HOW DO I...
ACCESS TELEPHONE TRIAGE?

Tel: (01242) 255337 - 8.00am - 6.30pm

The surgery operates a telephone triage system, conducted by the duty doctor or a trained practice nurse, to deal with urgent, same-day appointments or home visit requests. When a patient phones in these circumstances, they will be asked by the receptionist for a phone number and a brief description of the problem. The latter does not have to be given but would help the doctor or nurse to prioritise the call. We endeavour to contact all patients within an hour. If the problem is life-threatening, the call will be put straight through to the triaging doctor or nurse.

The caller may be offered advice over the telephone, an appointment that day, a home visit, or a routine appointment later in the week. In more serious cases, the doctor will visit immediately or arrange for an ambulance to call.

The nurses are trained in triage procedures and also deal with minor illnesses. When offered an appointment, this may be with either a doctor or nurse (you will be informed at the time). If you have a preference either way, please let us know; we will try to accommodate you.

HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

Tel: (01242) 255337 - 8.00am - 6.30pm

Appointments may be made in person or by telephone. Please make a separate appointment for each person. If you cannot attend please cancel as soon as possible. Urgent cases will be seen as soon as possible. Please be considerate if someone else needs to be given priority.

In order to make the best use of practice staff time and resources it is very important that our patients attend their booked appointments, or let us know in plenty of time if they are not able to attend so that we can allocate that appointment time to someone else.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?

Tel: (01242) 519049

If you are too ill or frail to get to the surgery and need a visit at home, please ring the surgery before 10.30am if possible. The receptionist will ask you for a few details to allow the doctor to assess the urgency of the case. Whenever possible, patients will be encouraged to attend the surgery. This saves the doctor time and therefore allows more patients to be seen. It is not possible to visit all our patients immediately after hospital discharge and a visit is rarely required after routine surgery. However, if you are still feeling unwell or not making satisfactory progress, please let your doctor know.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?

Please telephone (01242) 519049 between 12 noon and 4.00pm for results.

Do not assume the practice will contact you with an abnormal result. It is a requirement of employment that the confidentiality of patients' records is maintained at the highest level by all staff.