Appointments

To make an appointment with a Doctor please telephone us on 01303 851122 as early as you can in the morning from 0800 onwards (Monday to Friday). We offer advance and "book on the day" appointments. On occasion, particularly in the mornings, your telephone number may be taken and a Doctor or Nurse practitioner may phone you back to discuss your problem before offering you an appointment. Often, problems can be dealt with over the phone, or by seeing one of our Nurse Practitioners, without the need to see a Doctor.

If you have a medically urgent problem, we will try our best to fit you in no matter when you call us. One Doctor is on duty each day for emergencies, though if you are fitted in to see him/her you must bear in mind that (s)he may get called out of the surgery to an emergency so (s)he may run late. Please ask the receptionist to get your Doctor to call you back if you have any problem getting an appointment when it is convenient.

We follow the government policy that each mornign there are always appointmetns availaible for patietns to be seen by a Doctor withion 48 hours.

If you wish to make an appointment to see one of our nurses, please ring the above number at any time. Nurse appointments are all offered on a book in advance basis.

Visits

If you feel you need a home visit. Please try to phone us as EARLY IN THE DAY AS YOU CAN as this helps the duty Doctor plan his rounds. During the time it takes to visit one person about four could be seen in the surgery, in addition the lack of equipment in the home makes it more difficult to treat you correctly. In common with all surgeries, therefore, we will only be able to visit those who are bed bound and cannot attend in the surgery. The Doctor may phone to discuss the case with you before he visits.

Telephoning for results

If you are calling us to find out the result of a test, or for some other non urgent matter such as asking for medical certificates etc, please call after 10am to allow our phone lines in the first few hours of the morning to be kept free for patients ringing to make appointments with the Doctors.

Talking with the Doctor over the phone

If you have a concern regarding your health you wish to disucuss, particularly if you are unsure as to whether you need to see the Doctor urgently or not, you can talk to your Doctor by phone. Please ring as early in the day as you can and the receptionists will take your number so the Doctor can call you back. (This is done so that the Doctor is not interrupted during his surgeries with other patients by phone calls). Please ring as early in the day as you can so that there is time left in the day to arrange any treatment that may be needed.

Repeat Prescriptions

If your Doctor prescribes you regular medication and has told you you can simply get repeat prescriptions for it without seeing him/her every time you can do one of two things. There is a box at the front desk of the surgery you can leave your request in ( the right hand side of your prescription or if not available, a note). Depending on your wishes it can either be left for you at the front desk when ready or sent to a chemist of your choice. You may also apply for repeat prescriptions by post ... but you MUST enclose a STAMPED ADDRESSED ENVELOPE for us to return them to you. Please allow PLENTY OF TIME for us to process your request. We normally require a minimum of 48 working hours. This means that a prescription handed in on friday afternoon, will not be ready until 48 working hours after this time, ie tuesday afternoon. We need this time to ensure prescriptions are prepared accurately.