We offer a system where all of our patients have their own named accountable GP and we try to encourage patients to see their own GP where possible. There could be times when you need to see a Doctor and your GP is not in that day, on these occasions you will be offered an alternative GP for the appointment.
If you are unsure who your named GP is, please ask reception.
If you wish to change your named accountable GP, please inform us and we will make every effort to accommodate your request.
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When we are Closed
If you need to access GP services when the surgery is closed you should telephone 111.
The out-of-hours service is available when your GP surgery is closed and is only for urgent health problems that cannot wait until the surgery re-opens. The service operates at night, over the weekend, on bank holidays and if the surgery is closed for training purposes. It is not designed for the request or collection of repeat prescriptions, your GP surgery will handle these.
In a genuine emergency you should call 999. Chest pains and / or shortness of breath constitute an emergency.
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Direct to Your Doctor
We run a telephone triage system called “Direct to Doctor”, we have introduced this to provide a much more responsive system and a better quality service to all our patients.
This means that instead of phoning the practice or coming down to the surgery and having a receptionist book a GP appointment for you, our doctors will speak with the patient first on the telephone and then book an appointment according to the clinical need. When your doctor assesses that you need to be seen quickly they can schedule you an appointment the very same day or, if it is a routine matter that can wait a few days, they will give you an appointment within that timeframe. Alternatively there will be times when they can help you without the need for you to be seen in person which will save you the trouble of coming down to the surgery.
Direct to Doctor – How does it work for you the patient?(Please also see the video at the top of this page)
From the patient’s point of view it is really simple:
- Phone your GP Surgery before 12pm on the day you would like to speak to the Doctor (No need to rush you do not have to ring at 08:00am).
- There is no advantage in coming to the surgery, you will be given a telephone call slot alongside all the others who have phoned in.
- Give your telephone contact details to the receptionist and arrange a convenient timeframe to be called back by your GP.
- You will be asked some simple questions to help determine if it is an ‘urgent matter’ or if it is a ‘routine’ matter. This will really help your Doctor prioritise the calls.
- Speak directly to your doctor, usually within two hours of calling the surgery, if they are working that day.
- Our clinicians will try and call all patients twice as a minimum on the telephone number provided, if you have been unable to answer your telephone please do call us back so we can try again at a more convenient time.
If you are unsure who your named GP is, please ask reception.
If you wish to change your named accountable GP, please inform us and we will make every effort to accommodate your request.
If you have requested a call back from us please note that the clinician will attempt to call all patients a minimum of two times on the same day, with a minimum of 20 minutes between the calls. Where possible we do try and make it as close to any preferred stated times, but this is not always achievable due to potential medical emergencies and booked appointments. If we are unable to get through to you we may leave a voice message if possible to do so, this will be to ask you to return our call with an available number and or time so we can try again. Thank you for your patience.
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Consulting Times
Please be aware this is only a guide and may be subject to change.