Appointments

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GP Appointments

 

There are 4  permanent GPs in the practice:

 

Dr Daniel Hughes

Dr Phil Morrison

Dr Ruth Smith

Dr Beulah McCavery

 

 

We are a training practice and these doctors will also be available for consultation.

There is reasonable access to doctors and nurses but this can vary at busy periods.

Our appointment system has changed

Appointments are no longer given out by reception, instead the GP will contact you by telephone to triage your request, this allows you the convenience being able to have your request dealt with by telephone if it is appropriate. If you require a face to face appointment this new way of working allows the GP to allocate sufficient time to see you. The majority of requests are dealt with on the day so there is no longer a long wait to book an appointment with the GP.

By telephone or in person

If you wish to speak to or see a GP you can make your request by telephone on 02842758292 between 8.30am and 10.00am, your request will be passed to the GP who will return your call and/or allocate you an appointment if required (please ensure you specify to reception if there is a time when you are unable to take the telephone call). Medical emergencies after 10.00am will still be dealt with promptly.

Although the majority of the time the GP will contact you that morning they may ring you back anytime from 8.30am to 6pm please advise reception if there is any time during this period when you are unable to take a phone call (for example driving to/from work or school).

If you have not received a response by 5pm please contact reception (you may have missed the call or the telephone number provided may have been unobtainable).

  • You can request to speak to a specific doctor however this may mean it takes longer for them to get back to you.
  • Following the information you have given in some cases the GP may ask reception to pass on a message to you or gain more information.
  • If a patient needs reviewed in a number of weeks the GPs will advise them to ring in around the time their review is due.

There will be no further weekly release time for routine GP appointments; all GP appointments are now allocated through this system.

FAQ

What information will I need to give reception?

The receptionist will ask for a few words about the reason for your call to help the doctor prepare for the call. If you do not wish to give this information to reception it would still be helpful to give some idea to help the doctors triage the calls, for example you could say “it is a personal, routine matter” or “it is an urgent, mental health matter”.

What if I am at work?

Most employers should be happy to allow you to take a phone call from the doctor. If timing is an issue please advise reception if there is particular time you will be unable to take a call, for example if you will be driving between 8.30am and 9.30am.

Please always advise reception if there is a time when you will be unable to take a call. If the doctor is unable to reach you then you will be recorded a failed encounter and will have to make your request again through reception.

Practice Nurse

Appointments with the practice nurse and HCA may be arranged directly at reception or by telephone (02842758292) and are available morning and afternoon, Monday to Friday (except Tuesday afternoons). Booking online via EMIS Access is no longer available as there was a high rate of non-attendance for these appointments.

The practice nurse will also see patients as an emergency for minor injuries.