The practice has protocols in place to manage Coronavirus which are updated regularly when updated information is received. In terms of clinic arrangements;

Our clinic arrangement is similar to what it has always been.

Open Surgery - What was previously known as our ‘open surgery’ both of a morning and afternoon daily is still present for urgent problems. The only difference is that instead of patients arriving at the practice and waiting in the waiting room, we now ask that you call the practice to book a telephone call back.

Pre-bookable Appointments - Our pre-bookable daily face to face clinics for non-urgent problems are still present. The only difference is that they are now pre-bookable telephone appointments.

Face to Face GP Appointments - Our daily face to face GP appointment clinics are still present, however, during the pandemic patients are booked into these appointments by a GP where clinically appropriate once the patient has been triaged.  

Face to Face Nurse Appointments – Our daily face to face Nurse appointment clinics are still present, however, please do not attend if you have symptoms of COVID-19.

In addition to the appointments via telephone, we are also making use of video consultations and the secure emailing of images.

We know these methods suit many patients, however, we appreciate that there are some patients that this does not work for. We want to reassure this group of patients that we are still here for you in whatever way you need.

Waiting room;

We are operating a one way system through the surgery and limiting the number of patients in the waiting room at any one time. To ensure infection control measures are in place the chairs in the waiting room have been turned around although will be offered to those with mobility problems who are unable to stand whilst waiting. In the event that the chairs are utilized these are sanitised. Those patients who are invited to attend the surgery are asked to wear a face covering and sanitise hands on arrival.

Appointments

GP consultations are held every morning and afternoon, except Wednesday afternoon. We offer a range of open and appointment surgeries. An additional clinic is held on a Monday evening for people who have difficulty getting to the practice during normal working hours.

• Open Surgery - if you need to see a doctor about an urgent matter then a doctor will see you in open surgery. All patients will be seen in the order that they arrive. If you are being seen for a routine review, then it is better to book an appointment.
• Appointments - to book an appointment, please telephone or call at the surgery between 08:00 – 18:00. The appointment will normally be for 10 minutes. If you feel that you require more time then please inform the receptionist.

Telephone Consultations and Minor Illness

There will be times when you have a problem which you feel could be dealt with by speaking to a doctor or practice nurse on the telephone. The doctors and nurse try to make themselves available from 11:30 to 12:00 daily. If the doctor is busy with patients, they will call you back when they have finished their surgery.

Practice Nurses

In a number of cases it might be worth considering an appointment with a practice nurse rather than a doctor. Practice nurses are qualified to deal with many conditions and you may be seen more quickly.

Booking On Line

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.

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 or Community Paramedic 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)

Training Practice

We are specialist training practice for “General Practitioners”. We have been a training practice since 2004. Both Dr H MacConachie and Dr C M Markwick are GP Trainers in the practice.

To be a training practice we have to meet considerably higher criteria than “normal” practices with regard to our staffing, consultation times, appointments, record keeping etc. We also have to keep the GPs up to date and appropriately skilled to teach and act as “role models” for the GP's in training.

These doctors are fully-qualified and have at least completed their basic hospital training. Some may have done many years in another speciality – Accident and Emergency, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Dermatology etc. They spend three years on their GP training rotation and up to twelve months of that time may be working here. During that time they develop their skills in general practice and share existing skills with the practice team here. It is usually a mutually beneficial arrangement.

We will have up to two GP Registrars at any one time. They will run both appointment and open surgeries and you may be offered an appointment with him/her. Their appointments generally will be longer and if there are any concerns they will always be able to get one of the trainers in to the consulting room.

Occasionally, undergraduate medical students spend time at the surgery to gain invaluable practice knowledge by observing consultations. Patients will be asked if they agree to a medical student attending their consultation and they have the right to refuse this request.