Appointments

GP Appointments

GP appointments are via telephone or video consultation unless you are requested to attend the surgery. Please only attend if you are asked to do so, have no symptoms of Coronavirus and wear a face covering.

Morning Surgery: 09:00 – 11:00

Afternoon Surgery 14:00 – 16:00

Nurse Appointments

All nurse clinics are by appointment only and operate every morning and afternoon, Monday to Friday. We kindly ask that patients try to arrive on time for their appointment, have no symptoms of Coronavirus and wear a face covering. Patients who arrive late for their allocated appointment, may not be seen and will be asked to make a new appointment.

Chaperones

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation. Please request this at the time of booking or speak to your GP.

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. Requests for visits after 10:30 will be taken by the duty doctor.

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

You can also be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

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.

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).

As of Janaury 2016, The Department for Work and Pensions will be extracting data from GP surgeries regarding the number of 'fit notes' being issued.

This extraction is not something which the Practice can prevent but patients should be reassured that any data extracted will be completely anonymous.

If any patient wishes to object to being included in these statistics, please inform a member of surgery staff and your record will be amended to ensure it is excluded from the data extraction.