HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TELEPHONE ADVICE?
Sometimes you may simply want advice
from the doctor. We offer limited daily telephone consultations with the doctors. They may not be immediately available and you will be asked to
call back at a more convenient time. It is very helpful to let the receptionist
know whom it concerns so that the relevant records are available to the doctor
when you call again.
HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?
As a patient, you are registered with the practice and not an individual doctor. However, you have the right to express a preference of doctor within the practice. We will endeavour to accommodate that choice where possible, subject to availability.
To that end, we have introduced a system which has been shown to work well in surgeries. Its basic principles are as follows:
• Every week we offer a guaranteed number of appointments.
• A mixture of pre-booked (up to two weeks in advance) and book-on-the-day appointments are available.
• We endeavour to be able to offer an appointment with a clinician on the day to any patient who contacts the surgery by 10.00am.
• We will continue to see emergency problems, on the day, whatever time the patient phones.
• You may request to see a specific doctor; if that doctor is unavailable you will be offered an alternative. If that is not acceptable, you may have to wait a little longer to be seen. We would ask that you bear this in mind. We would like to point out that if you do not see your usual doctor, the doctor you do see will have full access to your medical records.
Please phone or call at the surgery during normal working hours (8.30am-6.30pm) to make appointments, whether routine or urgent. Calls outside this time will be routed to Thames Doc.
EXTENDED SURGERY HOURS
We provide more consultations on Monday evenings between 6.30 - 8.15pm and Saturday morning between 8.00 - 11.00am (by appointment only). These are pre-booked only; not for emergencies. Please be aware that nurse and phlebotomy support services are not available during these times.
CHECKING IN FOR APPOINTMENTS
On arrival at surgery please either check in at reception or use the automated self-check-in system located in the waiting room. This tells the doctor or nurse that you are here.
URGENT PROBLEMS
If you feel you have a problem that
will not wait for a routine appointment with your doctor, it is possible to see
the duty doctor of the day (Monday - Friday). Unfortunately there will be no choice
of which doctor you see. You may be asked a few details about the nature of the
problem; this will be treated in confidence but is important in trying to utilise
the duty doctor’s time most efficiently. The emergency doctor may also be
called out of surgery to attend the sick at home and as a result you may experience delays
to your appointment. We thank you for your patience.
WALK-IN CENTRE
The nearest walk-in centre is based at East Surrey Hospital.
BLOOD TEST APPOINTMENTS
Patients requiring blood tests should make appointments with our phlebotomist.The
service is available every morning from 8.30am; bookings can be made at reception
or by telephone. Unfortunately, we are not able to take blood tests in the afternoon
as the specimens cannot be kept overnight without results possibly becoming inaccurate.
Blood test results usually take an average of five working days to return, some
longer. If in doubt please ask. As results come back to the surgery in the early afternoon, please ring after 4.00pm. That gives the doctors an opportunity to comment on them.
NHS DIRECT
For general health advice you may contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or visit them online at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.
CANCELLATIONS
Please let us know as soon as possible
if you cannot keep an appointment, so that the time allocated can then be offered to someone else.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS
Due to the number of patients who fail to attend their appointments, other patients have not been able to see their doctor of choice when they wanted to. In an attempt to try and resolve this, the practice has developed the following policy:
If you fail to attend an appointment without informing us, we will write to you asking if there was a specific reason why you did not attend or let us know that you couldn’t come. If you repeatedly fail to attend for appointments, you may be removed from the practice list and asked to find an alternative General Practitioner.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?
Home visits are intended for patients
who are too ill to attend surgery and the completely housebound, so if you can
get to the surgery please do so. Please phone before 11.00am if possible and be
prepared to give the receptionist some idea of the problem so that the doctor
may judge the urgency of your call. Clearly we need to plan our rounds to attend
the most urgent medical needs as a priority.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?
We would ask you to take responsibility
for obtaining your own blood, x-ray and test results. As the morning hours are
busy with appointment requests we would remind you to phone after 4.00pm.
HOW DO I...
CHANGE MY DETAILS?
Please notify us of any change in
your personal details so that we can amend our records accordingly. You may miss
out on vital reminders for vaccinations and smears if details are sent to an old
address. Similarly we would be grateful if you would notify us of changing telephone
numbers. We may need to contact you urgently and wrong numbers lead inevitably
to delays which might affect your medical care.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A REPEAT PRESCRIPTION?
Patients on regular medication will require repeat prescriptions and, for a safer and speedier service, these are now computerised. Your doctor will have entered onto the computer what medication you are taking and each time a new prescription is written by the computer a new request form is also generated for you to make your next request. Requests for repeat prescriptions are not taken over the telephone, for medico-legal reasons, as errors can occur in verbal communication.
Please observe the following:
1. Allow two working days for your prescription to be processed.
2. If you have more than one repeat prescription, please try to order all your items together.
3. Clearly indicate where you would like your prescription to be sent by filling in the space on your “Repeat Prescription Request Form". Prescriptions may be collected from the surgery or we can send your prescription direct to one of the Horley or Smallfield chemists. Alternatively, we can send it to your home address, provided you enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope.
4. Either deliver or post your 'Repeat Prescription Request Form' to the surgery where there is a collection point located on front reception desk. Out of hours, these can be placed into the letter box located on the door of the surgery.
5. If you are receiving any medication which is not on your request form, please add this clearly on the request slip and it will be added after verification with the doctor.
PLEASE OBSERVE THE DIRECTIONS AND WARNINGS ON 'OVER-THE-COUNTER' MEDICINES
Always discard unused medicines your doctor has prescribed or return them to the chemist. Never use any medications which have been prescribed for somebody else and never keep any unused drugs in your family medicine chest 'in case of future need'.
Let your doctor know if you are buying regular medication (eg aspirin) as this may affect the treatment you are given.
DUTY CHEMISTS
Each weekday a sign in the foyer tells you which of the Horley chemists is open late (7.00pm). On Sundays and bank holidays the duty chemist is open from 11.30am for one hour (the local press carries details of the duty rota). In addition, at the south terminal at Gatwick Airport there is a Boots branch which will dispense prescriptions between 6.00am - 9.00pm daily except Christmas Day. Telephone number 01293 568060.
HOW DO I...
REGISTER WITH PRACTICE?
To enable them to treat you appropriately the doctors need the correct medical records for you. In order for these to be traced we will need to know your full name, date of birth, current and previous addresses and previous General Practitioner. You will be asked to fill out a registration form (GMS1) or to supply your medical card. This applies to each member of the family.
You will also need to produce two supporting documents to confirm these details, one of which MUST confirm your address is within the practice area.
- Supporting evidence of identity (for each individual over 18), eg National Passport, Photo Driving Licence, National Identity Card, Application Registration Card (ARC) and
visa where appropriate.
OR
- Personal bank/credit card, National Insurance Card, NHS Medical Card.
AND
- Evidence that you are ordinarily resident in the UK and have been for 6 months (per family), eg. utility bill, tenancy agreement, bank statements, mortgage statements,
council tax bill or other official/ government correspondence verifying proof of address.
If you have just come into the UK we will need proof that you intend to work or study in the this country. This is usually a work permit or supporting letter from your employer or the education provider.
NB. Please note it is at the partners’ discretion to accept you onto our list of patients.
We would like to thank you for complying with our registration policy.
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