Accessing the Surgery
How to Register
All newly registered patients will be asked to complete a questionnaire and have a consultation with the doctor or nurse for a New Patient Screening. This includes a height, weight and blood pressure check and allows us to summarise your medical history whist awaiting your medical records from your previous GP. Details of past illness, vaccinations and smear history, where applicable. You will be asked to bring a sample of urine for testing. Failure to attend for this appointment may lead to refusal of registration. Medical treatment is available from the date of registration.
Make an appointment
Appointments can be made by telephone Bolton (01204) 848411 (four incoming lines).
You may consult any of the GPs in the Practice but it is advisable that you stay with one GP for one particular problem so that you can receive continuity of care.
Routine appointments are at 10-minute intervals, but if you have a problem, which you feel is likely to take longer, please ask the receptionist for a longer appointment.
For non-urgent matters with a specific doctor you may have to wait several days at busy times. If you do have an urgent problem, please inform the receptionist who will make you an emergency 5-minute appointment with one of the GPs.
Please make one appointment for each person wishing to be seen.
The Surgery has 4 incoming telephone lines, which reduces the time taken to answer your call, and between 8.30 and 9.00am the telephone lines are dedicated to taking requests for on the day appointments only.
Appointments – to make, cancel or confirm appointments.
Prescriptions - whilst the surgery does not take prescription requests over the phone, you may ring if you have any queries or to check that a prescription is ready for collection.
Office – this extension is used for visit request and test result enquiries and for any other general queries.
Secretaries – this option will transfer the caller to one of the GPs personal secretaries.
Please be patient if the telephone is not answered immediately, we will do our best to answer as soon as possible. When you are placed on hold you will hear music and information.
Missed Appointments
These cost on average £30.00 and degrade our service by depriving us of a valuable resource. If you cannot keep your appointment please let us know as soon as possible as it will free up an appointment for someone else.
Home Visits
If you are unable to attend the Surgery through ill health a home visit can be arranged by telephoning Bolton (01204) 848411. We would ask that you ring between 8.30am and 10.00am except in an emergency, as this helps the GPs plan their visits before they leave the surgery, and press “Office” Option 3 to request your visit. You will be asked to give your name, address, age and contact telephone number and a brief description of what is wrong. You may be asked by the Receptionist to speak to the Duty Doctor.
Enquiries and Test Results
Results of investigations, which have been checked by a GP or Nurse Practitioner maybe, obtained by telephone Bolton (01204) 848411 and selecting “Office” option 3. We would request that you telephone after 2.00pm in the afternoon when the receptionist will have more time to help. Results will only be given to the patient concerned and not to relatives or friends except in the case of children.
Prescriptions
If you are on long-term medication you will require month prescriptions. You will be given a computerised prescription with a tear off re-ordering slip. This will allow you to re-order your medication without seeing a GP each time by ticking the relevant box next to the medication you require. Following a set period of time (usually 6 months) you will need to be reviewed by the GP or Nurse to ensure that all is well before further prescriptions are issued. This practice is essential to good medical practice. 48 Hours notice is required for any repeat prescription (excluding weekends and bank holidays). Repeat prescriptions can be ordered by returning the tear-off slip from your previous prescription by either bringing it into the surgery or posting it to us. If you enclose a stamped address envelope we will happily post it back to you. You can also order your prescription by fax on Bolton (01204) 599817.
We DO NOT take requests for repeat prescriptions over the phone as this can lead to mistakes.
Please note requests made on a Friday will not be available until Tuesday after 2.00pm.
Urgent Medical Advice and Out of Hours Service
Outside normal surgery hours and over weekends and bank holidays the Practice participate in a co-operative deputising service, Cmeds, based at Landmark House, but please remember this is not an extension of the Surgery hours. You will need to ring the normal surgery telephone number Bolton (01204) 848411 and a telephone answering machine will give you the number to get in touch with the Duty Doctor.
Facilities for the Disabled:
If you use a wheelchair there is a ramp for access to the Surgery and access to the toilet facilities. A disabled lift allow access to the 1st and 2nd floors.
Change of personal details.
If you change your name, move address, change your telephone number please give full details to the receptionist, including your postcode. It is essential that we have your up to date details on your medical records.
Complaints or Comments
To help us continue to provide our patients with excellent services we welcome any constructive criticism or complaints about the running of the Practice. These should be made to the Practice Manager. The Practice has an in-house complaints procedure and we will attempt to resolve matters internally through discussions. If this fails or is in appropriate complaints can be forwarded to the Bolton Primary Care Trust.
Data Protection Act
The Practice holds personal information about our patients on computer and is registered under the Data Protection Act 1986. The Practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the Practice team.
Zero Tolerance
The Practice strongly supports the NHS policy on Zero Tolerance. Anyone attending the Surgery who abuses the GPs, staff or other patients be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the Practice list. In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the Practice premises.
NHS Direct 0845 4647
NHS Direct is a confidential NHS service, which offers advice and information about health problems and services at the cost of a local call.