HOW TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

All the doctors and nurses hold surgeries by appointment. Urgent cases will be seen on the day, otherwise you will be offered the first available appointment.

It is important that you ensure you either attend or cancel your appointment -     Huge numbers of GP and Practice Nurse appointments are lost each year simply because they are missed. We always have a high demand for appointments and valuable time is wasted when a patient does not attend as this is a missed opportunity for another patient to receive the medical care that they need.

Please let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to keep your appointment. The earlier that you cancel your appointment the better - but it's never too late to cancel.

Please arrive promptly to avoid inconvenience to other patients. If you are kept waiting beyond your appointment time, please be understanding, as the unexpected or an emergency may occasionally cause disruption or delay.

Due to the restrictions of time, your Doctor may only be able to discuss one issue with you during the consultation and you may be asked to arrange a further consultation to discuss any other problems - please ensure that you discuss your most important concern first.

You are able to request which doctor you would prefer to see, but this is not always possible for emergency appointments.

Please try and be considerate to the doctors and staff. The next emergency might be you. In the event of a patient being violent or abusive to anyone on the premises, necessary action will be taken. This could result in a refusal of further care being given here at the surgery.

TELEPHONE ADVICE

If you need to speak to the doctor in person, please check with the receptionist the most suitable time to speak to him or her. If you have any queries please ask the receptionist so that they can liaise with the doctor. If it is important the doctor may ring you back, so please leave a contact number.

Appointments patient leaflet.doc

***Changes with effect from March 2016***

You will now be able to see more detail within your medical record as part of an enhanced online service offering. This change will mean:

• New online applications will automatically have access to this enhanced information once approved by your GP
• Existing online users will need to complete an application form so that their GP can approve the enhanced settings being applied to your service
• To protect the confidentiality of patients under the age of 16, online services will no longer be available for patients under this age

Patients aged 16 and over are able to book and cancel appointments with a GP online by registering for emis Patient Access.

One registered, click on the link here : Patient Access

* follow this link to register for online services, or alternatively refer to the Online Services tab on the right hand side. You will be also be required to follow up the request by providing a completed application form and proof of address / identity to the surgery within one month - your GP will then review and approve your request. 

Additionally please refer to our patient information leaflet below.

Online Sevices leaflet.pdf

emis Patient Access

emis Patient Access is a simple, secure and efficient system which allows patients to order repeat medication online at a time of convenience, book or cancel appointments with a Doctor and view aspects of your medical record. The service is available for registration by patients aged 16 and over only.

Before you register and use this service we would ask you to be aware of the following guidance:

Online appointment booking and cancellation

Doctors Appointments

You can book appointments with a GP of your choice up to 3 weeks in advance.

If you are unsure whether it is appropriate to see a Doctor or a Nurse please contact the surgery by telephone. You are limited to the number of appointments that you can book online at any one time.

Nurse Appointments

Due to the many different types of nurse appointments we offer at the surgery we are unable to offer online booking for these. Please contact us by telephone as normal to book an appointment with one of our nurses.

Cancelling Appointments

If you wish to cancel an appointment we would ask that you do that online as soon as possible so that the time can be made available to another patient in need.

Alternatively appointments can be cancelled by telephone on 0161 928 9621.

Your medical record

You may have access to something in your record that you have forgotten about or may find upsetting, including test results before your doctor has spoken to you or when the surgery is closed and there is nobody available to talk to. You should consider whether you are comfortable with this before deciding whether to register for the service.

Inappropriate Use

We monitor use of this service and hope that you will find it useful. However, if we feel the facility is being abused we reserve the right to revoke access. Inappropriate use would be booking but not attending or cancelling appointments, booking inappropriate appointments with your Doctor or using your name to book appointments for a family member.

Think you need URGENT medical care ?

Self Care - when it's not an emergency

Lots of health problems can be treated just by looking after yourself.

Problems such as vomiting, diarrhoea and tickly coughs can be treated at home by keeping a well-stocked medicine cabinet with a supply of over the counter painkillers and antiseptic products. Drinking fluids and plenty of rest are also important if you are feeling unwell.

Pharmacy advice

Your pharmacist is a health professional and able to provide advice and treatment for :

-          colds, flu, stomach upsets and cold sores

-          skin conditions, allergies and head lice treatment

-          cystitis, urinary infections and thrush

-          emergency contraception

Are we open ? - urgent (same-day) appointments at the surgery

-          Will the problem wait until the next available routine appointment ?

-          Could self care or the advice of a pharmacist help ?

If the answer to these questions is no and the surgery is open you should contact our reception team for an urgent, same day appointment.

