Hanscombe House Surgery

HOW DO I...
MAKE GENERAL ENQUIRIES?

The staff will be happy to help with general enquiries over the telephone and at reception. Our telephone system has a number of lines. Please be patient if you have to wait to be answered.

HOW DO I...
SPEAK TO A DOCTOR?

The GPs can be contacted by telephone. The receptionist will advise you accordingly. The best time is usually late morning at about 11.30am.

Or, alternatively, the nurses or doctors will be happy to deal with a medical problem via the telephone if you give the receptionist a brief summary of your problem and how to contact you. The nurse or doctor will either ensure you are contacted with an answer or speak to you directly when necessary. Please be sure your telephone allows for incoming calls from a switchboard, otherwise we cannot be held responsible if we cannot contact you.

HOW DO I...
REGISTER?

We are happy to accept new patients who move into the practice area. Patients wishing to register should telephone or preferably come into the surgery and speak to the receptionist to organise registration. Proof of residency is required for all new patients.

HOW DO I...
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

We operate a computerised appointment system and patients are seen by appointment. These can be made either at reception or by telephoning, preferably in the afternoon when the telephones are less busy. Please let the receptionist know if your problem is urgent. If you cannot attend, please cancel the appointment so that another patient can be seen. If you feel your problem will take longer than the usual 10 minutes, please ask for a double appointment. Please arrive on time for your appointment. If you are more than 15 minutes late you will be offered another appointment at a mutually agreed time. Patients who come to the surgery and expect to be seen without an appointment will be offered the next available appointment and this will usually mean having to come back later. We are NOT a walk-in centre or an emergency unit.

NURSE TRIAGE

We have made a change to our procedure for requests for "emergency/urgent/same day" appointments. In common with most GP surgeries we have found that there is an ever-increasing demand for these appointments - a demand which is difficult to satisfy.

We have, therefore, followed the example of other GPs across the country and introduced what is known as "triage". Basically this means that the calls are initially passed to the nurse, who assesses the complaint and decides the most appropriate response to each request. Sometimes this means a same-day appointment, but at others it might mean telephone advice, an appointment later in the week, or the nurse may be able to arrange a prescription over the phone.

The aim is NOT to prevent people from seeing the doctor, but to make sure that everyone gets the help they need. Previously, approximately 50% of so-called 'emergency' appointments were taken up with things that might have been better dealt with in another way. We aim to use the emergency appointments much more appropriately, and make sure the people who really need to be seen are getting the appointments they need.

Our nurses are highly trained and experienced. Communication between the nurses and doctors is excellent, the doctors are readily available for advice and there is always a doctor on call.

On the mornings where there is no triage nurse available we run an emergency surgery with five minute appointments bookable on the day. We are dependent on your common sense and co-operation in requesting urgent appointments. Please help us to keep the system working by not abusing the emergency services we offer.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN A HOME VISIT?

Home visits can be arranged if the doctor feels this is necessary. Please telephone before 11.00am if you feel you need to be seen at home. Home visits are for housebound patients and for those genuinely too ill to travel. Please try to get to the surgery if you can.

HOW DO I...
OBTAIN TEST RESULTS?

The results of tests, etc, can be obtained by telephoning after 2.30pm.

It takes approximately one week for results to get from the hospital to us.

Information will only be given to the patients (aged 16 and over) unless we have had written authority to give test results to another person.