We are pleased to introduce ‘Anima’ which is live now. This is the new way to access the surgery and provide you with a more efficient service. Use Anima to make medical requests such as appointments, sick notes and medications. It has replaced our current E-consult.
It is easier and quicker to manage your appointments via our online service. Simply log in and select an option.
NHS App
Download the NHS App, or open the NHS website in a web browser, to set up and log in to your NHS account. Owned and run by the NHS, your NHS account is a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services online, including appointments, prescriptions and health record.
Can another Healthcare Professional help?
Do you need to see the GP?
Sometimes the GP is not the most appropriate Healthcare Professional to deal with your ailment. Please see the information on see a Doctor or Healthcare Professional, which might help you decide whether a GP appointment is truly necessary or whether it might be better for you to see a Pharmacist, Optician, Dentist or other Healthcare Professional. You can even self-refer for some services without seeing your GP.
Arranging your Appointment with:
Appointments at Island City Practice
Duty Appointments
These are available for MEDICALLY URGENT problems. The duty doctor/nurse practitioner will deal with the urgent problem the same day but more routine problems may be deferred until a later date with your registered GP. Please do not use urgent appointments for medically non-urgent matters. If you are unsure whether or not you need and urgent appointment, please speak to one of our receptionists who will be able to advise you.Some examples of problems that are not suitable for the duty doctor are below:
Sick notes
Repeat Prescriptions,
Ongoing medical conditions
Before previously prescribed course of antibiotics is completeWhen booking a duty appointment, you may be asked to give details of the problem by our admin team; these are then given to the doctor/nurse practitioner so that they are able to help you efficiently.
Within 48 hours
For patients who need to be seen soon but don’t require an emergency appointment we offer appointments within a 48 hour period.
Routine
For patients who need an appointment for a non-urgent problem, a medication review or follow up appointment we offer appointments up to 1 month in advance.
Nurse
For patients who need general nursing care including dressings, removal of stitches and health care management.
Telephone
Your doctor or nurse will be happy to advise you, if not consulting with another patient.Our receptionists are asked not to disturb the doctor if he is with another patient unless the matter is a medical emergency. You will be asked to leave a phone number for when your doctor or nurse is free in the next 48 hours.
Phlebotomist
Your doctor or nurse will be happy to advise you, if not consulting with another patient.Our receptionists are asked not to disturb the doctor if he is with another patient unless the matter is a medical emergency. You will be asked to leave a phone number for when your doctor or nurse is free in the next 48 hours.
Home Visits
We only visit patients at home when they are medically too ill to come to the surgery. Each home visit takes the time it would have taken to see four or more patients at the surgery. It is best for everyone if acutely ill patients are seen in surgery, where fuller facilities for assessment are available, unless they would need an ambulance and crew to travel.Acutely ill patients will be given urgent appointments and be seen as soon as possible. If you do need a home visit, please telephone 02392 009 117 between 8.30am and 10.30am and give details of the urgency of the problem – this allows the doctor to plan his rounds fairly.Please give any advice the doctor will need to find your home easily. If the problem is urgent, attending the surgery may well result in you being seen sooner.
Out of Hours
When the practice is closed our telephone calls are re-routed to 111. Please remember this service is for urgent out of hours care and advice. Dial 999 in an emergency
Other Options
If you require urgent medical advice outside of our hours, there are other services available:
- In an emergency, always dial 999
- If you are unsure where to go or require advice, please contact NHS 111 either by telephone or online.
- For minor injuries like cuts, bites, infected wounds, broken bones or fractures, please attend the walk-in service at St. Marys Hospital Minor Injuries Unit. They run between 08:00 – 20:00 Monday to Sunday, including bank holidays. You can contact them on 0333 200 1822.
Care Navigation (Signposting)
Please do not be offended when asked what the problem is when you ring to book an appointment.
This is called Care Navigation and it is all about helping you get to the service you need!
About Care Navigation
You will have noticed that the reception team have begun to ask for a brief outline of your problem when you ring to book an appointment.
