Appointments  ALL APPOINTMENTS ARE BY TELEPHONE DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC THE GP WILL GIVE YOU A TIME IF THEY WISH TO SEE YOU

Appointments may be made in advance at the reception desk or by telephoning 531 8180 between 08:30 and 18:00 with the exception of Fridays as we close between 12:30 – 13:30 for staff training. We offer a mixture of pre-bookable and ‘on-the-day’ appointments.

You will now here a recorded message when you call the practice and you should listen to the full message including given a brief reason for the appointment. This helps the GP to prioritise emergency appointments and home visits.

Telephone Interpreter Line may be made available for non-English speaking patients by the Health Board. Please inform receptionist in advance if this is required.

Replacement Doctors

Due to annual leave, study leave, etc., it will be necessary for a replacement doctor to consult in place of your usual doctor. You will, whenever possible, be informed of this when making an appointment.

Medical Students

The practice undertakes the teaching of undergraduate students. Patients are normally informed when making their appointments that a medical student will be involved in their consultation.

Practice Nurses

Appointments are available Monday to Friday for chronic disease, smear clinic, travel vaccinations and contraception.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else. Should you fail to attend on 3 occasions then we will send a warning letter regarding this, further failure to attend for booked appointments could result in you being removed as a patient of the practice.

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 11:00.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your 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 house calls

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)