Routine Evening & Weekend Appointments

Please remember to cancel to allow someone else to have your appointment. Why not register for on line we can help you....... easy booking and cancelling

The appointments are allocated as follows:

50% of appointments are bookable up to 4 weeks in advance.

25% of appointments are bookable on the day.

25% of appointments are bookable on – line.

All on the day routine appointments both morning and afternoon will released at 08.30 once all the appointments have been booked there will be a limited number of urgent appointments that can be booked if you feel that it is imperative that you are seen that day. These appointments are for urgent cases only that cannot wait for another day.

The urgent appointments will be calculated according to the number of Doctors that are available that day to ensure we can work safely.

So we can operate and offer appointments throughout the day the Duty Doctor will have appointments available in the afternoon that can be booked after 1pm these are for urgent cases that cannot wait for another day. Once all the appointments have been filled you may be directed to an alternative Heath Care Provider i.e. A+E or Walk in Centre.

On Wednesday and Thursday afternoon Badger the Out of Hours Provider cover the surgery from 1pm. On these days once the Duty Doctor appointments are filled in the afternoon you will be referred to Badger who will organise medical care for you.

Their telephone number is  0121 766 2100

Please telephone 0121 373 2211 for bookings.

When arriving for appointments please check in with our automated touchscreen or advise reception that you have arrived.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to release the booking for another patient to use.

Home Visits

 Visit recommended

We believe home visiting makes clinical sense and is the best way of giving a medical opinion in cases involving:-

•          The terminally ill
•          The truly housebound for whom travel to the surgery by car would cause a deterioration in their medical condition or unacceptable discomfort.

After an initial assessment over the telephone a seriously ill patient may be helped by a GP’s attendance. However the GP may advise the patient, or person with the patient, to ring 999 to receive the appropriate immediate care.

Examples of such situations are:-

•          Heart attack
•          Severe shortness of breath
•          Severe haemorrhage

Visit is not usual

In most of the following cases, to visit would not be an appropriate use of a GP’s time:-

• Common symptoms of childhood (fevers, cold, cough, earache, headache, diarrhoea/vomiting and most cases of abdominal pain). These patients are usually well enough to travel by car. It is not necessarily harmful to take a child with a fever outside. These children may not be fit to travel by 'bus or to walk, but car transport may be available from friends, relatives or taxi firms.

  It is not a doctor's responsibility to arrange such transport.

• Adults with common problems (such as cough, sore throat, influenza, back pain and abdominal pain) are also readily transportable by car to a doctor's premises.
• Common problems in the elderly (such as mobility problems, joint pain and general malaise) would also best be treated by consultation at a doctor's premises.

We expect all of our patients to advise us in good time if they cannot attend an appointment so that appointment can be offered to another patient, we fully understand that there may be genuine reasons for not attending an appointment and also that errors can be made by the practice when booking appointments. The Practice will follow the policy below.

• The Practice will run a DNA audit on a weekly basis to check the rate (did not attend)

• The results are discussed at the weekly meeting with GP partners to see if they may be aware of circumstances the patient may not have been able to attend or cancel.

• Following the meeting the patient may receive a letter from their GP to remind them of the importance of attending or cancelling their appointment in order to allow another patient the time.

Please help us to help you and contact us to cancel.

Teaching Practice

The practice is actively involved in the training of future GPs. Each year, doctors who have had hospital training will be attached to the practice for either six or 12 months. The current approved trainers are Dr Clarke, Dr Divall and Dr van Loon.

Dr Clarke, Dr Wright, Dr van Loon and Dr Condley teach undergraduate medical students. It is possible that as part of the educational process medical students will have access to medical records. 

All medical students sign confidentiality documents.

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.

Download a PDF SC2 

SC2 Certificate

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)