Appointments

If you consider your condition does not warrant a face-to-face appointment but you would like medical advice you can request a telephone consultation from a doctor. The receptionist will ask for your name, address, contact telephone number and may ask you to confirm your date of birth. You will also be asked to provide a brief description of the reason for the telephone consultation request. The practice cannot guarantee a particular doctor will ring back although a patient’s preference will be noted and we will accommodate this whenever possible.

We operate a computerised appointments system and work on the basis of 10 minutes for each consultation, there are a set number of telephone appointments per day and they can be booked in advance just like a face to face appointment.

Please ensure that if you have requested a telephone call from a doctor you will be available to take the call when the doctor rings. We cannot guarantee a time when the doctor will call back. If the doctor has not called you by 5pm please make contact with the surgery to alert us and we can then assist you further.

These are frustrating for all clinical staff and other patients who may have difficulty getting an appointment. It is unfair to deny others access to the surgery by not using your allocated time. We will write to you if you persistently fail to attend appointments without having cancelled them.

With ever-increasing postal charges, we prefer to contact our patients via a text message or email for all non-urgent issues wherever possible. We also provide a text messaging service to confirm and remind patients of arranged appointments. We require your written consent and up-to-date contact details for you to receive this service. You can register in person, or online using the SystmOnline service. Please ask at reception for further details.

If the doctor or nurse considers it appropriate, you will be offered the presence of a chaperone during your consultation, or you may request one.

We would emphasise that house calls are expected to deal with exceptional circumstances either because of severe frailty or immobility or for serious medical emergencies that require attention by a doctor. Please attend the surgery if you do not fall into any of these categories. If you are unable to attend the surgery for medical reasons, the doctors will arrange to see you at home. Please remember that several patients can be seen at the surgery in the time taken to complete a house call, especially in a rural area such as that covered by the practice.

Please make requests for a home visit before 10.30am. The receptionist will ask questions to establish how urgently the doctor should respond. You may be telephoned by the triage doctor to discuss your needs. If you need an urgent visit please make this clear to the receptionist.

Home Visit Policy