HOW
DO I...
SEE
THE DOCTOR OR NURSE?
Please telephone the practice, rather than coming in. Your request will be assessed by our trained receptionists and you will be offered a telephone consultation with the duty doctor, or an appointment with the most appropriate clinician, depending on the nature and urgency of your request.
Doctors will often refer patients to see one of our specialist nurses if he/she decides that they are the most appropriate health care professional to deal with a particular problem.
We aim to see all urgent conditions within 48 hours.
You can book ahead with a nurse or doctor for a review of an ongoing condition. We aim to do this with a named person within 7 working days.
If the doctor makes the decision to refer you to a hospital consultant, he will use a new system that has been introduced by the government, called Choose and Book. The Choose and Book system aims to give you the choice of which hospital you attend for your treatment.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
A HOME VISIT?
If you feel you are too ill to attend
the surgery then please telephone before 10.00am if possible. The duty doctor
will call you to discuss the problem further. Please remember that home visits
are not provided because of your transport problems and are time consuming for
the doctor, so you will not receive a home visit unless the doctor decides it
is really necessary.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
PATHOLOGY SPECIMENS AND RESULTS?
Specimens are sent to the laboratory daily Monday to Friday. If you are asked to bring a specimen on those days please ensure that we receive it before 12 noon. Similarly, if you are asked to have a blood test, it is necessary for this to be done in the mornings. To obtain the results of any investigations please telephone the surgery three days after you have had your tests after 11.00am. We do not normally ring patients with their results. To protect confidentiality results will be given only to the patient concerned unless he/she is aged 15 years or under. In these circumstances a parent or guardian should ring. All callers will be asked a few simple questions to determine their identity to ensure that information is only given to the right people. Don't be alarmed if on ringing for a result you are asked to speak to a doctor or to make another appointment.
