HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
TELEPHONE ADVICE?
The surgery is very busy especially
in the early mornings and at lunchtimes. If all our reception staff are already
answering calls you may be held in our "queuing system" or a short time. We have improved our telephone system by ‘going digital’ and can now answer your calls more quickly. You will be answered as soon as one of our staff finishes
the call they are then dealing with. Requests for doctor appointments will be
dealt with by our receptionists.
If you need to speak to a specific
doctor please phone the surgery and we will leave a message for
them to ring you back. There is always a duty doctor and, wherever possible, they
will be available to deal with your query.
Please be patient when telephoning
the surgery. Try to phone later in the day for routine matters but before 10.30am
if you think you need to see a doctor or nurse that day.
HOW
DO I...
MAKE
AN APPOINTMENT?
Doctors’ surgeries and all clinics, with the exception of CASH (contraception and sexual health), are run on an appointment basis. The CASH clinic is a 'drop in' clinic. We will do our best to see you at your appointment time and only in exceptional circumstances will you be kept waiting longer than 30 minutes. In such an event we will keep you informed and, if required, make alternative arrangements.
We can usually arrange a consultation with a particular doctor if you specify this when making your appointment. Otherwise, though we will endeavour to accommodate such a request, some delay will be inevitable.
When the surgery is closed your call will be redirected automatically to the
out-of-hours service; just ring our normal number 01302 349431. You can help us by ensuring that separate appointments are made for each family member who needs to see a doctor and by informing us if you require any 'special' appointment times.
If the doctor has asked to see you again please book your follow-up appointment at the downstairs reception desk before leaving the building. This will save you a telephone call!
Please always inform us if you are unable to attend your appointment as failure to do so wastes both the doctor’s time and valuable appointment spaces. Failure to do this could lead to you being removed from the doctor’s list.
If you need to cancel your appointment you can do this any day, any time, by leaving a message on 01302 811188.
You will not be seen if you are more than 10 minutes late for your appointment.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
A HOME VISIT?
Home visits are only done at the discretion of the doctors, so please do not ask for a home visit unless you, or the patient you are asking for, is genuinely too ill to come to The Medical Centre. Please remember that, particularly in the case of children who have fevers or rashes, the problem can be dealt with much more quickly and efficiently here in The Medical Centre and any medication which may be needed can be collected at the same time.
If you need specific advice ask to talk to one of our nurses. When you request a visit at home, the receptionist who takes your call will ask for full details of the patient’s name, address and age. We also need a telephone number where you can be contacted and we need to know the reason for the visit. This information enables the doctors to assess how urgent the calls are and which visits need to be completed most quickly. Please remember that it will not be possible when requesting a home visit to have the doctor whom you usually see in the surgery visit you. Please make your request for home visits before 10.30am. This enables the doctors to plan their home visits efficiently within their working day.
Please note doctors will not visit to issue repeat prescriptions or sick notes.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
TEST RESULTS?
The waiting times for test results
are as follows :-
| Normal
blood results |
three
working days |
| Hormone
blood results |
ten
working days |
| Smears |
two weeks |
| X-rays |
ten
working days |
Please
note we will not get in touch with you regarding your results unless there is
a problem with one of them. If you need more information on how long your test
results are likely to take to come back from the hospital please ask the nurse.
Please remember that under no circumstances
will you be given the results for any patient other than yourself.
Do not ring the surgery for results.
We will contact you if there is a problem.
HOW
DO I...
COLLECT CORRESPONDENCE?
We will endeavour to have letters
and reports completed by the doctors ready for collection within 15 working days.
Patients can ring the surgery to see if a letter is ready prior to collection.
HOW
DO I...
REGISTER WITH THIS PRACTICE?
If you would like to register with us please bring in your medical card and complete a new patient questionnaire. You will be asked to book a new patient appointment where your medication and any ongoing problems can be recorded. After attending this appointment you will be registered with the practice.
Please note that failure to attend this appointment will result in you NOT being accepted as a patient.
We cover the following postcodes:
DN1-1 to DN1-3
DN2-4 to DN2-6
DN3-1 to DN3-3
DN4-4 to DN4-9
DN4-0.
You can also check the practice area map.
|
