Appointments

GP and Nurse Appointments

GP appointments are scheduled at ten minute intervals. If you have more than one topic that you wish to discuss with the doctor you may be asked to make a separate appointment, as unfortunately the GP may simply not have sufficient time without causing their clinic running behind.

We do also ask that all patients attend on time for their appointment. Whilst we appreciate that sometimes the doctor may run late in their schedule, that is not to say patients should deliberately attend late; it simply means that a patient before you has clinically required more time for the doctor to deal with their problem.

If a doctor is running behind, please appreciate that it is not the receptionists' duty to monitor the doctors' schedules. It is understandable that you may wish to enquire as to how late your doctor is running, but please do not take out your frustration on reception staff, and do not ask them to message the doctor to ask how long they will be.

We would be grateful if you could bear this in mind if you do experience a delay.

Although nurse appointments are slightly longer at fifteen minute intervals, we do also ask that patients afford the nurses the same courtesy as detailed above.

The New Surgery

To make an appointment at the New Surgery please telephone 01277 218393 and select option 2. You can also book appointments online (please see the ‘online services’ section).

Brambles Surgery:

To make an appointment at the Brambles Surgery please telephone 01277 215738 (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday).

Urgent Appointments

In urgent cases we try to offer same-day appointments. It is helpful if patients telephone before 09:30 if they feel they need one.

Doctors will speak to patients on the telephone initially, but will call in order of priority. It is for this reason that receptionist are asked to provide the doctors with an outline of each problem. Please note that if you do not provide such information the doctor will only be able to call you once they have triaged the patients who left messages. Please select option 1 and a receptionist will take a message and contact details. This applies to both surgeries.

The New Surgery is open from 08.00 -18.30 Monday to Friday.

We have an extended-hours surgery on Saturday mornings from 08.30 - 12.30.

All appointments are pre-bookable up to four months in advance.

Any emergency requests during extended-hours surgeries will be diverted to the out-of-hours service.

Doctor Rotas

Some of our doctors are part-time. The days our doctors work are listed below:

Our telephone lines are usually extraordinarily busy between 08:00 and 10:00. For future appointments you may wish to telephone during the afternoon when lines are less busy. Calls are answered in rotation. Please stay on the line, and your call will be answered by a member of the reception team as soon as they are available. Please be aware that our receptionists juggle a multitude of duties, and some queries are more involved than others.

Please arrive promptly for your appointment. Patients arriving more than 10 minutes late may be asked to rebook at their doctor's discretion. Please do remember to cancel your appointment if you no longer need it, or you cannot keep it. These appointments may then be offered to another patient who may need to be seen urgently. You may now do this via our on line booking appointments service (please see the ‘online services’ section of the practice website).

Telephone Consultations            

The doctors are usually willing to give advice over the telephone. If you wish to speak to a doctor please phone the surgery, choosing Option 1. You should bear in mind that the doctor may be in the middle of a busy surgery so normally we will need to take a message and ask the doctor to ring you back.

You should not expect a call back from the doctor until after he has finished his normal morning or afternoon surgery. Occasionally it may be possible for a doctor to call you back between patients, but please do be prepared to wait until after 13:00 for requests left during the morning and any time from 16:00 for telephone requests left during the afternoon.

The telephonist will ask who the advice is for and will also ask for a brief idea of the problem, in case the doctor needs to have relevant notes etc. to hand. We ask for the telephone number you are calling from so that we can call you back.

If you have to telephone for the results of tests you have had at the surgery please telephone after 10:00. We receive our delivery of test results at approximately 12:00 and the doctor has to have time to see these before the result can be given to you.

Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 11:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule house calls

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Teaching & Training

The practice accepts Undergraduate Student Doctors from Queen Mary University London and Kings College London. You may be offered an appointment with an Undergraduate doctor which will be overseen by one of the GP Partners in the practice.

We very much hope that you will support the practice in the training of new doctors but if you would really prefer not to see a student doctor, please advise the receptionist.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced).

Cancel an Appointment

You can cancel your appointment online by clicking here.

Alternatively please call 01277 218393 and press option 6.