CHANGES TO IMPROVE OUR APPOINTMENT SYSTEM
You may already know that we offer telephone consultations for situations when you just need to speak to the doctor and don’t necessarily need to come in. This enables us to deal with your problem or query quickly and saves you the time and trouble of having to come into the surgery. However, you do not have to have a telephone consultation first. If you want to book a face-to-face appointment with the doctor, you can. The receptionist may ask to make sure that it is not appropriate for you to have a telephone consultation but you only have to say you would like to come in and they will book that for you. Also, do remember that for something that is not urgent, you can book ahead. You don’t have to phone on the day you want to be seen.
Following discussion with the Patient Participation Group, we recently made some changes to our appointments and surgery times. You can now book a telephone consultation or a face-to-face appointment at any time during our surgery hours rather than having set times for telephone slots and set times for face-to-face appointments. We have also introduced a lunchtime surgery every weekday so that there is nearly always a doctor in the building. This gives you even more flexibility as to when you can be seen or phoned. So if you work, you can have a telephone slot or an appointment early or late or at lunchtime. If you have children, you can come in when they are at school. If it’s for the children, we can arrange it for after school.
Also, don’t forget that we have a routine surgery every Monday evening from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and every other Saturday between 8am and 12pm. These appointments do need to be pre-booked.
We hope that you will find this new system to be much more flexible and that you can see or speak to a doctor at a time that suits you.
Let us know if you have a good or a bad experience. We are always trying to improve.
The practice nurses, the phlebotomist and clinics can also be booked in advance.
Please remember that appointments are for one person only and make sure that you check in using our "Sefl Arrival" screen in the waiting room, or with the receptionist, on arrival.