How do I... Make An Appointment?

Routine appointments can be booked up to a maximum of eight weeks in advance. However, the majority of the appointments are reserved for the same day and patients are requested to telephone or visit the reception desk at 8.30am. You may state the doctor of your choice, although this will depend upon availability.

Emergency Appointments

These will be made on the same day but not always with the doctor of your choice. Please telephone the surgery as early as possible.

How do I... Obtain A Home Visit?

These are for patients who are too ill or infirm to attend the surgery. Please try to telephone the surgery before 10.00am. This allows the doctors to plan their day. Please give a clear description of the problem. Messages such as "unwell" or "poorly" do not help the doctor to assess your needs. There is no reason why children with temperatures cannot be seen in the surgery.

How do I... Obtain Test Results?

Your doctor may tell you to telephone the surgery for the results of certain tests. Results are normally examined by your own doctor before they can be given out by the receptionist. Instructions are sometimes given when you telephone. Results will only be given out after 11.00am each day. In order to maintain confidentiality, laboratory tests will only be given to the patients themselves, or to the parents if the patient is a minor.

Request for Private Sick Notes

Employers asking for a doctor's statement for the first seven days of an employee's sickness are referred to the Statutory Sick Pay Manual for Employers — National Insurance Contributions Series CA30. Paragraph 28, which states: "you (the employer) cannot ask for a doctor's statement for the first seven days of a spell of sickness."

The purpose of this regulation is to avoid the necessity for emplyees with minor, self-limiting illness or injury to use surgery appointments for the sole purpose of obtaining a medical certificate. We do not, therefore, issue certificates in these crcumstances.

If an employer has reason to inquire about a spell of sickness, they are advised to write to the doctor, including written permisson from the employee concerned, when a report may be issued. A charge will be made for such a report.