HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
TELEPHONE ADVICE?
If
you would like to discuss a matter over the telephone with one of the doctors
please telephone between 12 noon and 12.30pm. The doctors will be able to answer
any medical queries at this time. Please do not ask to be put through during surgery
times unless it is an emergency as this interruption is disruptive to the patient who is consulting at that time. If you are having trouble
speaking to your doctor please leave your name and number and a brief description
of your problem with the receptionist and the doctor will call you back at a convenient
time. Please remember that many enquiries eg results, appointments, letters, prescription enquiries can be dealt with by a nurse or an administrative
member of staff.
HOW
DO I...
MAKE
AN APPOINTMENT?
Consultations are by appointment only. We recommend that you see the same GP on an on-going basis. This may mean you have to wait a little longer to get an appointment with your doctor who knows your history. Always let reception know who your usual doctor is when booking an appointment. Appointments can be made either
by telephoning 020 7795 8470 or by calling into the surgery. Urgent medical problems
which you feel cannot wait until the next routine appointment will always be dealt
with on the same day. Please ring after 8.00am. If you wish to see a specific
doctor please allow longer for non-urgent conditions. Our aim is to offer appointments
for non-urgent conditions within three working days of the request. Please
inform us as soon as possible if you are unable to attend your appointment
as someone else may need it. Please note that due to the constraints of the National
Health Service we are only able to offer appointments lasting 10 minutes. Inevitably
this means we need to focus on a single problem area. We really do make every
effort to run on time and therefore if you are more than 10 minutes late, you
may be asked to re-book your appointment (in order to avoid delaying the patients
who arrived on time) or wait until a free slot is available. This may not be until
the end of surgery. Thank you for your co-operation.
HOW
DO I...
MAKE
A TELEPHONE APPOINTMENT?
It is also possible to arrange a telephone appointment with your doctor as it may be the matter can be dealt with over the telephone. Please call the surgery before 10.00am if possible and reception will advise what time is available to speak to your doctor.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
A HOME VISIT?
If for strictly medical
reasons you are unable to attend the surgery please call before 10.00am if possible.
The doctor will call you back to discuss your request.
HOW
DO I...
OBTAIN
TEST RESULTS?
Please telephone the practice between 2.00 and 3.00pm Monday to Friday to obtain the results of your investigations. You should telephone
one week after the test has been carried out. The doctor will usually advise the
receptionist of your results, allowing information to be passed on to you over
the telephone. Sometimes the doctor may want to discuss the result with you and
you may be asked to make an appointment. The reason for this is that some laboratory
results are complicated to explain and are, therefore, better dealt with face-to-face. Specimens may be left with the reception desk before 3.00pm Monday to
Friday. Please ensure
that the specimen containers are properly labelled as investigations are not carried
out on un-labelled specimens.
