On the Day Appointments
What is the process?
Patients who request an appointment for the "same day" or “urgent” appointments will be either asked to come to the surgery at a time to sit and wait or depending on the condition called back by the team.
When you call and ask to be seen on the day as your matter is urgent, the reception staff will ask for details about the nature of your problem, the receptionists are trained to advise you of the most appropriate clinician to see. If you are added to the Urgent Care List you will be given an arrival time, you will then have to sit and wait as patients are dealt with in order of priority. Sometimes the urgent Care Team may call you back for further information.
Please note that due to the nature of the clinic you may have to wait up to 2 hrs to be seen.
It is only for patients with symptoms less than 48hrs old including abdominal pain, chesty coughs, sore throats, ear ache, children with fevers, urine infections, rashes etc.
If you have central chest pain or extreme shortness of breath you will be told by reception to call 999.
The clinic is not for patients with Ongoing or Long Term medical conditions.
This process will apply if you come to the surgery without an appointment or when you request to be seen on the day you call by telephone.
The duty team will see or call the patients according to clinical urgency.
The clinic is Nurse led and run by experienced Nurse Practitioners
Will reception staff decide who gets triaged?
No, reception staff will not make any clinical decisions about who receives care. The role of the reception staff will be to pass all information relating to the patient’s presenting problem to the duty team so they respond appropriately.
What if I don’t want to say the reason at the desk?
The reception staff only need basic details if you would rather not say then there will be the option to write the general reason on a ‘post it note’ and then pass it to the receptionist who will then input this reason on to the duty teams ist.
The reception staff will be unable to provide information on the exact time you will be seen.
Third Parties
A third party may book a triage appointment for someone else but the Clinician will not be able to divulge any medical information to the third party unless the patient’s record indicates that they have consented to allow the third party access to their medical information. Parents will have access to their children’s medical records until their child’s 16th birthday unless the child has specifically asked for them not to and a Clinician has agreed the child is competent to make that decision.
Withheld Number
For Confidentiality reasons our phone number is always withheld so if your phone does not accept calls from withheld numbers please provide an alternative that does.
Home Visits
We have a team of trained nurses who will contact you before visiting. If they are unable to help you they will consult with a doctor.
On rare occasions the demand for home visits may exceed capacity. In these instances vulnerable patients such as cancer suffers or those in nursing homes will be prioritised. Patients will be contacted should this apply to them.
When Demand Exceeds Capacity
The triage system seeks to match the daily patient demand with practice capacity, whether it is practice nurse, nurse practitioner or doctor. There will be occasions, such as over the winter months, when patient demand exceeds practice capacity. The doctors have a responsibility to ensure safe and effective clinical care at all times. On these rare occasions patients may be signposted to suitable alternative providers of primary care services, such as the walk in centre or a pharmacy.
If patient demand is excessive, only Emergency Issues will be seen. This is essential in order to manage patient demand and ensure safe and effective clinical care.