This is because we have introduced a signposting system called “Care Navigation”. Our receptionists and clerical staff have been trained to help them help you by identifying the most appropriate place for your care.
Through this specialist training, our practice team will be able to direct you to the most appropriate health clinician for your needs first.
Receptionists will never offer clinical advice or triage; this is about offering you the choice to see more appropriate professionals, whether that be in the practice or even somewhere else. If they can deal with the problem directly, it will often be quicker and means you may not need to see the GP at all.
By working this way, it helps to free up time for GPs to care for patients with complex or serious health conditions that can only be managed by the GP. More importantly though, it means people are seen first by the clinician that is best placed to manage their clinical problem.
The choice is always yours though and you will never be refused a GP appointment but we hope next time you contact your GP and speak to a receptionist you will see the value of seeing another health professional if they are able to help.
For real life-threatening emergencies such as those below – RING 999
- Chest pain (suspected heart attack)
- Suspected stroke
- Suspected meningitis
- Anaphylactic shock (severe allergy)
- Heavy bleeding or deep lacerations
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness or completely unconscious
- Difficulty breathing or stopped breathing with a change in colour
- New seizure, fit or uncontrollable shaking
For immediately serious conditions such as the following, GO TO Emergency Department (A&E) IMMEDIATELY
- A fever and lethargic (drowsy) child
- A feverish and floppy (unresponsive) infant
- Difficulty breathing
- Sudden, severe abdominal pain
- Accidental or intentional overdose of medication
- Trauma (including falls) and possible broken bones or road traffic accident
Your appointment at the Practice
- Please make one appointment for each member of the family who needs to be seen
- We try to keep to time but please be patient if someone before you takes longer than planned
- Appointments are normally ten minute slots, so if you have a complicated problem, or more than one problem, please ask for a longer appointment
- It is Practice Policy to allow patients to choose whichever Doctor they wish to attend in the Practice
Please help us
If you are not able to attend your appointment please let us know in time so that the time can be used for someone else. If you are late for an appointment you may be asked to re-book.
Missed Appointments and DNA’s
Do you feel frustrated when you cannot get an appointment?
Every year wasted appointments cost NHS £216 million. This can cause serious delays in treatment for other patients. On average approximately 600 patients each month Did Not Attend (DNA) their appointment. This means the patient did not turn up for the appointment and did not contact the surgery in advance to cancel or change the appointment. This currently results in approximately 160 hours of wasted clinical time each month.
Additional information
Can I bring someone to accompany me to the Appointment?
We are generally very happy for patients to bring with them a carer, relative or even a friend. This often helps, particularly when they know you well and it allows them to tell us any observations they would make about you, which can help us in undertaking our assessment. Ultimately this will lead us more quickly to make an accurate diagnosis and therefore help you more.
Also, having someone with you means they can prompt you to ask questions that you may have forgotten, and after the appointment they can help in reminding you what was discussed.
Occasionally we might ask for them to leave but this would be unusual.
If you require interpretation services please contact us in advance of you appointment and we will arrange this.
If you have a suspected infectious disease
Please inform reception if you suspect an infectious disease, as this will enable us to deal with it appropriately during your visit to protect you, other patients and staff.
Giving Consent for Treatment
You have the right to accept or refuse treatment that is offered to you, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless you have given valid consent. If you do not have the capacity to do so, consent must be obtained from a person legally able to act on your behalf, or the treatment must be in your best interests.
Your valid consent (agreement to the course of action) is needed for the treatment that’s offered to you before any physical examinations or treatment can be given. If you haven’t given your consent, you can accept or refuse treatment that’s offered to you.
It’s important to be involved in decisions about your treatment and to be given information to help you choose the right treatment. When making treatment choices, you’ll often discuss the options with your doctor or another healthcare professional.
Urgent and emergency care services
Which Doctor?
As a patient, you are registered with the practice, not an individual GP. You can make an appointment with any of the Doctors at the practice. As medical records are now computerised, all Doctors, at any site can access your details. If you prefer, you can make an appointment with a Doctor of your choice. You may need to wait longer to get an appointment with a specific Doctor of your choice, as they may be in high demand at the time.