Get The Most From Your Appointment

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GP Appointments are 10 minutes

Advanced Nurse Practitioner Appointments are 15 minutes

We want to give you the best possible outcome and experience from your visit to our medical centre. In order that we can meet the needs of all our patients, we are asking you to try and help us with a few simple considerations that can help us all to get the most from your appointment.

Booking Your Appointment

• Please do trust the reception staff. The reception staff are here to help you and the clinical team. If you answer their questions as clearly as possible they will be more likely to ensure you can access the right help you need by the right member of theteam and, where appropriate, ensure the right length appointment is booked.
• Appointment length. Our 10 minutes appointments are designed for one problem only. If you have several problems (or one that requires a detailed examination or gynaecological problem) please ask for an extended appointment.
• Appointments to discuss test results or hospital letter. If you are booking an appointment to discuss a test result or a hospital letter, please check with the receptionist that they are available before booking an appointment.
• Seeing your preferred clinician. Your preferred clinician may not be available. We work as an integrated team and being seen timely by a clinician other than your preferred/usual clinician may be more appropriate
• Advanced nurse practitioner prescribers. Our advanced nurse practitioner prescribers are highly skilled and able to deal with most problems. If necessary they will get immediate advice from a GP or arrange a timely appointment with a GP.
• Online Booking. If using this service please book appointments responsibly.
• Emergency on the day appointments. These are mainly dealt with by our advanced nurse practitioner prescribers. Please be clear about your need to see a clinician and trust our receptionist. They are trained to book you with the right clinician or, in certain extreme circumstances, advise you if A&E attendance is more appropriate.
• Please use the rest of the team effectively. Chasing a referral to the hospital or other document? Please ring and ask for the secretaries. Repeat prescription issues? Please speak to the receptionist. Need a blood pressure check? Have you tried using the machine in the waiting room? Need travel advice? Ask for the nurse. Need to see a counsellor? Ask reception if you can self-refer. Worried about your toddler’s weight? See the health visitor. Need over the counter medicine? See the pharmacist. Many services do not need you to see the GP first these days.

During your Appointment

• Please tell the clinician at the beginning of the appointment if you have more than one item to discuss. List them at the beginning rather than say, “and while I’m here” or ‘”there were just a couple of other things”. If you list them at the start the clinician can plan out the time. Please let the clinician decide what they can deal with in the allotted time. Your definition of one ‘small’ problem may take longer to deal with than three other seemingly small problems.
• Please bring your diary. A really good history helps us to help you. If you can tell us exactly what happened and when, that makes our job much easier.
• Bring a list of all medications you take with dose and times.

Cancelling your appointment

If you cannot manage to keep or no longer need your appointment, please contact us as soon as possible to allow us to offer the appointment to another patient. This will help to keep waiting times down. You can find our ‘Did Not Attend’ numbers on our waiting room display screens. We very much appreciate your cooperation and understanding in trying to help our service run smoothly for all our patients and staff alike.

Thank you