Appointments

 PLEASE NOTE WE OFFER APPOINTMENTS IN ADVANCE AS WELL AS ON THE DAY. PLEASE CALL AT 8:30 FOR AN APPOINTMENT.

All of our doctors and nurses can be seen by appointments of at least ten minutes’ duration and it is your responsibility to keep any appointment you have pre-booked. Should you be unable to keep an appointment for any reason, please ensure you notify the surgery at the earliest opportunity so the appointment may be offered to another patient.

The demand for appointments is high and failure to attend / cancel an appointment means valuable appointment time is wasted. Persistent wasting of appointments may result in your removal from our Practice list  

Urgent appointments

If you feel your appointment is of an urgent nature, please contact the practice in person or by telephone. 

Practice Nurses

Our nursing team is available for appointments for: dressings; minor accidents and illnesses; travel, flu and childhood immunisations; blood pressure checks; health checks, including well-woman and well-man checks and general health education and advice.

If you are requesting an appointment and feel that you need to be seen as soon as possible, you may be given an appointment the same day with a nurse in the first instance. The nurse will assess you and ensure that, if necessary, you are also seen by a doctor as soon as possible.

To cancel an appointment:

Please telephone 01474 352075 during normal surgery opening hours; press option 2 and leave your message. If you have booked your appointment online, you can also cancel it online.

Training practice

We are a training practice and a King’s College School of Medicine, Imperial College and University College, London teaching practice. We regularly undertake the training of fully qualified doctors who wish to become GPs and also, occasionally, medical students. If a medical student is going to be present during your consultation, your prior consent will be sought.

ADDITIONAL APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE AT HUB CLINICS:

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Home Visits

Whilst we encourage our patients to come to the surgery, where we have the proper equipment and facilities available, we do appreciate this is not always possible. In this respect, if you do need a home visit, you can help us by calling reception before 10.00 am.

Please note that most of our home visits are seen by our fully trained Advanced Nurse Practitioners although a GP may be asked to visit for certain patients. We also use DGS Home Visiting Team who may send a trained Paramedic Practitioner to see you and then liaise with the practice.

You should only request a home visit if you are housebound. A GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to provide suitable details to enable the doctor to schedule home visits according to priority.

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

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)