Locality GPAF rota April 2018 to March 2019

                                                       Appointments

Appointments are available on weekdays:

   08:30am - 12pm and generally 2.30pm - 6pm.

Individual doctors do have varied times and we are happy to advise about specific times on request.

We also offer appointments:

• one or two evenings a week from 6:30pm - 7:30pm and/or one early morning from 7.30am - 8.30am
• occasional Saturday mornings from 8am to 10am

These appointments are being provided primarily to accommodate working people who are unable to take time off work to see their doctor or for patients who rely on someone to bring them to the surgery. 

The rota for early mornings, evenings and weekends over the forthcoming weeks is:  

Thursday 7th February 7.30am - 8.30am

Tuesday 12th February 6.30pm - 8pm

Wednesday 13th February 7.30am - 8.30am

Thursday 14th February 7.30am - 8.30am

Thursday 21st February 7.30am - 8am

Tuesday 26th February 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Wednesday 27th February 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Thursday 28th February 7.30am - 8.30am

Dear Patients,

            As part of the Government’s pledge to provide a 7 day NHS they have proposed a pilot scheme which will provide additional access to patients during evenings and at weekends. The GP practices across South East Oxfordshire will be working as a collective to provide the recommended number of these additional routine, pre-bookable appointments each week.

            PLEASE NOTE : These appointments will be aimed at routine GP care and will NOT replace the current urgent 111 service. If you require an urgent GP appointment when your surgery is closed then you still need to call 111. This service is NOT for emergencies or walk-in appointments and you will be directed to call NHS 111 in these cases.

            Each surgery will be providing services at different times and on different days; however you will be able to book into an available slot at ANY of the participating surgeries. If you consent then the clinician who sees you will have access to your private medical record. Please note that if you feel an onward referral to a specialist or any further investigations may be required, then it may be better to arrange an appointment with your own doctor; however, this is not essential.

            Due to the nature of these appointments we would ask that patients try and limit their queries to one problem only.

            This pilot scheme is due to run from January 2017 until the end of March 2019. After this initial period the success of the pilot will be assessed and a decision made whether to continue the service. 

Update 2019: the scheme has been extended to March 2020. We do not know if the scheme will be extended beyond March next year.

See rota for appointments available across the locality for the 12 month period from April 2018 to March 2019 :

GPAF Rota April 2018 - March 2019

You will now be sent an SMS message reminding you of your appointment if you have provided us with your mobile number.  A message is sent out at the time of booking and, if applicable, 48 hours prior to the appointment.   If we do not already have it, you will be asked for your mobile number at the time of booking.  Please let reception know if you wish to opt out. Note: if your appointment is a telephone appointment you will not receive a message.

We have made this change in an effort to reduce the number of missed appointments and we hope it proves useful to our patients.

If you cannot attend your appointment please let us know as soon as you can as we may be able to offer it to another patient.  Thank you.

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Appointment Types

Routine appointments - these are 10 minute appointments available for patients to book in advance online via Patient Access or by calling our Reception team.

Urgent appointments -problems that patients feel are medically urgent and cannot wait until the next available routine appointment will be triaged by a Doctor over the phone on the same day. If the Doctor decides that an appointment is needed they will book one for the patient.

Nurse appointments - can be booked for minor illnesses such as those listed below. These might be a suitable alternative to GP appointments. Nurses will consult with the doctors if necessary and prescriptions can be issued if needed.

• Upper respiratory tract infections including earache, sinusitis, tonsillitis, chest infection, croup, blocked ears, persistent cough.
• Eye problems including those which are sticky, sore, itchy, foreign bodies, bloodshot, styes.
• Urinary tract infections
• Thrush
• Rashes
• Emergency contraception
• Repeat oral contraception

 How to Make an Appointment

•  Telephone between 8.00am and 18.30 - 01491 843250
•  In person
•  Book online. To use this service you must first register your interest at reception and provide some photo identification. They will supply you with the information you need to register for this service and access appointments online.

