Continuity of Care
Our patients are able to see any of the surgery doctors for a consultation, but we strongly recommend that you continue to see the same doctor for a single episode of illness if you can. This enables the GP to assess your symptoms, progress and, if necessary, make adjustments to your treatment plan.
If you alternate between different doctors for the same period of illness it becomes far more difficult to get an overall picture of your condition. However, we recognise that within the constraints of the new appointment system (next day bookings) this may not always be possible).
Appointments with a doctor or nurse are available every weekday.
If you want to see a specific doctor you may have to wait for an appointment as several of our doctors only work part-time at the surgery.
If you need to see one of our specialist nurses our receptionist will confirm her appointment availability.
You may need to come to a specific clinic session to see one of specialist nursing team or if you require a minor surgical procedure to be carried out.
If you are attending for an emergency appointment the receptionist may ask you for brief details of why you are attending. The partners have asked them to do this so that you may be directed to the most appropriate clinician. You do not have to give this information if you prefer not to, but it will greatly help us if you do.
We have done an extensive trial on a change to our appointment system. As a result we now offer next working day bookings for our GP consultations. These can be made online, by telephone or face to face by coming into the surgery. We reviewed the six month trial in January 2015 and as a result of patient feedback have made more slots bookable online. The practice continues to offer emergency slots for patients who have acute illnesses 'on the day'. The doctors also set aside appointments for patients that they wish to see for follow-up consultations. We realise that there is not necessarily a system that will suit everyone but we feel after nearly twelve months of trial that the system in place now satisfies the majority.
All our doctors and nurses have access to your computerised clinical records.