Harlestone Road Surgery |
BBC | Health News
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HOW DO I...
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| Please telephone: | (01604) 751832 - Harlestone Road Surgery |
| (01604) 587918 - Duston Medical Centre |
Urgent cases will be seen as soon as possible. See daily clinics. Please try and give the receptionist the information to enable her to help you to have the right appointment. It is important that you mention whether it is for a routine visit or that there is some urgency. We do try very hard to see patients when they need to be seen so please help us to help you and, if you cannot make your booked appointment, please ring to cancel so we may offer it to someone else who may need it.
Please bear in mind that routine appointments are 10 minutes long, which allows time to deal with one issue only. If you wish to discuss more than one issue with your doctor, it may be appropriate to book a double appointment, rather than a single appointment. Please advise reception at the time of booking.
The practice offers the facility to make appointments online. Please contact the surgery to open an account and then follow the link below.
EARLY
BIRD SURGERY
This is a clinic based at Harlestone Road Surgery which operates between 7.00 and 8.00am and allows patients to attend for medical care before going to work. Please ask at reception for details. This is not a 'drop in' clinic - appointments must be made.
THE DAILY CLINIC
If you call the surgery and wish to be treated
the same day, you will be asked for some brief details and will then either be seen by
the duty doctor/nurse or be telephoned back by our duty doctor, who will then
decide on a course of action which could be any of the following: telephone advice,
a visit to see a doctor at the surgery (which may not be your own doctor) or a
visit to see the duty nurse. Please note, the daily clinic runs from either Duston
Medical Centre or Harlestone Road Surgery, depending on where the trained nurses
or duty doctor is based that day, so you may be required to attend the surgery
you don't normally go to.
Remember, most adults and children are well enough to travel by car, especially as they can be seen at the surgery quickly. If you are not sure whether you can get to the surgery or whether you need a home visit, please telephone the surgery and ask for advice.
FOR EMERGENCIES WHICH OCCUR WHEN THE SURGERIES ARE CLOSED PLEASE TELEPHONE NENEDOC ON 03336 664 664 (if you cannot remember this number, please telephone the surgery direct where an answering machine will give you it).
TELEPHONE ADVICE
A telephone call can often save an unnecessary appointment and can certainly deal with simple queries. However, it is not always possible to interrupt the doctor, so please try and telephone before or after surgery.
CHILDREN
Whilst we recognise that children become unwell very quickly, the majority should be able to be brought to the surgery. If you discuss the problem with the receptionists when making the appointment, every effort will be made for your child to be seen by a doctor shortly after arrival.
CANCELLATIONS
If you are unable to keep your appointment, please contact the surgery to cancel so that we may offer this slot to someone else. Continued non-attendance of appointments may, in extreme cases, lead to you being removed from the doctor’s list.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN HOME VISITS?
Please telephone the surgery before 10.00am giving sufficient information to enable the doctor to deal with the problem. The doctor will need to know whether it is an emergency, whether it can be dealt with by an urgent surgery appointment or by a home visit. The practice covers a fairly large area and home visits do take a lot of travelling time. Therefore do please try to attend the surgery if possible.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?
It is important that you contact the surgery to get your results of any investigations or tests done. Please telephone after 2.00pm. You will be asked to provide information to identify yourself. Please remember, some test results can take weeks to come back from the hospital.
CARERS
If you have a carer and would like your carer to be able to collect any results for you, or deal with any aspect of your health care, please speak to a member of our reception team. Once you and your carer have given permission on the carer form, we will update your records accordingly.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS?
Repeat prescriptions are normally available using our computerised system. On the right half of your prescription is a repeat prescription slip. Please tick the box(es) for the item(s) you require and return it to the surgery. (Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope if you wish your prescription to be posted back to you.) You will be able to collect your prescription two working days after receipt. Please remember that the doctor may only allow you to have so many repeat prescriptions without a check-up appointment. The receptionist may often mention this to you. Repeat prescriptions are not available by telephone but can be done online. Please contact the surgery to open an account and then follow the link below.
HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A SICKNESS CERTIFICATE?
Your employer is responsible for providing you with form SC1 (self-certification) for the first seven days of absence from work due to sickness.
HOW DO I...
REGISTER WITH A DOCTOR?
If you are not currently a patient at the practice and you wish to register with any of our doctors, all you have to do is call in at the surgery. The receptionists will inform you whether we are taking new patients on at that time and, if we are, we will ask you to complete our registration forms. You must reside within our Catchment Area.
Because we are a local practice, we will give priority to patients moving into the practice area or who already have relatives registered with the practice eg children with parents registered. Whilst the practice will endeavour to comply with the right of patients to express a preference, it might not always be possible and if that were to be the case, an explanation would be offered.
