How Do I...
Make An Appointment?

Click here to book your appointment online

The primary care centre is open between 8.30am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday except bank and public holidays. During these times it is possible to dial directly to the receptionists to make an appointment or to obtain other information:

Appointments with Drs de Sousa, Jakubowski and Lawrence 01932 826049

Appointments with Drs Comber, Bumrah and the practice nurses 01932 826047

Home visits*, test results** and prescription queries 01932 826051

* Before 10.00am, if possible.
** Between 12 noon - 2.00pm or 5.00 - 6.15pm.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE TELEPHONE NUMBERS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE DURING OUR NORMAL OPENING HOURS.

Surgeries

Surgeries are run on an appointment system. Appointments may be made when the primary care centre is open by calling in person or by telephone. You can also book online 24/7 but you need to register for this, so please contact the practice if you are interested. Standard appointments are for a maximum of 10 minutes. If you have a number of problems to discuss, the doctor may ask you to make a further appointment so that everything can be fully covered. You may make appointments with any doctor who is available. When you telephone for an appointment we will do our best to give you an appointment to suit you.

Receptionists are able to book routine appointments only and can offer you the earliest one available with your chosen doctor or with any other doctor. If your need to see a doctor is medically urgent, we guarantee to see you the same day that you make the request. If you fall into this category or if you feel you need to be seen earlier than the appointment you have been offered, our duty doctor will telephone you to assess how your problem can best be dealt with. For this reason we ask that you telephone us before coming to the practice without an appointment. Please ensure that you are available to take the return call.

Our Appointment System...

May be a little different to what you have been used to in the past. If you telephone or visit the practice to make an appointment you will be offered the next available slot with a GP. If the slot offered to you is not soon enough, the receptionist will take you name and telephone number and the telephone consultation doctor (often referred to as the duty doctor) will phone you back ASAP to undertake a telephone consultation. The doctor will help by discussing your circumstances and recommend a suitable course of action. This could be an appointment with a GP earlier than you have been offered by the receptionist, that you are seen by a nurse, given a prescription and/or advice on what to do.

The role of the telephone consultation doctor is shared by the five GP partners on a daily basis. It is a role they have been undertaking for a few years and so are very experienced in dealing with this mode of consultation. The telephone consultation doctor has the flexibility to make appointments not available to the receptionists.

One of the benefits of the system is that it allows the telephone consultation doctor to undertake far more consultations than are possible with face to face consultations, yet arrange a face to face consultation, same day, next day or later if required.

The system does take a bit of getting used to but the increasing amount of positive feedback received in the last three years' patient questionnaire forms is very encouraging and many patients love the convenience of a telephone consultation rather than having to turn up for an appointment. We believe this innovative system will be adopted by more GP surgeries in due course.

How Do I...
Obtain Telephone Advice?

Telephone advice is available from your doctor after morning surgery. Please telephone between 8.30 and 11.00am and the doctor will ring you back after finishing surgery or between patients if they have time.

Please ensure that you are available to take the return call.

How Do I...
Obtain A Home Visit?

Home visits are only for those who are too ill to attend the Health Centre. Please telephone between 8.30 and 10.00am, if possible, to help the doctors plan their day.

How Do I...
Obtain Test Results?

From time to time your doctor may send you for blood tests, x-rays and other investigations or they or our nurses may take samples for testing. If the results are abnormal and require further attention, the doctor will contact you by phone or letter. If you have not heard from us seven working days after your test, you should telephone our reception staff to obtain the results.

Some results can take longer to come through; cervical smear results can take up to two weeks and x-ray results currently take around 20 working days. (Please try to avoid phoning during peak hours. The best time to phone is between 12 noon - 2.00pm or 5.00 - 6.15pm.)

How Do I...
Change My Personal Details?

Please notify us immediately of any change to your name, address or telephone number. For change of name or address this will need to be in writing. As well as the obvious problems which occur if you need a visit from the doctor or a nurse, the Primary Care Support service could remove your name from our list of patients, withought your knowledge, should you fail to keep us up to date.