How do I?

Ring reception between 10:30 and 118:20 Monday to Friday.  Remeber the telephones are closed between 13:00 and 14:30. Some results take longer e.g Xrays can be 1-2 weeks.

NHS certificates are only issued after a week of ill health.  Make an appointment to see a doctor.  There is a charge for private certificates.

Speak to reception.  There is no obligation on the doctor’s part to sign these and they have to be able to attest in good faith that they have known you personally for at least two years.  There is a charge and the process takes 5 working days.  We will not sign passports at short notice.  Reception has a list of other people who can sign or you can check with the Passport Office on www.ukpa.gov.uk

You need to speak to the secretary to arrange a private medical.  Not all the doctors do private medicals.  There is always a charge for private medicals.  They are done outside normal surgery time by pre-arrangement with our secretary.

This is generally not done.  It is not routine and of very little practical use to you.  It is possible to have blood typing done at a local hospital but this is done privately and there is a charge.  Patients who volunteer to be blood donors will be given information on their blood group.

We hope you won’t need to!  Write or speak to the Practice Manager in the first instance.  We are always keen to try and resolve any problems.  If patients are dissatisfied with our response then a written complaint to the Primary Care Trust is the next step.

Generally you would need to book an appointment and see a doctor.  If it is an ongoing problem, it may be possible to do it by phone.  Insurance companies may not pay unless you have been properly referred.  The doctors generally only refer to colleagues whose work they are aware of, and who they are happy to recommend.  See the notes elsewhere on this site on "Private Medicine".

A source of potential problems.  The doctors are strictly not supposed to transfer a private prescription to an NHS prescription.  We are, however, sympathetic to the financial difficulties of the situation as virtually all private health insurance policies will not cover the cost of drugs.  See elsewhere on this site "Private Medicine"

You can ring the hospital and ask for the appointments department.  If they deny all knowledge speak to our secretary.  Have you changed address without telling us?

Speak to the secretary.  There is a charge.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you are entitled to see your records.  You have to make a written application to the Practice Manager and the notes have to be viewed on site under supervision at a prearranged date.  We would have great difficulty coping if even a tiny number of patients wished to do this, so we hope people restrain themselves unless there is a genuine need.  Should you require copies of any of your medical record there will be a charge.

For more information click here.

To download application form to access your records click here. 

We do not do this.  It makes no difference to you as we have "open" lists and you can see whichever doctor you prefer. You do of course get better continuity of care if you stick to one person.

Don’t ask.  If we do write one they are ignored.  The Council have a special points system for medical problems.  They will write to us directly (with your permission) if they require information, and we have to provide the information requested.

Most people would like a longer appointment, but as NHS GPs, we have to use our time in the most medically efficient way possible.  With only occasional exceptions, each appointment is 10 minutes long.

Not prescribable on the NHS, and none of the doctors are homeopathically trained.

Speak to reception and see one of our nurses.

If its for the first time, you need to see a doctor.  After that an annual review with the nurse is adequate. If you are under 16 we are able to prescribe without parental knowledge should you wish.  Please come in and discuss.

Speak to reception.

Speak to reception.  We also fit Mirena coils.

We will see you.  It is the doctor’s responsibility, if it is an important medical problem, to establish whether you are mature enough to understand.  We hope parents are kept informed but where it is your wish not to do so, we will respect that.

You are free to register at the practice as long as you live in our practice area.

These are important as part of your ongoing health care, and also part of the government’s new requirement of GPs. We appreciate you are all busy but please don’t ignore invitations for medical reviews.  Many reviews can be done by completing a questionaire available at reception or online.

Please check with reception.  The entitlement to free treatment is dependent on your circumstances and your country of residence.  There will normally be a charge for seeing an overseas visitor who is in the UK short term except for a medical problem that has arisen during your stay.  There is no entitlement to free treatment at an NHS hospital.

It is extremely variable, from a few weeks to months.  We can make an urgent request if it is clinically necessary.  The process is much quicker if you provide full details including your NHS number when you register.

You must inform us.  We sometimes have important information to impart and you may be wondering why that hospital appointment letter has not arrived.  If you have moved within our area it is not a problem.  If you have moved out of the area you will have to register with a more local practice.

This is because the NHS only covers certain services and the rest you have to pay for. Our charges are reviewed to be in line with national scales.

Because like a lot of patients we have families and get tired by the end of a working day.  The out of hours service is presently covered by CAMIDOC which is an organisation using doctors many of whom are local GPs who are prepared to provide cover.  It is for pressing medical problems which cannot wait until normal office hours.