Appointments

GP appointments can be  obtained by phoning at 9am in the morning (excluding Wednesday).  You must not attend in person - you will be asked to phone in.  These appointments go very quickly however, daily there is between 75 and 120 slots (excluding Wednesday) depending on the day and what time of year.  If you call and slots are filled you will be asked to call back the following day. 

The doctor will prioritise their phone list and deal with the acutely unwell first so please give our receptionists as much information as possible.  If you do not provide information unfortunately we cannot add you to our list.  The doctor will aim to contact you before the end of the day.  This could be a phone call, text or video consultation.  They may decide you need to be examined, and if so will offer you a face to face appointment. 

Wednesday Mornings

Please note Wednesday mornings are for antenatal and postnatal check-ups, childhood immunisations and emergencies only and no choice of doctor is available.

You will require a pre booked appointment for antenatal check-ups and childhood immunisations.

Nurses

Bloods can be booked in the morning (excluding Wednesday).  Afternoon nursing appointments are set aside for injections, dressings, INRs and BP monitoring. 

Our nurses also run pre bookable clinics such as asthma, COPD, smears and diabetes. 

 Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

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 10:30.

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

It is entirely up to the duty GP whether your specific condition is best managed by a house call. If urgent blood tests, X Rays or an ECG are needed, you may be referred directly to the nearest accident and emergency Dept.

You can also be visited at home by district nurse if you are referred by your GP.

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.

If you are an inpatient in hospital, or a hospital doctor advises that you are unfit to work, then you can ask them to give you a Med3, rather than having to see your GP. Under Govt guidance, it is the responsibility of the doctor who advises you not to work to provide a med3, and hospitals also have these certificates.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'[sicknote, med3]

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)

Requests for sicknotes for school/university, or absences less than 7 days.

As Govt "Fit notes" are for Statutory sick pay or Govt benefits only, if a school or university asks a patient for a note to cover a sickness, this will be done as a private paid certificate. The cost of such a certificate is available from our reception.