The London Road Surgery

HOW DO I...
USE THE SURGERY TELEPHONE SYSTEM?

Our telephone system has a queuing facility which gives options. We have tried to make life easier for both patients and staff by keeping these options to a minimum. These are:-

Option 1 - Reception: for booking appointments and anything else, except referral letters and insurances, between 8.15am - 1.00pm and 1.45 - 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Option 2 - Cancellation line: for appointments only, between 8.15am - 1.00pm and 1.45 - 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.

Option 3 - Secretaries: Office for referral letters and insurances paperwork, between the hours of 9.00am - 1.00pm and 2.00 - 5.30pm Monday to Friday.

You may be asked to leave a message on an answering service.

Please remember that our telephones can get very busy especially between 8.15 and 10.00am each morning when patients are trying to get an appointment. If you have a query or would like to obtain your test results we ask that you to contact the surgery after 11.00am to help us improve our service to you.

HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

Routine pre-bookable appointments are available to book up to four weeks in advance. For continuity of care, the Practice advises patients to consult with their usual GP. Appointments can be booked at the desk or by telephoning the surgery number and choosing option 1.

Each 10-minute appointment is for one patient and one problem.

At times of high demand, there may be a wait of one week or more for an appointment for a particular doctor. The doctors will try to see urgent cases on the same day and a few short 5-minute appointments are reserved for this although it may not be possible to specify a particular doctor.

In order to help with appointments we have the services of a nurse practitioner. If you require an urgent appointment you may be offered an appointment with the nurse practitioner, or she may assist you over the telephone. This is to make sure that urgent cases are seen in order of priority and that you are cared for by the most appropriate practitioner.

Cancellation

The Surgery has approximately 10,000 patients under our care. For this reason appointments are always in demand. Up to 150 people per month do not attend for their appointment and do not cancel their appointment with us. This means other patients have to wait longer for routine appointments as this number of missed appointments can equate to over 35 hours of lost clinical time.

If you know that you are not going to be able to make the scheduled appointment then please let our receptionists know as soon as possible so that the appointment can be offered to someone else. Even at short notice we will always try to offer your appointment to someone else. Please phone the Surgery number and press option 2 for our cancellation line.

Duty Doctor
The doctors rotate this duty on a daily basis to cover home visits etc.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?

These are really reserved for the truly housebound. We recognise the need for some patients, for example, the elderly or frail, to have a home visit, but do please think carefully before asking for one. Facilities are better in the Surgery and the doctor can see four or more patients in the Surgery in the time taken for one home visit.
Please request home visits before 11.00am wherever possible unless an emergency occurs later in the day. Giving the receptionist as much information as possible helps the doctor to assess the urgency of the situation. If you do request a visit, the doctor will make the decision whether to give advice over the telephone, visit or refer to another agency (such as the district nurse or modern matron) as appropriate. Lack of transport is not in itself a reason for a home visit.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?

As the telephones are usually very busy please call after 11.00am for any routine enquiries, results etc. Please phone the surgery number and press option 1.