Appointments

Routine Medical Consultations

All our consultations, follow-up and results appointments are now managed via an online consultation & triage service.

Please call the surgery any time between 8am - 12 Noon to be provided with the access information for our online portal.

Medical requests should be submitted by midday using our online portal. All information is sent directly to a practice clinician for review and you will get a response within 48 hours. This means everyone that submits a request will be offered a written, telephone or face to face consultation within two weeks of your contact.

Depending on the information you provide. You may be booked or referred to one of our partner organisations or the most appropriate member of the clinical team in the practice such as community pharmacy, musculoskeletal consultants, clinical pharmacists, mental health practitioners, nurses or integrated urgent care hubs. 

Although you register with a specific doctor you are free to consult any our clinicians.  It is obviously an advantage to consult the same clinician regularly for any one complaint so that progress can be assessed and continuity of treatment maintained. You are free to submit your requested clinician an online request and this will be facilitated as much as possible. 

Practice Nursing Appointments

Our practice nursing team lead on chronic disease reviews, immunisations and cervical screening program.

Appointments with the practice nurses should be booked in advance by calling reception at any time.

Urgent Medical Consultations

General Practice is not an emergency service, hence our team may advise you to attend an emergency or urgent care service for assessment. Urgent triage encounters are available for urgent medical problems, on the day. You should call the practice and speak to our team to assist you. 

Consultations and Prescriptions

Do not be surprised if your healthcare professional does not give you a prescription.  Most common simple illnesses get better without any treatment at all. In particular antibiotics will not cure coughs, colds and flu, indeed they may make you feel worse.  The symptoms of common illnesses may be helped by simple remedies. Your local pharmacist will always be happy to advise.

We no longer issue printed prescriptions. All acute and repeat prescriptions are issued electronically to your nominated pharmacy. Please ensure you keep your nomination up to date. If you have consulted with a clinician that day, your prescription may not be ready to collect until after 5pm at your nomination pharmacy. 

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else. 

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you will need to submit an online triage request, as per routine medical consultations above.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound. A clinician will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

To request a sick note, please submit an admin query on our online triage service. This must be on the day it is required to start. 

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)