HOW DO I...
CONTACT THE SURGERY?

If you have a query and wish to speak to a specific doctor on the telephone, ask the receptionist and she will advise you of the most convenient time to ring. The best time is normally between 11.30am and 12 noon.

HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

This is a group practice and you may see any doctor. It may be, however, that you have a preference to see a specific doctor. Whilst we will endeavour to comply with this, sometimes it may not always be possible.

We use an appointment system known as 'Advanced Access' which provides patients with a choice of same day appointments, pre-booking and telephone appointments.

We offer a daily triage telephone consultation with the duty doctor. The receptionist will take your telephone contact details and the doctor will ring you back to discuss the nature of your problem. If he/she needs to see you in surgery then you will be given a time to come in and see them that day.

Please ask at the main reception desk for information on how to get the best out of our appointment system.

Unfortunately, GP time is not unlimited and to meet our aim of fair and equitable access we hope patients will work with us by following the guidelines to use and not abuse the system.

When you do need to call for an appointment, please help our receptionists do their best for you by answering their questions and providing them with a little information, so they can direct you to the most appropriate member of the health care team.

Please remember that our phone lines are busiest between 8.30-9.30am, so if you are not ringing for an appointment or visit that day please help us to reduce the phone congestion by ringing later in the day.

Appointments are for a maximum of 10 minutes for one person only. If you have a number of problems to discuss, the doctor may ask you to make a further appointment. We try to run to time as far as possible, but ill health is unpredictable and some consultations take longer than others. On rare occasions the doctor may even have to leave the surgery to attend an emergency, when unfortunately the appointment system can be severely disrupted.

It would be appreciated if you can arrive on time for your appointment. In order to be fair to all our patients, if you arrive late and the doctor or nurse has already called you, you may be asked by reception to re-book. If you know you are running late and can contact the surgery, do let us know as we may be able to adjust things and still see you.

If you cannot keep your appointment it is important that you remember to cancel it, so that your appointment slot may be offered to someone else.

EXTENDED SURGERY HOURS

DO YOU WORK FULL TIME AND FIND IT DIFFICULT TO MAKE A ROUTINE APPOINTMENT TO SEE A DOCTOR?

ARE YOU IN FULL TIME EDUCATION AND CAN'T GET TO THE SURGERY BEFORE WE CLOSE AT 6.30PM?

CAN YOUR CARER NOT GET YOU TO THE SURGERY UNTIL THE EVENING?

Orchid House Surgery now offers routine weekday early morning appointments between 7.00am and 8.00am and evening appointments between 6.30pm and 8.00pm.

We also offer one Saturday morning a month between 8.30 and 10.30am for those patients that are unable to attend our normal opening hours between 8.30am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, due to daytime commitments.

Please note that this is not an emergency surgery.

The phone lines will not be manned during this time, nor can prescriptions be collected or results given.

These appointments are available to any patient unable to attend a routine appointment during normal surgery times.

PLEASE SPEAK TO THE RECEPTIONIST IF YOU NEED AN EVENING OR SATURDAY MORNING APPOINTMENT.

NURSE PRACTITIONER APPOINTMENTS

If you have a minor illness and need to be seen, you can make an appointment Monday to Friday to see our highly trained Nurse Practitioner, Liz Seaman. Liz is able to treat and advise on a wide range of conditions.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN HOME VISITS ?

Home visits are for those patients who are housebound or when the medical condition of the ill person is such that attendance at the surgery is not possible.

Requests for home visits should be made before 10.30am whenever possible. It is helpful if you give the receptionist a brief indication of the problem. This will help the doctors plan their day. Visits are normally done after morning surgery but if you feel the visit is needed more urgently please tell the receptionist and she will speak to the duty doctor.

It should be noted that there are better facilities for diagnosis and treatment at the surgery. We therefore try to limit visits to essential ones only. Home visits take up more of the doctor's time; therefore please do not call unless the patient is genuinely too ill to attend surgery.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS ?

You may telephone for results between 2.30 and 4.30pm but please remember the following points:

• Results will only be given to the specific patient to whom they apply. In the interests of confidentiality please be prepared to identify yourself. Please do not telephone for results for relatives or friends without prior arrangement (written consent will be required).

• The surgery tends to be at its quietest after 2.30pm and the receptionists will have more time then to deal with your enquiry. Checking results is time-consuming and requests at other times will result in you being asked to call back after 2.30pm.

• To safeguard patient confidentiality it is not our policy to give results to patients at the main reception desk.

• You will need to know the specific test results that you require. Some tests take longer than others to process. If you have had several tests the receptionists will not necessarily know whether all the results are back unless you can identity them.

• Please do not expect the receptionists to have any medical knowledge. They are instructed to tell you if your test is normal. If any test is abnormal or you require further discussion or interpretation, then please refer to your doctor.

• Please remember, though, that we do hundreds of tests, and we cannot contact you all with results, so we leave this responsibility with you. We do, however, ensure that a doctor sees all test results.