Appointments
We aim to ensure that our patients do not have to wait more than 2 working days for a routine appointment If you insist on seeing a specific doctor, your wait may be longer. If your condition is urgent, please inform the Reception Staff and we will see you that same day. Patients seen urgently cannot be guaranteed the time or doctor of their choice. An urgent condition is one that cannot reasonably be expected to wait until the next routine appointment. Only one patient per appointment, please.
NURSE APPOINTMENTS
When booking an appointment for the Nursing team our reception team are obliged to ask the nature of the appointment. This is purely because different nurse appointments require different times. Please tell the receptionist exactly what you need so they can ensure the correct time allotment. All our staff are covered by the same confidentiality rules and can be spoken to in total confidence.
Cancellation
Please ensure that you cancel any appointments that you no longer require. The number of patient who neither attend nor cancel their appointments is extremely high. These failures to attend are a total waste of NHS resources. Not attending booked appointments is very selfish and results in all others having to wait longer for appointments. Patients who repeatedly fail to attend appointments will be asked to find another Doctor.
Telephone Advice
When phoning to talk to a Doctor or Nurse please bear in mind the surgery times. The receptionists have been instructed not to interrupt a surgery except for emergencies. If you need to speak to a doctor or nurse please leave a message with a receptionist who will pass on the message after the clinic has finished. If the matter is urgent the receptionist will be able to put you through to the on-call doctor.
If possible tell the receptionist your question and she will often be able to to obtain a response from the on-call doctor without you needing to speak to a GP.