An urgent appointment at the surgery :

• is a 5 minute appointment for one person with one problem
• is at a specific time with the next available clinician
• may be with a Practice Nurse who has had additional training and has the support of an on-site GP if needed

As we are responding to an urgent request it is not possible to have a specific appointment time, a choice of GP / Practice Nurse or specific gender of clinician.

As urgent appointments are seen at the end of busy surgeries you may experience a wait before you are seen

Are we closed ?

Will the problem wait until we re-open ?

If the answer to this is no, then you should contact the surgery by telephone to listen to the options available to you. This will include contacting the out of hours service provider, Mastercall, attending a walk-in centre, minor injuries or urgent care centre.

A list of useful telephone numbers is available in a copy of our patient information leaflet in  reception and on this website by printing the leaflet below or clicking on the opening hours tab.

Patient Information Leaflet - Urgent Medical Care.pdf

Remember, A&E and 999 should only be used in emergencies . If you access urgent care and emergency services inappropriately you may be turned away and directed to another NHS service.

Chest pains and a shortness of breath constitute an emergency.

The surgery is open routinely Monday to Friday 8.00am until 6.30pm - on a Wednesday and Thursday evening a number of pre-booked appointments are available with a GP until 7.45pm.

For information regarding the surgery times and days of our GP team, please refer to the link below :

surgeries with a Doctor.pdf

We also have access to routine GP appointments on saturday mornings through a local hub service based at Boundary House in Sale - these appointments will not be with a GP from this practice but are available for routine purposes should a saturday appointment be more convenient for you. To book an appointment at the saturday service please contact our reception team on 0161 928 9621. If you book an appointment and subsequently need to cancel it again please speak to our reception team on this number.

Saturday appointment leaflet.pdf

The surgery is open routinely between Monday and Friday 8.00am until 6.30pm and we have a wide variety of nurse appointments available on each day of the week to suit the circumstances of most of our patients.

Appointments with a practice nurse are not available for online booking as the length of the appointment will vary according to the reason that it is required. To arrange an appointment with a practice nurse, which can be booked up to 1 month in advance, please contact our reception team on 0161 928 9621.

Saturday appointment leaflet.pdf

We also have access to routine nurse appointments on saturday mornings through a local hub service based at Boundary House Medical Practice in Sale - these appointments will not necessarily be with a nurse from this practice but are available for routine purposes (limited to annual reviews, BP and Pill Checks, Smears, Smoking Cessation) should a saturday appointment be more convenient for you.

To book an appointment at the saturday service please contact our reception team on 0161 928 9621. If you book an appointment and subsequently need to cancel it please also speak to our reception team on this same number.

Pre-booked, routine GP appointments are available with Barrington Medical Centre GPs between 6.30pm and 7.40pm on Wednesday and Thursday evening each week.

In addition to this;

Pre-bookable, routine appointments with a GP or nurse, or sometimes a phlebotomist, are available between the hours of 6.30pm and 8.00pm each weekday evening, or between 9.00am and 1.00pm each Saturday and Sunday morning, through a local hub service based at St John's Medical Practice in Altrincham. Please note these are routine pre-booked appointments, not an emergency, same-day service.

To book a routine GP or nurse appointment (nurse appointments for annual reviews, BP or pill checks, smears, smoking cessation) please contact our reception team on 0161 928 9621. If you subsequently need to cancel this appointment please contact our reception team on the same number.

Please be aware, whilst we are pleased to be able to offer extended access to routine appointments outside normal working hours you will not necessarily be seen by a GP or nurse from this practice.

Saturday appointment leaflet.pdf

Home Visits

Home visits should only be requested for patients who are unable to attend the surgery because of the nature of their illness. The receptionist may ask for a few details.

They have been instructed to make these enquiries to aid the doctor to judge the urgency and appropriateness of planned visits, therefore your cooperation would be greatly appreciated.

It is helpful if visits can be requested before 10.30am, except in an emergency. Most of our patients try hard to come to the surgery, as we are able to give a higher standard of care there.

The saving of the doctor’s travelling time also means there is more time available for consultations.

Test Results

Please call between 11am and 3.30pm to enquire about your test results as our reception staff will have more time to deal with your request between these times.

Note that the practice has a strict policy regarding confidentiality and data protection and we will only release test results to the person to whom they relate unless that person has given prior permission for the release of this data or they are not capable of understanding the results.

When you take your test you will be told how long it will be before the results are returned to the practice.

It is your responsibility to check your results and to make an appointment to discuss them with your doctor if your are advised to do so.