Appointments

To make an appointment please note the following guidelines:

• All consultations are by appointment.
• An appointment is for one person only.
• Call in or telephone the surgery during the above times.
• The telephone lines are usually busy first thing in the morning, so please avoid this time if possible, unless your problem is urgent.
• If you cannot keep your appointment, please advise the surgery as soon as possible.
• Urgent cases may be seen the same day, otherwise you will be offered the first mutually convenient appointment.

Telephone Enquiries

If you wish to speak to one of the doctors, it would be helpful if you could telephone at the end of his/her surgery to avoid interrupting consultations with other patients. Please therefore telephone between 11:15 and 11:45.

Reception

These are the first people that you will meet and they are here to help you. They have various tasks including answering the telephone, making appointments, meeting the patients, as well as dealing with all enquiries.

When telephoning the surgery, the receptionist may ask you for a few details of what you require in order to be able to assist you more efficiently. All our staff have been carefully trained to assist you in the most appropriate way and always abide by the patient confidentiality rule. Please have your NHS number ready for easy identification.

GP Availability

Please note that surgery start times may vary in the afternoons for each doctor. We operate a daily duty doctor system whereby the doctor on call will operate different surgery times for that day.

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10:30 if you require a home visit.

A doctor or nurse may phone you back as it may be that your problem can be dealt with by telephone advice, or that it would be more appropriate to send a nurse, or indeed arrange a hospital attendance.

House visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time that it takes to make one home visit. There are also better facilities for examining and treating patients at the surgery.

GP Training

In addition to providing general medical services, the practice undertakes continuing education and training of healthcare professionals working at the practice and regularly teaches medical students from Southampton and London Universities.

Any student is always closely supervised and will be clearly identified to you as a student. You may decline to be treated in the presence of a student, nevertheless your co-operation in enhancing their medical training is greatly appreciated.