Is a GP the best person to see?

Traditionally, a doctor was the first port of call for most health concerns. This is no longer always the best option, so it is worth spending some time considering who in the wider health care team is best placed to meet your need. NHS Inform has a wealth of information about how to self manage many problems, and has a helpline where you can speak to an advisor for advice. You can also refer yourself directly to many services:

Same day appointments with a doctor

Appointments for consultation with a doctor are available from 08:30 until 16.45pm  

If you phone between 08.00-09:00 Monday to Friday we will usually be able to offer you an appointment that day, or a phone call to be able to discuss the problem with a doctor.

Each GP appointment is 15 minutes long. If you wish to have 30 minutes you should ask for a double appointment when you book.

The majority of people are keen to have their health concerns dealt with promptly. For this reason most of our appointments are “bookable on the day”. On very busy days the receptionist may not be able to immediately offer you an appointment on the same day. In this situation you will be offered to book an appointment in advance for our extended hours surgeries.  

Urgent Problems

If you believe the problem is urgent and you have to be seen that day by us, then we will always accommodate you and fit you in as an emergency no matter what time you phone.  The Receptionist will ask for a brief description of your problem. 

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.  Patients who continually book and do not attend may be removed from the Practice list. 

Our Partners have pre-bookable telephone appointments.  Only book these if you do not need examined as they are outwith the opening times of the Health Centre so you cannot be seen. These appointments are available on a Monday morning, Monday evening and Wednesday evening.  

Appointments can be booked online. Click on the Online Services tab, or click here.

CURRENTLY SUSPENDED 

Each GP appointment is 15 minutes long. If you wish to have 30 minutes you should ask for a double appointment when you book.

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.

Did Not Attend

If you do not attend and fail to cancel then you will receive a letter from the Practice, we have a policy in place that if you fail to attend 3 times within the year you will be removed from the Practice list and will have to register with another Doctor in the area.  

If you wish to speak to a doctor on the phone then ask the receptionist to book a telephone consultation. They will offer you a two hour time slot during which one of the doctors will be able to contact you by telephone.  Please remember to update us if you change your telephone number.

Our Practice Nurses have retired.  We have a limited amount of resources that we must work within, so when our nurse retired we decided to invest in more time from our Advanced  Pharmacist (Sandra Cahill).  She can help people manage their long-term conditions. Sandra works Monday to Thursday. 

In many cases it is more appropriate to ask for an appointment with Sandra rather than a doctor. Sandra is a qualified prescriber and is able to deal with many conditions. These include:

• Asthma and COPD (Sandra)
• High blood pressure (Sandra)
• Angina and heart disease (Sandra
• Diabetes (Sandra)
• Cervical smears - carried out once a month by a locum nurse telephone the surgery for an appointment

Our health care assistant Anne is also happy to help you with advice on keeping healthy, for example:  Anne works Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all day 

• Blood pressure checks
• Weight loss advice
• Exercise advice, including Live Active referrals
• Alcohol brief intervention
• Help with smoking cessation

Home Visits 

If possible please try to telephone before 10:00 if you think that a home visit is necessary. Requests made after this time may be deferred to the next day.

A doctor may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or by making an appointment at the surgery. In some cases it may be more appropriate to arrange a hospital attendance. 

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability. Home visits to young children are usually not considered appropriate as they can be brought to the surgery. Please try and ensure that the request for a home visit is absolutely necessary as five patients can be seen in the surgery in the time it takes to make one home visit. 

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.

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)

We are sorry if you are having difficulty booking an appointment. It is very important to us to make our services as accessible as possible. Our small team provides around 30,000 consultations a year, that's around 600 consultations a week. However we recognise that isn't always enough, especially at times of peak demand. The funding for our service from the NHS amounts to approximately £10 per patient per month, which limits our ability to provide more appointments than we do at present, although we are always working hard to be able to do so.

We support the Royal College of GPs campaign Put Patients First: Back General Practice. Click here if you would like to get involved.

Urgent Problems

If you believe the problem is urgent and you have to be seen that day by us, then we will always accommodate you and fit you in as an emergency no matter what time you phone.