A FEW HOUSEKEEPING RULES

Emergency on the day appointments are to to be used for medical issues that cannot wait for another day. These are NOT for chronic issues that have been going on for a while. Emergency appointments are also NOT for prescriptions, private medical forms or reports and ad hoc administrative work for the GP to do. Please book these wisely so that we can ensure critically ill patients can be seen in a timely manner.

Any private forms or reports that patients ask the GP to complete are non NHS work. There is a lead time of 2 weeks for these to be completed and there is a charge. We will be starting to ask patients to sign a consent form to agree to pay for private reports and wait for the allocated time to complete these. Please note that private non NHS work is not contractual and does not go over and above the care for our NHS patients that needs to be dealt with more urgently. Please see the link to the BMA site to explain why we can charge for non NHS work. There will be no exceptions to this. https://www.bma.org.uk/pay-and-contracts/fees/why-doctors-charge-fees/why-does-my-doctor-charge-fees

Late arrivals for appointments with no notice – please acknowledge that GPs and clinical staff have busy days. We ask our patients to please try and arrive on time to be seen in a timely manner and not to cause excess waiting for other patients. We would be happy if you can call us to advise us if you are running late. If you do turn up later than 10 minutes with no notification, you will be asked to rebook the appointment. Please help us in this matter to avoid long waiting times for all patients.

Referrals for patients – We ask our patients to take some responsibilities in chasing up their own referrals by contacting the department that is listed on their referral letter. These letters are shared with the patient when the referral is made which has all the relevant details. If there are issues with delays or appointments not being booked, please contact the department and try and resolve this. There are long waiting times currently at the hospitals for outpatient appointments which is not related to the GP Practice. We ask you to help with your own referral management once the referral has been sent to the hospital.

Pharmacy First – The NHS has made it easier to get help for a number of common medical conditions. Do use your local pharmacy if you can for one of the conditions listed in the criters. The new Pharmacy First Service enables community pharmacists to provide treatment without the need for the patient to visit their general practice. This will make it easier to book general practice team appointments for other conditions and help patients access quicker and more convenient care, including the supply of appropriate medicines for minor illness. Pharmacists are highly trained experts in medicines. The Pharmacy First Advanced Service gives you quick and local access to advice and treatment from the pharmacist at your local pharmacy for common illnesses. You don’t need to wait to see your doctor and you don’t need an appointment.

HAVE A LOOK AT THE BELOW VIDEO TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE PRESSURES THAT GP SURGERIES ARE FACING. WE THANK YOU ALWAYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND IF WE WORK TOGETHER IN A BETTER WAY WE CAN MANAGE YOUR CARE BETTER.