HOW
DO I...
MAKE
AN APPOINTMENT?
Consultations are held Monday to Friday between 8.00am
and 5.00pm (variable).
Consultations with
the doctor or practice nurses are by appointment only. They can be made at the
reception desk or by telephone during normal surgery hours. Some patients need
longer than their allotted time and we would ask that you bear this in mind should
the doctor or nurse be running late. Please do not blame the receptionist if you
are kept waiting or if she is unable to offer you exactly what you want. She is
doing a difficult job and working under extreme pressure, so please try to be
patient.
We try to provide sufficient appointments each day for urgent cases. This may
mean adding appointments to an already overbooked surgery so please only ask for
an urgent appointment when you have a problem that really can’t wait.
For urgent appointments it is not always possible to see the doctor of your
choice. Try not to
“save up” several problems for one appointment. If you require a longer
appointment please tell the receptionist when booking and, for the same reasons,
please don’t squeeze additional people into your slot. Also, when you
arrive at the surgery, don’t forget to tell the receptionist you have arrived!
If you cannot keep your appointment, please let us know as soon
as possible so that we can give your appointment to another patient.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
A HOME VISIT?
Home visits are intended for the housebound
and those too ill to travel. If you are too ill to come to the surgery, please
telephone between 9.00 and 10.00am if possible. You may be asked a few questions
about the problem by the receptionist who can then help the doctors assess the
urgency of the visit so that they can plan their rounds to see the urgent cases
first.
Remember we can see three or four people in the surgery in the time an average
home visit takes.
Please, therefore, try to come to the surgery whenever possible as we have better facilities
for examination.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
TEST RESULTS?
For enquiries about results from hospital,
please call after 10.30am. It usually takes 24 hours for investigations
and 10 days for letters from consultants to come.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN A SICKNESS CERTIFICATE?
You do not need a doctor’s
certificate until you have been absent for six days.
A self-certificate covers the period of less than six days. Private sick notes
may be requested from the doctor for periods of less than six days but please
note that a fee is payable for this service and that you are not legally obliged
to offer medical certification for absences of less than six consecutive days.
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