Appointments

Appointments can be made online, by calling on the telephone or by visiting the practice. 

Wherever possible we will try to fit you in the same day, but this is not always possible. 

When you call for an appointment you will be asked for your name, date of birth and brief details of your problem so that you can be booked in with the correct professional.  If we consider it suitable we will try to book you in with the nurse in our minor illness clinic. 

Appointments with the doctors are for 10 minutes. It is only possible to deal with one problem effectively and you may be asked to make another appointment for the second problem. It takes time to listen, examine, diagnose, treat, prescribe and record the consultation in your medical records.

Please help us to help you by understanding why we need to do this. Each appointment is for one person; if more than one person in your family needs a consultation please make a separate appointment. 

Occasionally the practice may be used for the training of medical students and nurses. Patients will always be notified if a student is due to be present at a consultation and can request them to leave.

Home Visits

Requests for home visits should be made before 10:30 am.  Before visiting, the Doctor will telephone to discuss the problem.  The receptionist should be informed if you are ringing on behalf of someone else and in all cases we should be given a contact telephone number.

Home visits are generally for the terminally ill or bed bound.  If patients are too ill to attend the surgery, please phone to request a home visit between 8:00 am and 10:30 am.  For emergency home visits outside these times, patients will have to be seen by the Duty Doctor.  Please note for every home visit four surgery consultations can be carried out and the surgery is better equipped to investigate and treat many such emergencies.  The Doctor will aim to visit within four hours from the end of surgery. 

You can be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Sickness Certificates 

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay). It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise. You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

If your fit note states "You are not fit for work": Your health condition means that you may not be able to work for the period shown. You can go back to work as soon as you feel able to and, with your employer's agreement, this may be before your fit note runs out.

Private Medical Examination

HGV/PSV, insurance medicals, fitness to drive examinations, employment medicals, etc., are carried out by the Doctors.  These can be arranged by speaking to our reception team. A fee will be levied for these services, we will ask for a deposit on booking your appointment.

If you cannot keep your appointment please let us know as soon as possible to enable us to allocate that time to another patient.