  Click Here to Book Your Appointment Online 

You will receive an SMS message reminding you of your appointment if you have provided us with your mobile number.  A message is sent out at the time of booking and, if applicable, 48 hours prior to the appointment. If we do not already have it, you will be asked for your mobile number at the time of booking.  Please let reception know if you wish to opt out.  Note: if your appointment is a telephone appointment you will not receive a message.

• Please note, you are able to book an appointment on behalf of someone else but we are unable to give out appointment details to anyone other than the patient or their carer if you make subsequent enquiries, unless we have recorded patient consent or the patient is a child. This would contravene the surgery's Confidentiality Policy.

On Arrival

• Use the automated arrival screen to your left as you enter the surgery, or
• see reception.

Time Keeping

The clinicians make every effort to keep to time and apologise for those occasions when patients are kept waiting.

In order to assist us and in the interests of other patients we ask that you arrive on time for your appointment and if you are more than 10 minutes late, you may be asked to rebook. 

Waiting Times

We are constantly reviewing our appointment system to endeavour to be able to offer our patients an appointment within acceptable timescales.  Due to the volume of demand for appointments and coupled with the number of patients who do NOT turn up for their appointments, patients will sometimes unfortunately have to wait longer for a normal routine appointment which could be on average 10 days.

We would like to reiterate that if an appointment is not available then any patient who has an urgent medical concern will be added to the Durty Doctors list and called within 2 hours the same day to decide on the most appropriate action. Urgent appointments are for medical problems which have just happened and are not appropriate for something which has occurred in the past unless this has deteriorated and become more urgent.

If you cannot attend your appointment please let us know as soon as you can as we may be able to offer it to another patient.  Thank you.

Home Visits

Call 01491 843250

If you feel a home visit may be necessary because your medical problem prevents you coming to the surgery, please try to telephone before 10.30am.

This enables the doctors to plan their workload for the day.

Telephoning Your doctor 

Call 01491 843250

We now offer patient’s telephone appointments as a number of consultations can take place very satisfactorily over the phone. This is often more convenient for our patients. Please ask the receptionists to book you an appointment.

Chaperones

A chaperone is a person who is present usually during a physical examination and acts as a safeguard for all parties by witnessing continuing consent of the procedure.

If you are undergoing an intimate or intrusive examination and would like a chaperone present, even just to provide reassurance, please make the receptionist aware at the time of booking the appointment or ask the clinician before they begin the procedure.  The clinician will ask you if you would like someone else present, however respect, explanation, consent and privacy are often sufficient.

We can provide chaperones who are trained clinicians or you are very welcome to bring a person with you, although they must be over 16 years old.

If you are uncomfortable at any point, either with the procedure or the chaperone, please ask the clinician to stop and other arrangements can be made.

Sickness Certificates

You do not require a doctor's sickness certificate for any illness lasting seven days or less. Your employer may however require you to complete a self-certification form (SC2) which is available from your employer or on the HMRC website.

Evidence that you are sick

If you are sick for more than seven days, your employer can ask you to give them some form of medical evidence to support payment of SSP (statutory sick pay).

It is up to your employer to decide whether you are incapable of work. A medical certificate, now called a 'Statement of Fitness for Work’ (see below) from your doctor is strong evidence that you are sick and would normally be accepted, unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

You could also provide evidence from someone who is not a medical practitioner, e.g. a dentist. Your employer will decide whether or not this evidence is acceptable. If your employer has any doubts, they may still ask for a medical certificate from your GP.

Statement of Fitness for Work - ’Fit Note'

The 'fit note' was introduced on 6 April 2010. With your employer's support, the note will help you return to work sooner by providing more information about the effects of your illness or injury.

For more information see the DirectGov website (where this information was sourced)

Training Practice

Medical students and Nursing students attend the practice from time to time. We hope that you will co-operate with us and help the students to learn about general practice. However, you will be informed of their presence in advance, and if you do not want them to be present at a consultation, your wishes will be respected.

This will not affect your treatment in any way.