist they will organise getting the request to the
surgery, collect the prescription and have it dispensed ready for you to collect. For housebound patients some chemists will also deliver the medication. Please ask the receptionists which chemists offer these
services.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A SICKNESS CERTIFICATE?
The days of needing a doctor’s note for all absences from work are long gone; however, not all employers are yet familiar with the current rules. If you are off
sick for less than seven days ask your employer whether you need to fill in a form SC2 which they provide. After a week’s sick leave you may need a form Med. 3 or Med. 5 from the doctor (hospital-based or GP)
who is treating you.
Any other certificates are not statutory and will only be issued on receipt of the standard charge.
HOW DO I...
MAKE A COMMENT/COMPLAINT?
In any organisation, from time to time, things can go wrong. There are in excess of 50,000 visits to our surgery premises annually and, hopefully, we get things
right most of the time. However, we need to know when a problem needs addressing so please contact our practice manager. Hopefully, we can resolve your concerns by a discussion with the manager but should the issue
need to be addressed through the more formal procedure then she will acknowledge your complaint promptly, provide all necessary information about the complaints procedure, make the necessary enquiries and report back to you as soon as reasonably possible.
You can ask for a copy of the leaflet which explains our procedure.
How can we make things better?
If you have an idea that might improve the service we offer we are always open to suggestions. Please ask to speak to the practice manager or write her a letter.
Lessons to be learnt
The practice has a mechanism for learning from experiences that have caused concern and where we feel we could improve our services and/or procedures. When an incident occurs
it is recorded in a log book. The appropriate members of the team discuss these events and measures put in place to try and ensure that there is no recurrence or that the system has improved. These measures are then
reviewed regularly.
We can also learn from positive experiences. So if something has worked well for you please let us know. Positive feedback is always good for morale and we might
be able to use these experiences to improve other aspects of our service.
We want to hear your views
We do want to know what you think about the services we provide. So you may be asked to complete a questionnaire which you could either be given at reception or receive by post. This information is extremely important to
us and is used constructively to examine how we are working. We will 'feedback' information about the outcomes of changes made as a result of these questionnaires through the practice newsletter and the surgery
noticeboards.
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