Christmas Bank Holidays

The Surgery will be closed on the following dates over the Christmas and New Year period:

Wednesday 25th December

Thursday 26th December

Wednesday 1st January 2020

Appointments

Ways to Book an Appointment With a Doctor

In person

Doors are open:

08:00 – 18:00 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

08:00 – 19:30 Wednesday

09:00 – 12:00 Saturday

By telephone for an urgent appointment            

Phone lines open: 08:00 to 18:00 Monday - Friday

By telephone for a routine (non-urgent) appointment 

After 10:30 Monday - Friday

24 hour Automated Telephone Service

At all times you can book and cancel routine (non-urgent) appointments using our 24 hour automated telephone service. Just ring the usual surgery number 01275 332420.

Online via Patient Access    

Click on the link at the top of this page.

Urgent Advice & Appointments

We have a triage system for urgent/on day medical emergencies. A clinician is available for urgent medical advice. The receptionist will take your details and you will be called back to discuss the problem and, if appropriate, given an appointment.

Nurse Appointments

We have a very experienced nursing team with each nurse having their own medical specialities and areas of expertise. In order to make sure you are being seen by the most suitable nurse, you will be asked at the time of booking if you would provide the reason for your appointment, this is also so that the receptionists can allow enough time.

Click here for Clinics

Click here for Tests and Results

Routine (Non-Urgent) Appointments

Routine appointments are available mornings & afternoons and can be booked up to 6 weeks in advance. Routine appointments are also available on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.  To allow emergency & urgent calls to be given priority please try to phone after 10:30 to make a routine appointment.

Please note that Wednesday evening and Saturday appointments must be pre-booked - there is no emergency clinic at the surgery and there are no phone lines open during this time.

Longer Appointments

Most appointments are booked in 10 minute slots, however if you are booking a (company or insurance) medical, a minor surgical procedure, cervical smear or are aware that you will need more than the normal 10 minutes, please inform reception at the time of booking and they will allocate a longer appointment time.

One Person - One Slot

Please remember that each appointment time is for one person only - if other members of your family also need to be seen, please book an appointment slot for each of them.

Speaking To a GP/Nurse on the Telephone

If you wish to speak to a specific GP or nurse about a non-urgent matter please contact reception. The receptionists will take your details and a brief message and allocate to the required GP/nurse's routine telephone call list.  

If the GP/nurse you wish to speak to is not in the surgery that day, you will be told this, and you will be able to choose whether to ask for a phone call on a different day or to speak to a different doctor.

Unfortunately the GPs or nurses do not have external email for patient correspondence.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

Home Visits

If you feel that you are too ill to get to the surgery and need to be seen by a doctor, please call before 11:00 if possible to request a visit. This is so that the day's visits can be allocated and planned. Please provide accurate directions to help the doctor find your home.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible for you to choose which GP will visit. Where possible, we accommodate requests but the decisions are made by the doctors based on who knows the patients best, the geographical locations of the patients and how many visits need to be carried out that day.

Please do not ask for a home visit if there is any way you can get to the surgery. The doctor can look after you better in the surgery. On average, in a rural area 5 patients can be seen in the surgery in the time it takes to do 1 home visit.

You may be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP.

You should be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Early Home Visiting Scheme

Evidence suggests that if we provide a home visit to those patients who need it before midday, we can refer patients to hospital earlier, if necessary.  This may ensure a better outcome for patients who are then likely to be seen earlier in the day and return home, if at all possible.  This outcome will also provide a cost saving to the NHS.

Referrals & Hospital Stays

Your consultation with a doctor or nurse may result in you being referred to a specialist for further assessment or treatment. The doctor or nurse will explain your choices to you and help you to understand what will happen next.

Community referrals, e.g. for X-rays, physiotherapy, exercise or talking therapies, may take place at the surgery or elsewhere, normally Hengrove, Keynsham or Paulton.

Hospital referrals may be NHS or private. If you wish to be seen privately, please make this clear to the doctor who is referring you. Private patients may be insured or self-funding.

NHS referrals are made using the Choose and Book system. This means that you will be given a choice of hospitals, depending on what your referral is for, and you will make the booking yourself. We will write to you with the instructions and a reference number. Simple procedures may be carried out at a main NHS hospital, or at one of the Independent Treatment Centres at Shepton Mallet or Emersons Green, or at a private hospital. More complex procedures are limited to NHS hospitals where a full range of support services is on hand.

If you are expecting a hospital or other appointment and you have not heard anything within four weeks, please ring the surgery secretary (select Option 4).

After a Hospital Stay

When you come out of hospital, you may expect a doctor to get in touch with you. This is not normally the case, because we generally do not know when you are admitted to hospital, or when you are sent home until a few days later.

If you need regular home visits from the District Nurses, this will be arranged before you are sent home from hospital.

It is likely that your medication will be changed when you come out of hospital. The hospital will tell us what has changed, but it is your responsibility to ask our Dispensary for more before you run out.

If you feel that you need to see a doctor urgently after you come out of hospital, you should ring the surgery as early in the morning as possible (from 8.00am) and ask to speak to the duty doctor.

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)